What If The Toughest Rep Is Rest?

Welcome to Season 2 - A season opener should feel like a spark—and Olav brings the fire. He’s a NorCal senior, a multi‑sport athlete, and a defensive end who finished his last season with an ACL and meniscus tear. What follows is a candid, unfiltered look at ambition meeting adversity: the moment a late‑game decision spiraled into surgery, and how he rebuilt his plan around smarter recovery, coaching his teammates, and keeping his college dreams alive.

We dive into the tradeoffs athletes face when they love a collision sport yet understand the science. Olav talks openly about concussions, hydration, and why the first violent minutes of a game can be the riskiest. He doesn’t glorify danger, but he does stand by the character, teamwork, and discipline football and track forged in him. From locker room culture to pre‑game rituals, he champions quiet focus over performative hype, showing how standards and player ownership can turn a program from perennial underachiever into a contender. Leadership isn’t loud; it’s consistent.

If you’re navigating injury, this conversation doubles as a blueprint. We get into surgery decisions, timelines, and the under‑appreciated power of nutrition, sleep, and patience. We talk pool running, progressive rehab, and the mindset shift where the fastest path back is choosing to go slow today. Olav's core message to younger athletes lands with weight: be yourself, do the work, and let effort outlast ego. Talent fades without discipline. Work ethic compounds.

Tap play to hear a grounded, real-time comeback get built. If this conversation helps you or someone on your team, share it with a teammate, subscribe for season two, and leave a review with one takeaway you’ll put into practice this week.

Chapters

• 0:00 Season Two Kickoff And Guest Intro
• 3:45 Olaf’s Path From Soccer To Football And Track
• 8:05 Positions, Role Fit, And Playing Style
• 10:55 Injury Reveal And The Reality Of Concussions
• 13:30 ACL Meniscus Tear And Surgery Decisions
• 17:45 Recruiting Hopes, Redshirting, And Identity
• 22:55 Mental Prep Over Hype: Locking In
• 27:45 Safety, CTE Concerns, And Risk Tradeoffs
• 33:25 Track Versus Football And Team Camaraderie
• 38:35 Leadership Standards And Culture Change
• 44:55 Player Ownership Versus Coaching Blame

Transcript

Coach B: 0:15

Welcome. Welcome back. It's 2026 and welcome back to season two of the Plan B podcast. And I am excited to kick off season two with an NFL athlete joining us today. And his name is Olav. And he is from NorCal. And he's a senior in high school. And he is about to graduate this May. And he's joining us on the Plan B podcast to share his last football season with us and his experience that he had. And he's got a lot of knowledge to share, not only as a footballer, but as a multi-sport athlete. So it's an awesome way to start the year off. Football being one of my favorite sports. And even though football wasn't in Australia, learning about NFL here in the States has been awesome. So, Olav, thank you so much for coming on the Plan B podcast. Can you like tell us about your athletic journey so far? I know that you're 18, but take us back. When did you really like first become an athlete? And like take us through the journey from you as like a young tacker to right up today as a graduating senior in a couple of months, which is kind of pretty scary. You're about to launch into the world. Share with us, like all and our listeners, your athletic journey to date.

Olav: 1:29

Yeah, first of all, thanks for having me. Great, great honor. Going back. I mean, I would just be playing soccer in my backyard with all my pals. And I did that for quite some time, about 12, 13 years. And then I joined the local travel ball team, took that to another step, went all over the state, all over the country, even for these soccer tournaments. And right around eighth, ninth grade, I had to switch out of that due to player and coaching disagreements on my end, and ultimately switched to football and track and field, which ultimately led me to be as good of an athlete as I am now. I don't think if I kept with soccer, I would be the type of person or athlete I am today.

Coach B: 2:21

Now I've seen, listen, and I know that pictures on the internet can be deceptive, and we've never met in person, but I have seen you online and you look pretty tall. Is that right? How tall would you be?

Olav: 2:35

I'm about for an NFL. I'm about I'm about 6'2, 6'2 and a half.

Coach B: 2:39

That's what I thought. Yeah, you look pretty tall. So what position do you currently play in your team?

Olav: 2:45

Currently, I play defensive end, and I was like the backup of the backup of the backup tackle. They just needed to tackle on an offensive position for me because I had nothing else to do on an offensive day. But throughout my high school career, I bounced around anywhere they could fit me. At the beginning, like my freshman year, I played halfback and middle linebacker just because I was fast. And then sophomore and junior year, they recognized my speed, my aggression, my tenacity to play. And they were like, you know what? We can we can stick this feisty young guy on a place where we need some feistiness, some aggression. And they kept me there. Nobody had any issues of how I played, and ultimately led me to where I am now.

