Savannah Bananas’ team member Jackson Olson hopes to encourage young people through his work, on and off the field.
“I didn’t have this ability to kind of go outside my comfort zone and be someone who inspires other people,” he told Parents of his self-confidence journey, explaining that joining the Bananas was a step out of his comfort zone that paid off.
Olson continued, “Now that I can inspire kids to get out of their comfort zone, like I had to do, it’s really cool…I just want to be able to have fun and inspire kids to literally have fun.”
“When people come to our games, and I’m on second base, and I’m listening to One Direction, and I’m doing random choreography to the dance throughout the game, I’m not trying to change baseball, I’m trying to change the attitude of kids in this sport,” he explained. “I think it’s really important that I can be a baseball player and I can be a dancer and I can be on social media, I can have fun. I can do all these things at the same time.”
Olson summed up his message for children in one phrase: “Don’t be afraid to be you.”
“I’ve changed my TikTok bio a bunch of times, but I’ve always kept that,” he added.
Related: This Savannah Bananas Star Is Joining DANCING WITH THE STARS Season 35
Now, Olson is about to take another step out of his comfort zone; he is part of the cast of Season 35 of DANCING WITH THE STARS.
“Never in a million years. I did not think this was possible,” he told Savannah’s WJCL of his part on the competition show. “When I was a kid, I never thought any of this was possible. Even, like, playing for the Bananas or anything like that. I was just a shy kid that never danced, never put myself out there and never entertained, and found a passion for it.”
Olson continued, “I want to win. That’s the goal, right? In any competition, you want to win. But I also want to enjoy it and soak up every single second.”
The baseball player is also focused on maintaining a work-life balance, especially when it comes to family and his girlfriend, Maggie Sajak, daughter of WHEEL OF FORTUNE’s Pat Sajak.
“If I’m just focused on the Bananas and on DANCING WITH THE STARS, my relationship and my relationship with my family — I don’t want that to be lessened in any way,” he told E! News. “I want that to be actually heightened. I want them to be excited for me. I want to be exciting for them, what they have going on in their lives and have that back and forth.”
Olson’s efforts to jump into new situations are an inspiration to his young fans, encouraging them to be brave and step out of their own comfort zones.
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