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LYNDEN — Lynden Christian Athletic Director Brenda Terpstra is being inducted into the officials Hall of Fame on Friday, Jan. 27 in Boise Idaho.
Terpstra had an illustrious 17 years as a softball umpire in the region. She called it her “hobby gone nuts” and turned in a Hall of Fame career.
Originally, Terpstra started umping as a way to pick up a little extra cash but eventually realized she had a knack for it and her umping career took off. Terpstra said she was always interested in seeing the fourth side of the sport.
“You can be a fan, you can be a player, you can be a coach and you can be an official,” Terpstra said. “I had done three out of the four so I thought, ‘well I wonder what that would be like.’”
Terpstra did the majority of her work with an association formally called ASA Softball, now called USA Softball. She would umpire games from 10 U up to women. She was also certified as an international umpire which took her across the seas.
Brenda Terpstra pictured umping at the Japan Cup in 2016. (Courtesy of Brenda Terpstra)
Along with Terpstra’s regional work she also got invited to umpire the softball world championships in Netherlands in 2014. In 2016, she umpired the Japan Cup in Takasaki City Japan.
Terpstra said it was a great feeling to get those phone calls and get the invitation to umpire elite level teams.
“It was fun to meet people from across the nation and to put myself in a situation where I am officiating teams that are pretty good,” she said.
Terpstra said one of her favorite parts of the job was the challenge and it was just another way to challenge herself. She added that the people she met along the way was the best part of being an umpire.
“The greatest thing about being an umpire was I worked with people from all walk of life, from a wide range of jobs and professions,” Terpstra said. “The friends I made is probably the absolute best part.”
When asked what it means to inducted into the Hall of Fame Terpstra said that the biggest honor was being appreciated by her peers.
“There is a lot of people involved in this and I am just really grateful for them,” Terpstra said. “It’s been a ride, a really cool ride.”
Her last trip was in 2017 because after she got the job as athletic director at Lynden Christian. With decreased time to work on the weekends and the summers she had to stop umpiring.
Terpstra said it felt like it ended well.
“It was a natural end,” she said. And now she will be a hall of fammer for life.