Coach B: 3:27

So, and where is that? Like when you say, hey, this is this led me to where you are now, this is you're you're a senior, you've just finished your is this your last season of football as a defensive end? Or I know you said you played multiple positions. And before you answer that question, just for the the uninitiated, and you know, I put myself in that category because although I say I'm a 49ers and I'm a George Kittle fan and I love Brock Purdy, who would play your position in the 49ers?

Olav: 3:56

So if we're going off of the 49ers, it would be Nick Bosa. It would be the Miles Garrett, those types of big, definitely very big, very technical, very fast and agile people.

Coach B: 4:10

Okay. I love Nick Bosa. Yeah, he I mean he's a beast. He is like so strong, so fast, and we've missed him this season, sadly, with you know his injury. And as you mentioned just before we came on the air, you and Nick Bosa sound like you have some things in common.

Olav: 4:28

We do, unfortunately.

Coach B: 4:30

Oh, and you say that was such a heavy point. Oh, okay, Olav. I there's a lot of athletes out there that I think are really gonna need to hear this because I know myself as an athlete, as a pro for 15 years, I was very familiar with injuries. So share with us what you have gone through.

Olav: 4:49

So I mean, going back to my freshman year of playing, just backyard football. I mean, who knows what I could have gotten. I've definitely cracked a few ribs. But the real showstoppers for me are the concussions. Those ones will set you back, and those ones don't heal. So those ones are the ones that I fear the most. But apart from that, I would say the injuries would be the fact that I tore my ACL and my meniscus in my last season game. That that really put a really put the scope on where I need to be in terms of not only phys physical, physicality, but educationally too. Because I was cruising in the fast lane thinking I'm gonna go D1, don't have to worry about academics. And since this has happened, it has really put a scope, put some perspective into what I really want as a person and as a dual sport athlete.

Coach B: 5:49

Does this mean because you said that you were track, and I'm guessing you were a sprinter?

Olav: 5:54

Yes, I was.

Coach B: 5:55

And uh were you a one and two?

Olav: 5:57

I ran the one, two, and the four by one.

Coach B: 5:59

Yikes. And oh, this is I I am like I'm really sorry that this has happened. So what month did this ACL and meniscus injury happen?

Olav: 6:10

It happened November 8th.

Coach B: 6:12

Holy smoke! So you are literally only what six weeks post-injury.

Olav: 6:17

Yeah.

Coach B: 6:18

Uh did you have to have surgery for that?

Olav: 6:20

I am getting surgery this upcoming Monday, so December 29th. I'm getting a pretty sure it's a hamstring graft, or they just take a hamstring and put it over my knee. And my doc my my surgeon always recommends the hamstring over the patella just because he's had more successful, more success with it. And that's just preference. But yeah.

Coach B: 6:52

So I haven't had an ACL. I I've had a lot of, I know a lot of athletes that have had that. I have done both my meniscus on both knees. And on September 6th, I actually just had my meniscus done again. So, but now I'm full, I'm I think I'm 16 weeks out and only just feeling good. So I'm not in the same ballpark as you, but I really am super empathetic for what you're going through. Do you know anybody who has had the surgery that you're about to have?

Olav: 7:21

Funny enough, my friend had the exact same injury about five days before I did, and he managed to get into surgery before me. So I see him almost every day going over to his house, checking on him, and his his knee is about as big as my head. It's pretty bad. He had some days he can't even put his own pants on. That might be because he got the patelegraphed, so his whole knee is just super swollen. But he said it was definitely worth it, and he would not have wanted to wait it out. And just I'm glad he got it done because he is also an athlete, and it sucks it happened to him because he was actually getting recruited to go play baseball, and he had to go tell them all I'm I'm unavailable for for quite some time now.

