Umpiring runs in the blood for Olivia Love, her father Andrew instilling his passion for the sport in his daughter at a very young age.
Although Andrew was never one for the rules growing up, that mantra has well and truly changed now after years in the Victorian netball community.
“I played netball for nearly 30 years; I started when I was 17 with my sister. I probably wasn’t the greatest player on court towards umpires, so a lady I knew from Caulfield Netball said ‘why don’t you try umpiring?’. She got me involved at Dallas Park in Moorabbin and I’ve done it ever since,” he said.
“When Liv started playing netball at FDNA in Frankston, I told her club, Cameo Tigers, that I could umpire. That’s when I really got back into doing outdoor netball and started doing the footy league down at the Mornington Peninsula as well.”
It was clear from the get-go that Olivia had inherited her father’s passion for the sport, beginning her umpiring journey when she was 14. She’s gone from strength to strength ever since, even eyeing off a spot at Victorian Netball League (VNL) level.
“I started playing netball when I was six and when I got to about 10, I started watching dad umpire and that’s when I started to realise ‘this is pretty cool’. I had a massive passion for netball when I was so young, so I thought why not try something new in netball,” she said.
“I umpired at Frankston for about a year, then went along to Casey. I got my C Badge pretty quickly and then I jumped on board at PNUA [Peninsula Netball Umpire Association] when I was 14 – it’s just gone up from there. I did my first year of State Titles after not even a year of getting my C Badge, and I watched dad do the State Titles in Shepparton which was awesome.”
It wasn’t long until Olivia had a real taste for umpiring and was tasked with officiating some of the more challenging matches in her local league, and while it was a daunting step at first, her confidence and self-belief was enough to back herself in.
“I did my first A Grade footy league game when I was 14 and it was the two top teams at the time, so that game really tested me. I couldn’t believe that at 14 I was doing such an intense game.
“I used my age to my advantage, I really applied myself when it came to umpiring and just want to become the best umpire I can be. Apart from the physical aspect it’s the knowledge as well, I backed myself in and took pride in how well I knew the game.”
Looking on from the sidelines, or even over her shoulder at times, Andrew is delighted with what his daughter has managed to achieve over the course of her umpiring journey and is equally excited to see what comes next for her.
“I’m proud of what she has achieved, I’m proud that I started her journey but from here I don’t have a lot to contribute because she’s probably better than me,” he chuckled.
“Liv is on a pathway of her own, and I’m just extremely proud that she’s applied herself. We’ve umpired a lot of B Grade and C Grade games together so we’d drive all over the Peninsula together, umpire together and then drive home. It’s been a great journey for both of us.”
It’s not very often that you see a father-daughter combination take the umpiring world by storm but the duo have done just that, and while at times they may not see eye to eye, they don’t hold it against one another.
“We do butt heads sometimes, but we always have a laugh at the end – it’s good because we can reflect with each other and give each other feedback. Dad’s a passionate mentor and has a found a love for mentoring young people to become the best athletes that they can be,” Olivia said.
“When I first started umpiring it was a really good thing, Dad was known in the league so it was good to have him to help get my name out there. As I’ve gotten older I really want to build my own name, and Anita Hill [founding member of PNUA] has been so supportive with that.
“It’s better for both of us, for our own umpiring careers and pathways, to be apart now. It’s time for dad to shine by himself and for me to shine by myself. Every time we go to Mornington we get the ‘we’ve got the dad-and-daughter crew’ though, it’s very wholesome,” she laughed.
Representing Two Bays at State Titles was another special moment the duo got to share together, and while they’re forging their own identities as part of ‘team white’, it was a milestone they’ll look back upon for years to come.
“We’re just so proud and lucky.”
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