For most student-athletes, the thought of going out of state to college is a difficult choice. For Marin Catholic’s Sebastian Olver, that step will seem easy, after the 2017 graduate moved across the world to pursue his dreams of American football, even if it meant leaving behind every person he had ever known.
Two years prior to his move across the world, Olver experienced the United States for the first time, with his family, when they embarked on a tour of major American cities. Visiting places like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Dallas was interesting enough, but it was his family’s stop in Chicago which changed the Australian’s future.
Olver and his family decided to make the drive east from Chicago to visit South Bend, Indiana, and the college campus which is synonymous with the town, the University of Notre Dame. Coincidentally, the Irish were holding a contact football camp at the time, and the high school freshman-to-be decided to give the sport a try, donning a helmet and shoulder pads for the first time in his life.
“I had never played football before,” Olver said. “But at the end of the camp, one of the football coaches there walked up to me and asked if I would consider playing it in high school.”
The family returned to Australia after the American journey, but the thought stayed with Olver, and a year later, the conversation of what he wanted to do with his future entered the picture. At the same time, Olver’s school basketball team in Australia headed on a West Coast tour of the United States, and the six-foot four-inch student-athlete was able to scope out potential destinations for his academic and athletic future.
“It was a long process, but it was also the start of an exciting future,” Olver said. “The biggest transition has been moving away from my family, my parents, two older sisters, and my older brother, along with the culture change here (in the United States). But I love it here at Marin Catholic, and the Marin area in general.”
Olver made it clear from the beginning that he was not an exchange student, but rather a permanent student-athlete on the Wildcats’ campus. He lives with a host family, the Pomilia’s, whose son Anthony is a sophomore on the MCAL tournament champion varsity baseball team. And he has become part of a much larger family in the process.
“The high school football experience has been tremendous here, and they have become my family,” Olver said. “It’s such an extensive brotherhood, and that’s the true beauty of the sport.”
The Wildcats are also happy to have Olver. In his first year on the gridiron, he started both ways for the perennial North Coast Section power, registering eight sacks and 13 tackles for a loss defensively. As a pro-style tight end, he scored twice and averaged over 26 yards per catch. He also serves as the team's punter, unleashing a lethal rugby-style kick on opponents. And the junior added an extra dimension to Marin Catholic’s on-field persona.
“The number one element he brings is toughness,” said Marin Catholic coach Mazi Moayed. “He’s a very physical player, very versatile, just a great all-around athlete. He also really loves being part of the team.”
His impact on the field has not gone overlooked on the field, adding another element to his journey across the world. In a true feel-good tale, the humble yet talented and team-oriented two-way player has begun to receive plenty of attention from college recruiters. He has received scholarship offers from Hawaii, Colorado, Iowa State, Nevada, Fresno State, Idaho, and UNLV, plus a preferred walk-on offer from Ohio State.
One thing college recruiters will not have to worry about with Olver is a college freshman who gets homesick after leaving everything he has always known. That process has already taken place, and he has impressed those who have witnessed the transition.
“It’s just amazing, for someone at his age to be able to dream about something like this and then go give it a shot,” Moayed said. “It takes pretty amazing courage for someone to go around the world to chase his dream.”
And though it’s a long way from his home town of Brisbane, Australia, Olver plans to stay in the United States to receive his college education, and continue to follow that dream of playing college football. He has also toyed with the idea of playing basketball again next season, and had thoughts of being a thrower on the Wildcats’ track and field team. Unfortunately, his best track and field event – the javelin, is not contested in the state of California. For now, though, he is simply enjoying the Kentfield campus and the opportunity to continue pursuing his passion.
“It’s been my goal to play at the highest level I can,” Olver said. “It’s both exciting and humbling having these big-time schools interested in me, but it wouldn’t be possible without a great team and group of coaches supporting me.”
And that leads to his more immediate goals, which including repeat Marin County Athletic League and North Coast Section titles for the Wildcats, plus an opportunity for a little vengeance earlier in the year.
Marin Catholic opens its 2016 season with Central Catholic-Modesto, the same team which ended its season in the Northern California Small School Open Division regional bowl game last year.