Coach B: 8:12

There is, listen, I don't I know that this is like a really hard time, undoubtedly, for you and your friend, but I I want to try to put some light on the subject, not just for you guys, but for anybody listening that is in the same situation as Olav, because coaches are not idiots. They have seen your talent before this injury occurred. If you've got some film and you've got a great history, are you still holding on to the hope that post injury you could still play or you know, potentially still be a football track athlete for a college? Or are you now feeling as though you're going to shelf that? Because coaches will still look at athletes regardless of injuries, because you're in college for four years and you know, you could red shirt it the first year, and you'll still have you know another four years to play. So you still have a four-year eligibility of playing. So it doesn't, this injury for you as an athlete, a seasoned athlete, it doesn't mean the end. How what is your current feeling about that?

Olav: 9:16

So I'm I'm definitely not ready to hang up the spikes in the football cleats. What a good coach will do, in my opinion, I think what a good coach will do is look at the athlete and not tell themselves, what is this athlete going to be like tomorrow? What is this athlete gonna be like when he's graduated? Is he worth the time I'm about to spend it and put my blood, sweat, and tears through? Is he gonna be the person I am recruiting him for? And I hope as much as I can, even with this injury, to be still be that person all four years. Even if that means redshirting it, I will be like a Swiss Army knife. Whatever they need, I'll do just to get playing time because I want to be that athlete that will not only show up for their team, but hopefully lead their team, lead the team to better and loftier heights.

Coach B: 10:08

Yeah. Oh, a hundred percent. Now, I was telling my had this chat with my girlfriends, okay, and you know, when we're all like in late 40s, and when I went and got my meniscus, okay, done, the my girlfriends were like, oh dear, that's terrible. You're getting an injury. And I said to them, girls, relax. This is surgery number 16.( correction ; Coach B - 8 surgeries, 16 injuries) Okay. Now, if you're an athlete, and I don't know how many surgeries you've had before, but this when I turned my sport into my profession, one thing I had to embrace was the injuries, and not that you want to have surgery every, you know, it's not something you want, but part of my sport was had bikes involved. So there was often bike crashes. So that added to the complexity of, you know, broken elbows, dissipated shoulders, broken sternums, things like that. But injuries and maintenance of the body at the elite level is part of sport. So the having the attitude that you just spoke about then is fantastic that you've got it because you really and coaches have the attitude, great coaches do, have the attitude that we don't want injuries, but they happen. And it's how an athlete embraces it and approaches it. That's what they look at. So you've got time.

Olav: 11:28

Yeah, definitely. I mean, one way I see it is I signed up for the sport, so I should be prepared for the consequences. I every time I walk out my locker room door, I don't expect myself to come in better than when I leave it. Just because I know football is a contact sport, you're gonna get hurt, and it depends on who you are as a person if you can handle that, getting punched in the face for 45 minutes to an hour every Friday night. But it really depends on how who you are, if you can handle that, because it's not only physically, it's mentally. You can get mentally hurt as well, not just physically. And people always think, well, football is just about muscles and physical and stuff like that, but it's it's a lot more than that, it's a mental game. If you lose the mental game, you're losing the physical game, period. And I always tell my players, if you're not mentally prepared, you're not physically prepared. So I make sure that locker room is dead silent, whatever they need to do to get ready. No loud music with a boombox, none of that. I want to make sure that they're locking in their own way. I don't want somebody else's way enforced onto them because that's not how they're gonna respond well to the game.

Coach B: 12:46

You're giving me chills. Oh, I this sounds a little bit like Christian McCaffrey vibes coming through. Okay. Now he is like renowned as the master of mental preparation and discipline and doing everything to the maximum capacity, and it's paid off. Same with Saquon. Look at his discipline and his, you know, and that's one of the things which I'm actually working on with my PhD and the things that I'm trying to stand on a pedestal and blast is that I am pulling my hair out and have been for a long time, is that we throw our athletes out on the field, having trained them to the nth degree. But what have we done for them mentally? How have we trained them mentally? Do you feel as though your coaches prepared you mentally? I mean, I'm sure you had some great coaches, but I'm just saying this in a general sense. Do you feel as though, in a in a generalized way, that athletes are really prepared mentally, particularly for a sport like NFL, where you're literally going into battle? Do you feel that the young athletes today entering in, say a freshman, entering in a team of playing, even like, you know, JV football, how do you help them mentally prepare for that game?

Olav: 13:59

So everybody prepares for different things differently. As I've said before, I don't like how other players can enforce their way of quote unquote locking in. So everybody's different. They gotta find their own little way of doing it, whether their pregame is go now getting food before or anything like that. It's hard to teach that aspect because everybody's different. Everybody has their own ways of doing what they need to do to be successful. Now at the freshman, even sophomore level, they're if they never played, they're still learning the game. So they're just trying to, in some ways that I've seen, kind of boyster their confidence a little bit, kind of puff their chests out, talk a little smack to people. But what I've noticed is the real athletes are the ones that are dead silent, the ones that are just there to fight and leave. They're not there to cause any trouble, they're there to play, they're not there to talk, they're not there for anything other than to win.

