Blind USC long snapper can drive a golf ball better than you
USC long snapper Jake Olson already has an incredible story. The 21-year-old lost sight in both eyes due to a form of cancer as a teenager, but has appeared in two games for USC this year. He delivered two perfect snaps.
Turns out, Olson might be even better at another sport. The Trojans posted a video of Olson absolutely crushing a golf ball off a tee.
USC blind long snapper @JakeOlson61 never ceases to amaze. #FightOn pic.twitter.com/Qo7Q4Wr9Hp
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) December 28, 2017
It’s not just a powerful drive, but it’s hit straight on.
If you’ve really followed Olson’s story over the years, you’ll know he was an accomplished golfer even before going blind. Olson explained his love of golf on the Dan Patrick Show in September. Here’s what he said:
Basically what’s happening — I was a really good golfer before I was going blind and I wanted to keep that up. So in the beginning back when I was 12 it was just about making solid contact and advancing the swing from there. And a lot of it from there was muscle memory and just honing in that feel and understand what the swing needed to be like to produce a great shot. And that’s really where I learned muscle memory and that brings me back to snapping.
Golf Digest wrote a profile on Olson in 2015, documenting his love of the game. Olson said he wanted to be a professional golfer when he was younger, and practiced hard to refine his skills.
Then, suddenly, he was unlike other kids of his or any other generation. “I was playing decently for a 12-year old,” he said. “Then I learned I would have to go blind.”
Olson still succeeded at the golf. At the time of that article, Olson played on his varsity team in high school. How did he manage that? His father, Brian, gave his take in the article.
His father Brian flatly said, “he plays better golf now than before he lost his sight.”
There’s also a mention of Olson joining USC’s team as a walk-on later that year in the piece. Steve Sarkisian, USC’s coach at the time, said Olson would definitely snap in a game with the team. That prediction looks prescient now.
At the time of that article, Olson was scoring in the 80s pretty regularly. People love to lie about their golf scores, but given the video USC sent out Thursday, we’re not willing to challenge Olson on that any time soon.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
