Defensive player works to
overcome injury
By Paul Trembacki
Sports
Editor
Brent "Bad Luck" Botts is done playing defensive
line for the Purdue football team, but the unit has another injury-plagued
player in "Tough Luck" Tim Olmstead.
Since coming to Purdue in the fall of 1999, Olmstead
has been on the sidelines far more than he has been on the field.
Olmstead injured his right ankle during his senior
year at Kankakee Bishop McNamara High School in Illinois and the ankle
keeps getting hurt again. This spring he was healthy for a few days
before a teammate rolled on the ankle and re-injured it.
"The injury's been with me the whole way through,"
Olmstead said.
Purdue coach Joe Tiller said he is concerned with
the amount of time Olmstead spends off the field in a purple jersey,
which signifies that a player is injured and not practicing.
"Tim is one of those guys who's worked hard to
try to get himself to the field," Tiller said. "For him, to be injured
is a major setback for his progress and development as a player."
Tiller said Olmstead is a lot like Botts, who started
only four of 12 games last season — his senior season — while
dealing with a multitude of injuries, including damage to his ribs and
shoulder.
Botts had injuries all over, but Olmstead has only
one recurring hurt.
"It seems like every time he gets close to healing
something happens to the ankle," Tiller said.
Olmstead was supposed to be a key contributor for
the Boilers by now. According to Prep Football Report, he was the 10th-best
player in the Midwest at his position during high school.
In his senior year, he helped Kankakee Bishop McNamara
to the Illinois Class 4A state championship game. Unbeknownst to him,
he played the final five games of the season, including the state final,
with a small fracture in his ankle. He had 120 tackles that year and
100 the year before.
He practiced with the Boilers as a redshirt freshman
before the pain in his ankle became too intense and he had it checked
out after the season. He had surgery to remove bone chips last summer
and missed the entire 2000 season, in which Purdue won a share of the
Big Ten championship and played in the Rose Bowl for the first time
in 34 years.
"It's just really difficult mentally to handle
everything," Olmstead said. "You can't get any better when you're not
on the field."
Tiller and Olmstead are tired of wondering when
the 6-foot-2, 252-pound end will get back on the field and back to making
plays.
Before spring practice started, Tiller had a long
conversation with Olmstead and his parents. Tiller gave Olmstead an
ultimatum.
"I said now that you've been here and you're going
on to your third spring, you've got to make a move," Tiller said. "And,
if you don't, you're probably going to have young guys come in and move
ahead of you."
Olmstead is ready to heal up and try to compete
for playing time again. He's used to fighting.
A black belt in karate, Olmstead started practicing
martial arts at the age of 4 with tae kwon do. He competed in a lot
of events, including the junior Olympics in tae kwon do, before quitting
and deciding to concentrate primarily on football at the age of 13.
His martial arts participation aided in the development of his coordination
and athleticism, but most of all it helped him improve his attitude
toward pain, which continues to help him to this day.
"I pride myself on the fact that I do have a lot
mental toughness, which has helped me to pull through a lot of things,"
Olmstead said. "It's helped me get through the tough times, but it's
still really mentally difficult to handle the injury."
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