Coach B: 14:59

Awesome. As a mom of two like 15-year-old boys, like Olaf, I've got to be like 100% honest with you. Even though NFL has improved over the years and they are, they do take safety of their athletes incredibly seriously and they're in they're continually improving. So this is not a hating on football and NFL. For me, I still am nervous. If my boys, my boys are golfers and basketballers, but if my 15-year-old twin said, hey mum, we wanted to play football next year as sophomores, I would freak out a little bit because I'm terrified of head injuries. And with the uh CTE, which we see, which is the um, you know, the chronic traumatic brain injuries that have that we see occur. And a recent study that came out of Boston University showed that 96% of deceased NFL players that they conducted a study on, 96%, had CTE, chronic traumatic brain injury. And in 2016, uh the NFL admitted that yes, brain injury is a factor of NFL. Now you touched on the fact that you've had concussions. Do you feel as though more needs to be done for the safety of NFL players?

Olav: 16:19

So concussions are weird. You can't control them. It all really depends on how susceptible you are to them in the beginning at the start. So it all it depends on what you eat, what you drink. If you're not hydrated, you are more susceptible to concussions, as I've figured out with mine. But they're hard to control. It can't be anybody's fault when they happen. The most you can really do just tell them that that was a learning moment. But I, with all these injuries, I still encourage football wholeheartedly. I think it builds character, it makes you a better person, it teaches you to work as a team in a sport that may seem like it's all about you. But the concussions can be quite the showstopper. I've had many friends quit because of them, because of how they see me. In fact, my last one, I got hit right on my temple and I blacked out, woke up mid-air, and blacked out when I hit the ground again, but a week later I was right back in there. I like I said, the determination to play will overcome more than what most people will think. At first, people may think that it's well not think that it is scary. Because they don't heal. They it's it's a brain injury, not bone or anything like that. They don't heal very well, which can scare a lot of people, which I'm not surprised about. I was a little scared when I first got my very first one. But any good athlete, any determined athlete will overcome those injuries, those limitations, and play to the best of their potential. And at the end of the day, it is what coaches think is best. But it really depends on the program, the way they handle their practices, and just overall, I think weather as well. Bad weather can lead to bad injuries, good weather, not so much.

Coach B: 18:31

Okay. So, really, like also the the playing conditions, the training of the coaches is so important. And I know that the NFL has taken steps, they've put in programs to help train high school coaches at a higher level to help the coaches train the athletes to avoid more like contact, because really it's the contact, it's that first hit of contact. And and I even read some research of suggestions, and this is coming from scientists, okay? So this is not coming from football players. So I totally understand your passion for the game, because if it was my sport, I'd be going, I'm doing my sport no matter what. And so I totally get that you're gonna play no matter what, you love it, you're gonna do it. And then there's a flip side, there's a scientist like me coming in going, but you know, if we just limited the contact and we delayed the kickoff because the the statistical research is saying that the the worst traumatic brain injuries are happening within the the first minutes of the game. It's they're they're saying it's coming, the biggest injuries are coming from kickoff in the first contacts, is when statistically the concussions, the worst concussions happen the most. And I don't know whether that's because everyone's just so pumped up and it's just everyone's boom, it's clash. But we just got to hope that you know the science and the protection and safety continues to improve because you do only get one brain. And we've got to do all we can to look after you. And you being a multi-sport athlete, on the other hand, just say, for example, oh love, you got your hopefully, I'm hoping that in your downtime, when you get your surgery on the 29th, you're going to be working on your highlight reel for football and your highlight reel for track and field from last season and preparing this for your colleges. Tell me, yes, that you're gonna be doing that.

Olav: 20:12

Yes, yeah, yeah, definitely.

Coach B: 20:14

Um, which sport do you? Like more?

