Huskies soccer star named an OCAA tournament all-star in March
Men’s Huskies soccer star Jesse Oliver is a talented and superstitious player. His pregame ritual, almost invariably involves a gold chain given to him by his mother.
“I usually never take off my chain,” Oliver said. “My mom gave me that (and) I never take it off, and the only time that I take it off is during my games.”
Oliver also has a “lucky” scarf which he only wears during warm ups.
“If I do not have it, I feel very weird,” said Oliver with a laugh. “The moment those things come off it’s like I am ready to go to war.”
The George Brown Huskies men’s soccer team won a hard-fought bronze medal against Sheridan College, beating them 3-0 at this year’s Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) indoor soccer championships. Oliver, 28, was recognized as an OCAA all-star at the March tournament.
“Jesse is a tenacious and hard working individual,” said John Williams, head coach of the Huskies indoor men’s soccer team. “He is someone who is steps ahead of everyone else, and his job has always been to elevate everybody’s game through his play.”
Coach Williams believed that Oliver’s exceptional skill-level, playing style and creativity are all components that made him an all-star at the OCAA tournament. Williams said that the award speaks to all of Oliver’s hard work, passion and commitment to the game of soccer.
The youngest of three brothers, and an avid Chelsea Football Club fan, Oliver is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and has been in Canada for the past decade. Oliver is a hybrid player who plays as both a defender and forward on his team depending on where coach Williams wants him to play.
The defining moment for Oliver was when he was a young teenager playing for Joe Public Football Club, which is a professional soccer club in Trinidad and Tobago. He played for the club’s under 12, 14, 16 and 18-year-old teams, before leaving Trinidad for Canada.
“I won the Ontario Cup twice when since I came here in 2006,” said Oliver. “One of them was with East York U-18 and another was with Real Toronto.”
Oliver tried out for multiple professional teams and soccer academies in England and Sweden when he was 19, but unfortunately, he broke his ankle at practice, rendering him unable to compete.
That early disappointment did not stop Oliver from being the most passionate player on the soccer field for the Huskies. In fact, Oliver said that his passion can be sometimes overwhelming for his teammates, so he is working on toning down the fervor during games.
Oliver is a full-time student taking electrical and mechanical engineering right now, however, he will be switching into constructing engineering, a program that he has always wanted to be a part of.
In five years he hopes to gain enough experience in construction to open up his own business 10 years down the road.
