By Jerry Christensen | [email protected]

As a young kid, Daniel Olsen was interested in Disney movies and rehearsing them as if he were a Hollywood director. He didn’t get into sports until he saw “Space Jam” in 1996. While he wouldn’t get on Michael Jordan’s or even Daffy Duck’s level, he learned some valuable lessons that would prepare him for a life where he was deeply involved in athletics.

Olsen had breathing problems when he was younger and as a result, struggled to even finish his sentences due to his low lung capacity. Luckily, his dad who had qualified for the Boston Marathon a few years prior, took him out for easy runs around the neighborhood to strengthen him. After a few more years and moving to Utah to train on difficult hilly runs at elevation, Olsen was able to run some faster times. He ran his first half marathon at age 10 and won a state USATF title in the 3000 meter distance. He was also captain of his cross country team in his senior year at Logan High School.

After high school, Olsen took a break from running and served a two-year Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission in southern Chile. He returned to attend Utah State University and majored in management information systems with a minor in Spanish. While he has done computers for his full-time profession, his main passion is sports and his ultimate dream is to combine his major with sports. There are many data analytics computer tools that top sports organizations use, and Olsen would love nothing more than to find answers to business questions that these teams have, similar to the movie “Moneyball.”

Olsen still enjoys running at age 32 and his new goal is to complete 40 half marathons before age 40. He will complete his 30th lifetime half marathon this year. He has also become an avid fan of all sports teams in the Beehive State. He mainly covers the Skyline Eagles as well as other local sports stories in the Millcreek Journal, part of the City Journals organization. He also has his own sports website, Thehivesports.com, where he covers Utah teams at the high school, collegiate and professional level. He also oversees a team of interns that help him with several podcasts, articles, and social media under The Hive Sports Network.

Feel free to reach out to Olsen at [email protected] with any questions or ideas for sports stories in the Millcreek area.