Olav: 20:17

So track has always been a little rocky for me. My first two years, I pulled both my hip flexors right out of the blocks mid-season. So I never was very neither of those seasons really felt beneficial to me. But my junior year was my breakout season. I went to regionals. I went state conference, or not state not state conference, state qualifiers, and didn't didn't make the state. We were pretty close, but that really put a scope of what I liked more. I love football. I really do. I don't think I'll ever lose love for it, but I never get the same feeling as I do with track. It's a different it's a different type of camaraderie. It doesn't feel like it's a me, me, me sport. As much as it's you're there for yourself, you're racing for a team. And at least with my in my case, my track team is like my brothers and sisters. And I'll always see it that way. And the coaches have made it so much they they're so supportive. In fact, I was on the phone with one of them today asking me how I was, asking if I can even help coach their incoming freshmen.

Coach B: 21:31

Oh, that would be awesome.

Olav: 21:32

And I'm just enthused by it. I can't wait to start training with them and hopefully get my four by one team back to state qualifiers and even the state. But in summation, I think I think my heart goes out to track.

Coach B: 21:48

And does when when you say that, uh, does mom and dad get have a little sigh of relief, possibly?

Olav: 21:54

Definitely. Uh my mom, more so than my dad, my dad grew up playing football. He is no matter what, he's always supportive of me.

Coach B: 22:05

Right.

Olav: 22:05

But my mom at the beginning was like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Coach B: 22:08

Right.

Olav: 22:08

Because she reads all the same articles you have with the scientists saying how concussions are bad. And my mom was like, okay, you can go out for the team only if you're the kicker. I don't want you getting hurt. I don't want any of that. And as soon as she saw me tearing it up, not playing kicker, she lost her mind. But it took some time for her to see me get hurt, to see me get up from that, for her to really let go. And even, yes, when I get injured, she's still scared. That's just the mama bear in her.

Coach B: 22:40

Yeah.

Olav: 22:40

She knows deep down that I'm a tougher athlete than that. I'm gonna get up from it.

Coach B: 22:45

Oh, there's no doubt, even just from talking to you for like the last 20 minutes, you're a super tough athlete. There's no question. I think, and hey, all our football fans and footballers listening, we're not hating on NFL. NFL is progressing and they are making changes, guys, to make the sport safer. And I'm a huge fan. And I am stoked on that. But it is still, it is still a contact sport that has a high rate of brain injury. And we we can't just ignore that, particularly as somebody who is works with the brain and the brain is still developing, we know, until right up until 24. So it's something that we've got to take care of. So, guys, please wear the best headgear that you can while you're playing. And if you're a multi-sport athlete and you're playing football, keep the door open to multi-sport. One, it helps both sports. And like Olav is doing with your recovery, I think it's great that you're going to be coaching and water running as soon as you can. Because I'm guessing, tell me the recovery time for this injury.

Olav: 23:48

My the ACL is, as most at most athletes know, it's usually season ending, if not career ending. But I'm not letting it be career ending. So it'll most likely be nine months to about a year. Which is uh obviously not ideal, but anything to get me back out there running, I'm honestly just itching to come back. It's it's hard being a sprinter, being confined to just above a walking pace. And even even the football in me is like, we gotta keep this moving. We gotta, we gotta move a little faster than just walking.

Coach B: 24:22

Hey, as soon as you are able to get in the pool, you let me know, and I will create a water running program for you. Because having had those injuries, both knees and ankle multiple times, meniscus, what else have I had? Stress fractures, galore. I water runned throughout my career, fastest way to get back, fastest way to get you fit. So we will take care of you as soon as you can get back in the pool. But on a positive note, I want to understand how you got yourself so mentally strong. Where did you get your inspiration from?

Olav: 24:56

Honestly, it was taught to me.

Coach B: 24:58

By whom?

Olav: 24:59

By so when I got to my freshman year, we had multiple D1 commits coming out of my school. And the one thing they told me was if you don't prepare the m the day before, you're not prepared the day of. So that would be sorry, I just lost my train of thought. I think I that just would be how I would be mentally preparing. I'd have to mentally prepare for soccer as well, listening to whatever music I can. But I really learned from track, especially in the in those 100-200 meter races. My first I still remember my very first race. My hands were shaking so bad. I was so nervous because I didn't take those proper measures first. And I was honestly pretty intimidated for being a freshman on varsity, seeing these big guys with these state qualifying times, and there's just a little old me in lane all the way in lane eight because I couldn't get a good time. I was nervous. But over time, as I matured, the ways that I would prepare and the ways that I would have others prepare, because I don't want those same people, I don't want those people making those same mistakes that I made. I want to make sure they're better than me. I want to make sure that they're better mentally prepared than me when I'm gone, when I mean gone, not in there, not in the program. And I want to make sure that they are at their fullest potential. I don't want I don't want to see them have any distractions because as soon as you see a single distraction, you're not you're not in that headspace anymore. You're obviously thinking about something else. And the same with football. I was in charge of a defensive line of mainly juniors and sophomores. So being one of the few seniors on there, I had to be very strict with them, not in the sense of like no fun, but there needs to be a time when you need to focus. Yes, there will be times where we can mess around, but there needs to be a very clean cutoff of when the fun and the work are separated. And teaching that to them, taught that to myself too, because I would that would be very hypocritical of me if I didn't. And just leading by example. That is the best thing young athletes can do. Lead by example, and yeah.

