Where Are They Now? - Tara Harbert

After receiving support from countless individuals throughout her softball and baseball playing careers, Niwot High School graduate Tara Harbert is now lending her knowledge to the next generation.

Harbert, a 2002 NHS graduate who later played on the USA Baseball Women's National Team, spent this past fall coaching junior varsity softball at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch. Additionally, she and her fiancé, Bryan, have committed themselves to supporting their three children's passion for athletics.

Twelve-year-old Bishop does just about everything: wrestling, kickboxing, football, baseball, basketball, and track; his twin sister Joie is exceptional in soccer, volleyball, dancing, and cheerleading; the youngest, 6-year-old Ryder, plays flag football, soccer, baseball, and track.

"We really have the same mindset and dedication to working with youth and developing them properly," Harbert said. "We're huge advocates of that, so we spend a lot of time with our three kids. It's really important to us that we make their athletics a big part of their lives."

Considering how important softball and baseball have been to Harbert's life, it makes sense why her children are following a similar path.

During her softball career at NHS, Harbert was coached by Paul Talafuse, Randi Willemsen and her father Biff Warren, Alicia Miller, and longtime Niwot baseball coach Bob Bote. Harbert earned all-state honors and later played college softball at the University of Hawai'i and at Colorado State University.

Her transition to baseball began when she joined her father, Roger Harbert, at a Colorado Rockies Fantasy Camp in Arizona. There, she spent time with former Rockies players-coaches, Walt Weiss and Mark Strittmatter, who convinced her to try out for the USA Baseball Women's National Team.

"He (Strittmatter) and Walt Weiss were very big advocates of me reaching out and trying out," Harbert said. "They even worked with me on how to learn the different intricacies of it (baseball). Those two really helped me and guided me to go to the tryouts." Strittmatter is now the catching coach for the Chicago Cubs, while Weiss is the bench coach for the Atlanta Braves.

In 2008, Harbert made the team and played in the Women's Baseball World Cup in Matsuyama, Japan. She also competed in the 2010 World Cup in Maracaibo, Venezuela, the 2014 World Cup in Miyazaki, Japan, and the 2015 Pan American Games qualifiers.

Harbert remains passionate about opening doors for women in baseball.

"There has been a really, really big push for girls to play baseball, and I think it's extremely important," Harbert said. "To have that league where they can just play all year round and be fully immersed in baseball - if that's what they want to do - then it's huge because so many girls want to. The desire and the passion are there. I never got bothered by, 'You need to play softball because you're a girl.' That never bothered me. However, I do know a lot of girls who are like, 'I don't want to play softball, I want to play baseball.'"

Trailblazing women such as Harbert's close friend Veronica Alvarez, who manages the USA Baseball Women's National Team and is also in player development with the Oakland Athletics, are critical, Harbert said.

In Harbert's own journey, guiding younger athletes - her children included - last fall marked her first season as a head coach at any level. She shared that mentoring younger players in Mountain Vista's softball program was "one of the best experiences" she's ever had.

"Everything that you learn and you do on the field translates to life outside of any sport you play," Harbert said. "After a very long career, and making a lot of really good decisions and a lot of really bad decisions and making mistakes and failing and succeeding, it's really important for me now to pass that along to whoever wants to listen."

Harbert's father, Dr. Roger Harbert, still lives in the Niwot area and owns the Mountain View Animal Hospital on 71st Street. The former Australian professional baseball player also continues to play in a local men's league.