Two-sport athlete Adrian Olivo’s football season is ending on a good note, as the sophomore kicked the game-winning field goal for the Plant City Raiders against Lennard Friday, Oct. 28. Olivo is also a member of the PCHS and Tampa Dynamo FC soccer teams.
Know someone who deserves an Athlete of the Week feature? Email Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com by the Friday before the next issue.
That Lennard game was closer than I thought it would be, but you put that one away at the end.
It was like, it came down to me with a minute left. I hit a 25-yard field goal through the uprights, down the middle. It was just a great feeling to just hit it and win the game as a sophomore.
How long have you been with the team?
Since last year. Last year was my first time playing football. It’s been a great experience.
What made you go out for football?
Chase (Lott), Rex’s (Lott) older brother, he called me the first week of school last year and said, “Come try out for kicker, JV needs a kicker.” I’ve always wanted to play football, I was just like, how am I going to get a chance when I know nobody? After that, I got my confidence, had everybody behind me.
When I got a nomination for you, I read you’ve overcome some adversity to get to where you are. What happened?
I was always fat. Kids would be like, “You’re not so good, why are you playing (soccer) out here? You shouldn’t be playing out here.” That just motivated me. I started working out over the summer my sixth grade year, and I lost 45 pounds.
What was your workout routine?
No more junk food. I did a lot of running on the bleachers and practicing every day, listening to my dad.
So you show up to seventh grade 45 pounds lighter and see the kids who were making fun of you for being fat. What was that like?
They were like, “What did you do? Did you have something going on with you?” I was like, “No, it was all the junk you all talked to me, it motivated me.”
Is there any sport you’ve never played, but want to?
Golf. Golf seems pretty interesting … I go to TopGolf sometimes and play around, just to see if I’m good at it.
What college would you like to go to?
I’d like to play for the Florida Gators because my best friend, Eddy Piñeiro, he’s out there kicking. He’s the one that motivated me this whole year. He texts me every other week to ask how I’m doing.
What would you do with $1 billion dollars?
Help my parents out. They’ve been helping me, even with the struggles they’ve been going through. I’d just help them out, doing the best I could.
What superpower would you like to have?
More leg strength, so I could hit 80-yard field goals.
What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you?
Eddy Piñeiro, he told me, “You go out there, show them what you’ve got. It’s all about you, not about them. Don’t think of people off the field that are telling you things, just worry about yourself and keep working.”
Athletically speaking, what’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done?
When I went to Europe (with Tampa Dynamo FC).