Coach B: 27:14

I really that is so admirable, and I really love to hear that because at the end of the day, you know, coaches can get up there and we can yap all day and we can say all the things we need to say, but the most powerful messages, the ones that come from the peers, just as you are talking right now. So for you to be able to recognize your role and to lead by example and recognize the power that you have as an older player in your team and know that you're actually more powerful than the coach. It shows a really huge sign of maturity. It's and everybody listening, if you're in a team, recognize your own power that you have on either younger or even less experienced players. And even as a younger player, I often say this to club players coming into high school teams, club players, you have a responsibility as a more experienced player to set a standard. And that's what I'm hearing from you, Olaf, is that you came in and you really tried to set that standard and and lead in the hope that other people would copy your behavior. And I'm guessing, did that work most times, or did you still have to have some guys that were ratbags, or was it effective or most times? I mean, I know what high school can be like.

Olav: 28:27

So it was I would say personally it was effective. I came in, I was a sophomore getting pulled up to varsity for football. I got pulled up when we just barely clinched playoffs. We consistently had losing seasons despite having talent. And I think everybody noticed they wanted change. Change was the number one word for our season. And I think we all needed to set that standard. I wasn't the only one setting the standard for my position group. We had, for example, our center was doing the same exact thing with his offensive line, our quarterback was doing that with his running backs. And it really took those key players to really tell the younger players like we need change. If we want to win, this, this, and this needs to be done, no exceptions. Yes, we have had people that have been less serious about it, and they ended up paying the price. They didn't play, they either left or quit because of how much we wanted it. They thought, oh, we're gonna be another five and five, five and six season, so I might as well make the most of it. But we wanted, we wanted it all. We wanted that 11, 12, uh, 12-0 season. Ultimately, we didn't get that, but we were pretty darn close. But I think setting that standard early on set us up for perfection and success.

Coach B: 29:43

What do you say to the statement that like when I sometimes see a football team, it doesn't have to be football, it could be soccer. You've got the coach, okay? And the coach during the week is doing all that he can to sh or she can to orchestrate the best plays, the best moves, the best people in the right position. And uh and then it comes game day. My belief, and I'm curious to hear what you think, because I was an individual athlete. I played team sports, I played soccer, I played touch football in high school, but ultimately my profession was an individual sport. So I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I did coach team sports. My belief is that when it comes to game day, the coach's job is almost like apart from strategically knowing when to sub the right people, make the right moves, the responsibility and the ownership is now on the players to take over. What do you say to that?

Olav: 30:35

I I would definitely say there's some validity to that. There's only so much a coach can draw. The coach can only drop so many plays, it can only show us so many defensive schemes. At the end of the day, they're the ones calling the plays, and the players have to execute it. And if the players don't execute it, obviously there's a loss in yards, there's an interception, or even a touchdown for the defense. So definitely there is. I don't know. I've actually never I've never thought of that before.

Coach B: 31:01

Sometimes I just feel like like I'm just saying this because recently a gr a guy that I knew 16 years at a high school, awesome guy, awesome coach, got fired. I didn't think it was just. He hadn't had a good season. I I thought that it was unfair because he had a group of players that were small, uh, underdeveloped, playing against bigger guys, wrong division. He was doing all he could. Maybe it won't wrong division. Maybe the players didn't quite know how to execute, and yet he got hum. I didn't think it was fair. And basically, uh, my whole kind of beef was when are players and when are the athletes going to take some ownership and really step up and go, guys, we got this. We take over once the whistle goes. Okay. And you guys own it because the work has been done. And take over and stop making excuses. Stop blaming the coach, parents, stop blaming the coach, stop saying it should have done this, should have done that. Own it, work hard, win. Okay. And if you win, you got beaten by a better team. Period. I just feel like we're making two. We're today, it's become and we've become a group of whinges that are making excuses for athletes rather than saying you didn't play hard enough, you didn't work hard enough, you weren't good enough. Go back and train harder. That's kind of like my thing that I have been sensing of late. Maybe I'm being too harsh, maybe I'm being more in favor of the coaches, but I would love to see athletes owning it in team sports, owning their position and be really having a sense of pride in, you know what, we could have done better, we could have worked harder, rather than turning to coach and going, that's on you. No, it's not.

