Coach Greg Wilson cringed when he saw John Olsen, his senior golf standout at State College, tee off on his first hole at the District 6 championships at Scotch Valley Country Club on Sept. 28.
“If you’d have seen it, you never would have thought he was playing. He swung and he winced, almost like Tiger (Woods) did,” Wilson said. “I asked him if he was OK and he said ‘I’ll be fine. It’ll loosen up and I’ll make it through.’”
Good to his word, Olsen did just that, overcoming a rough start by coming back with a late-round charge to lead the Little Lions to their fourth D6 Class 3A boys’ team championship in a row while capturing his third consecutive individual gold medal and claiming his place at the PIAA tournament at York’s Heritage Hills Golf Course on Oct. 19.
While Olsen’s performance might surprise those unfamiliar with him, it wasn’t to those who’ve been around him much. The part-time golfer, part-time hockey player is a testament to just how important determination, discipline, confidence and a well-honed mental outlook are in being a championship-level competitive athlete.
Olsen could be the poster boy for mind over matter.
“I don’t know where it comes from,” Olsen said.
“I read. I guess I get some of it from books I read. I don’t know. It’s not that I train myself. I just kind of make myself bigger than I guess I really am. I’m not really sure. It’s just kind of there. It’d definitely from my brother and my dad (both named Wes). ‘Push through it. You can do it. Keep going.’ From my mom (Lydia). I guess that’s where it’s from.
“It’s just how I want to win.”
That’s not shocking. The son of a former baseball player and the younger sibling of another athlete, the younger Olsen was always drawn into competition and had shown ability at a young age.
“I heard about him from some of the other kids when he was in eighth grade. They said, ‘You’re going to have this upand-coming kid that’s really good. He’s probably going to help us right away,’” Wilson said.
“I invited him to a spring invitational that we play every year at Champion Lakes in Ligonier. I took John with some of my other young players as the fourth.
“I think John placed second.”
Olsen’s game obviously was advanced, although few could have predicted at the time the level of success he would enjoy over the next four years.
Olsen has been playing golf almost since the moment he was old enough to pick up a club. He really got into serious competition when he was 10, a couple of years after he had done the same with hockey.
Both sports have battled for his heart and his time ever since.
“It’s hard. My first hockey game is Oct.
28. That’s three days after team states,” Olsen said.
“Then hockey season ends in late March and I pick up golf again with my individual tournaments in April.”
One might think developing a hockey shot helped Olsen with his golf swing, but that isn’t really the case. Olsen is a goaltender. Hockey, he says, has made him a better golfer, but, unsurprisingly, because the position he plays on the ice requires him to maintain focus.
He always has to stay sharp mentally to excel at either.
“If I have a bad day in hockey, chances are we’re going to lose,” Olsen said.
“I think hockey helps me more with golf than golf helps me with hockey. In hockey, if you allow a bad goal, you just have to let that one go. It’s kind of the same thing in golf. If you hit a bad shot, let it go.”
If Olsen possesses a transcendent athletic tool, that’s it. He has an uncanny ability to know how to muffle all the distractions and stay in the moment.
When he was a freshman, Olsen witnessed teammate Tyler Nordblom win the District 6 Class 3A individual title in a playoff. He also credits trainer Scott Everhart with helping him develop his concentration.
“He has a lot of confidence in his ability,” Wilson said.
“He’s got a good demeanor. He doesn’t let things get him down. One bad swing doesn’t dictate his round.”
Olsen also is an example of how the things that makes someone good at a sport can carry onto everyday pursuits. At State College, Olsen, who wants to pursue a career in business, is in the Little Lions Fund, which is an investment club. His steady emotional approach serves him well, as he knows not to get too high or low along with the value of his stocks, that those values only become actual dollars when he cashes out at the end.
Kind of like his performance at districts this year. Fighting through sharp back pains that persisted over a couple of weeks, Olsen trailed by a shot with four holes to go.
Olsen just kept playing, continued to put the pressure on the field and wound up winning by five strokes, shooting a 74. “It’s just how I prepare myself mentally. I just had to keep reminding myself that I’m the man. Not to sound (arrogant). It’s belief in myself. Not a lot of people have that,” Olsen said. “I knew I could do this. I just had to trick myself that the pain wasn’t there. “Every singles tournament that I won has kind of been the same. I’ve always been down.” This one, though, was the most special for Olsen, who is being recruited by several Division II and III college programs. “This one was awesome,” Olsen said. “I came in with a different mentality. I told the team. Just think you’re the guy. You’re the team to beat.
