California teenager doesn’t let cancer, loss of eyesight stop his dream of playing football
Nov 19, 2013, 12:21 AM
After losing both of his eyes due to cancer, one when he was a baby and the other at age 12, Jake Olson still dreamed of playing football and running out to a crowd full of screaming fans.
With his heart set on playing the game, Olson learned how to play the one position sight is not required: long-snapper. Though there was a rough learning curve, Olson learned to master the position and made his high school’s varsity team.
It isn’t the first time we’ve heard Olson’s story. In 2009, before Olson lost his vision entirely, Pete Carroll and the USC football team welcomed Olson as an honorary member of the team. He sat in on practices, gave pregame speeches and rode the bus with the Trojans to a game.
Though he was dealt a bad hand, Olson’s maturity and positivity to make the most of the situation is something we can all learn from.