Olav: 32:45

Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, I think instead of just firing people after one bad season, my statement to the parents, let's say I was a coach, I would tell them to simply trust the process. Sure, we've had bad seasons. There, there are teams that can go oh and 16 in one year and 16 and 0 in the other. And those parents, those parents, those fans are going to be completely all over the place with that. So yes, I would say the players need to tell the parents and their fans that hey, this is on us too. We were not locked in. This is our fault. Do not blame our coach for this. But I think at the end of the day, the captain does go down with the ship. Yeah.

Coach B: 33:28

It's a tough one. And and and I and and I I get it, it's it's a whole team, so everyone has to be doing it together. But yeah, that I just would love to see a sense of athletes today kind of owning more of it. So you have a tough time ahead of you coming up. And I guess I wanted to, as we're kind of coming to a close on our kind of Plan B podcast, going into 2026, what are you going to do differently next year? Aside from your, I know you're going to be recovering for a bit now and you're going to have a lot of time to reflect and you're going to enjoy the last months of high school before you launch into senior year. And I think you're going to be an awesome coach for your track and field high school team, and they're going to be really lucky to have you. So it's not all going to be lost because that is something that is going to still be invaluable that coaches at college will look at. So you're recovering from injury, you're going to be coaching, but what else is next for you? And what perhaps from this experience will you do differently next year?

Olav: 34:29

So I will definitely listen to my body more. Before my injury, I initially sprained my MCL and I couldn't move it. And my my coaches, they needed a closure. It happened late, late, late, late in the fourth quarter. They needed somebody to go out and finish this game. And none of my other colleagues were gonna do it. And I reluctantly said, I'll do it, but uh ultimately led to my downfall. What I'll do differently would be to train more and take care of myself more. I didn't take care of myself very well this season, and it brought me to where I am now, and looking back on it, I should have paid better attention to my body. But I also realized I was mentally tired as well. So some of those pivotal points in these past few games could have been because I simply was mentally drained and just mentally at my limit. But definitely not closing the curtain on football. I I'm gonna be training as much as I can, regardless of recovery, and hopefully I can get a my teaching credential, my coaching degree, if that's even really a thing, volunteer, and go back and be a teacher and a coach, giving back to the community any way I can, and maybe even go back to the school I graduated from.

Coach B: 35:57

Wow. Well, I tell you, here I was saying, Come on, athletes, you need to own it, you need to step up to the plate, you need to do more. And here's Olav, who has gone above and beyond and done too much, and that has been the res that has actually contributed to you getting injured. So we've got a contrast here. We have athletes that don't do enough, and we have athletes that do too much. So we need to find a balance, and that balance is where, like you said, listening to the body. And one thing, even though I know you uh have the mindset to get back on the horse, and you will, but one thing I want to say to you and every other athlete who's recovering from an injury right now, the fastest way to get back to peak condition when your body is injured is rest and allow your body to heal. Because when your body is uh injured and is let's say it's broken, when we are taking energy away from your body to heal by trying to do other things to because I can't do my sport, I'm gonna expend energy elsewhere. What is happening to the energy that's supposed to be going to your knee? That's it's going to other places.

Olav: 37:15

Yeah.

Coach B: 37:16

So instead of resting and being centered and and spending some like time in knowing, hey, I gotta slow down. I have to let my body heal. And the more I can relax, all my energy, guess where it's going? Healing my knee. I'm not gonna blow out, I'm not gonna lose anything, I'm gonna heal faster. And as somebody who really struggled to rest, that's me, I didn't learn how to do that until about injury number eight. And no, it's very tragic. But luckily, I had a long career, and I remember my sports scientist, Gerard, said to me, Belinda, these in injuries are character building. And I was a bit of a punk at your age, and I said, I don't need to be character built, I'm fine. But in reflection, he was right because you need those moments to go, okay, where am I at right now? I need to rest. I need my body to heal, get, and then once it's healed, get strong. So still channel your energy elsewhere, but no, it needs to slow down to heal.

