Jake Olson, a blind long snapper on the University of Southern California football team, has had a whirlwind week. After raising more than $56,000 as part of his mission to find a cure for retinoblastoma, a cancer of the retina, Olson showed off his golf skills.
Joined by his father, Brian Olson, and guide dog, Quebec, Olson played at the Trojan Athletic Fund Club of The Desert Golf Classic on Saturday. He received of the 2019 Marv Goux Spirit of Troy Award.
He may be known for his role in USC football, but golf isn’t new to him. Before he played college football, Olson took up golf as a kid.
Born with retinoblastoma, Olson lost his left eye when he was 10 months old and his other at age 12.
But he hasn’t let adversity deter him from pursuing sports.
“It can be harder and you might have to work harder than the next guy, but it doesn’t mean you have to forfeit on those types of dreams, but rather achieve them in a little different way and have a blast doing it,” he said.
Olson, who played on the varsity golf team at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High, can routinely break 90 on the course with some directional assistance. He said he hopes to play more golf after graduating in May.
Linda Ward, past president of The Trojan Club of The Desert, said Olson was “by far our most worthy recipient” for the award named after a former USC assistant football coach who was part of five national championship-winning teams.
Olson’s time with the football team came to a climax in 2017 when he appeared in a game as a long snapper against Western Michigan University. He repeated it a second time against Oregon State to help his team secure an extra point.
His connection to USC runs longer than his time as a student.
Before he played in an actual game, Olson battled cancer in his right eye eight times. Just before going blind at age 12, he met then-USC football head coach Pete Carroll and the team.
On Wednesday, Olson was a viral sensation when he completed 17 bench-press reps of 225 pounds. He did it to raise money for retinoblastoma research.
This story originally appeared on the web site of the Desert Sun, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.