Olav: 38:23

Yeah, yeah, of course. I mean, getting injuries really puts a scope and makes you take a step back, slow down even. Like I said earlier, living life in the fast lane, going about how I am. And I'm glad it's weird to say I'm glad I got injured. It really allowed me to slow down and really spend more time on myself physically. I didn't realize how much you need to eat to keep the healing process going until about that fourth or fifth day when I'm just sitting there and I'm like I don't know how to describe it, it's just like I can feel my myself losing weight just sitting there because my bot your body works so hard to get the swelling down and just try and try its best to heal. Right. And if you don't eat the right food, it won't be as successful. So something that I would implore people to do is to eat better when you're injured. The better you eat, the better your recovery will be.

Coach B: 39:27

That's awesome advice. And I like I second that from a psychological perspective because the better nutrition you you have, the your neurotransmitters in your brain will be supported better, less inflammation, which will also contribute to your your injury healing faster. So, yeah, excellent advice there. So, final question. Now that you almost about to leave high school, what is one thing that you wish someone had told you as a high school athlete that you now have learned, like from your years of competing in high school, either as a football or as a track athlete, that you have learned from all of your experiences? So, what's the kind of one message that you would like to leave with our Plan B listeners?

Olav: 40:14

Something that I learned. Be yourself. Don't let anybody change you. Hard work will always be talent if talent doesn't work hard enough for it. And that is a mindset I've had since I was eight, ten years old. Because I was never I was never the best at like I was never the best on my team. But the hard work I put in beat the talent they had nine times out of ten. And coming into freshman year we had a freshman on varsity who was just so full of confidence, just very boistured, very full of himself, but he had the talent to back it up. And he would exploit that. And he would sometimes belittle other people because they he wasn't they weren't at that same level. And when he came to me and started talking like that I'm like you know what I may not be as good as you but my work ethic and how I will work will beat you out in the long run. And overall it did. And he is my backup in the end. And there's not much you can really say about that other than just work hard and that's where I mainly learn to be mentally strong too actually. Having that little kick in the pants right at the beginning of my career. Really put that drive in.

Coach B: 41:36

Yeah be yourself be yourself work hard be authentic I I wish more people could be like that. You know that takes a lot of courage particularly in high school where for whatever reason it still seems to be full of mean kids. There were mean kids for for me in high school those same still mean kids still seem to be there. Forget those mean kids. You know what they're gonna be mean and miserable for the rest of their lives just stay true to you. I think for you my friend great things are going to happen for you after this injury this injury is not like you said the end. It's part of sport injuries are part of sport. I work with athletes every day who have injury and we we deal with it just my Anthony Lamb who's in Israel at the moment he tore his um Achilles tendon when he was playing I mean he's on episode one of the first season he he said it just happened on the middle of the court came from nowhere no one even touched him it just snapped and he thought that was going to be the end of his career. But like you he was determined to get back and he researched everything he had to do to get back. Now he's back playing in the Euroleague he's in Israel right now doing great. So injuries don't have to mean the end it's just part of sport it's part of pushing your body to the limits but it sounds like you learn a lot from this experience. I'm excited to see what's next for you. So can you please keep us posted? Yeah of course and when I'm gonna hold I am going to promise you that water riding program and I I want to hear where you end up wherever that is and I heard another story actually the other day from another basketball player I've had a mental blank on his name but it was a great story he's playing for a team in Lebanon he's a basketball player he didn't get a lot of minutes in high school he didn't even he played junior club uh junior college didn't even get a lot of minutes there he then played for Buffalo New York didn't even get a lot of minutes there and now he's playing pro in Lebanon so the moral of the story here is if you love your sport and you love what you do never give up because sometimes it takes a longer process to get to our end goal some some people take a the longer path but it's that passion and that drive that will get you there.

Olav: 43:49

Yeah I couldn't agree more with that.

Coach B: 43:52

Yeah so hey thank you for sharing your wisdom I know of course I know our listeners will love it and keep us updated on your recovery and I'm I'm fingers crossed for the surgery but today the the surgeons are so awesome. You're gonna be great and I'm looking forward to hearing maybe you can pop back in and tell us how your coaching of track and field is going during the season.

Olav: 44:14

Yeah of course I'd love to