Giving Back is a Way of Life for David Olds

Former South Carolina middle distance runner David Olds (2018-2022) has turned serving others into a career. Now he’s being recognized for it. Olds is one of this year’s recipients of the Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award for his work as a partnership specialist at Good Sports in Boston, which is a national sports charity that donates new sports equipment to youth organizations and schools in low-income communities.

“I work with a variety of professional teams, brands, and equipment manufacturers that contribute to our mission,” said olds, who graduated from South Carolina in 2022 with degrees in political science and geography. “Since 2003, Good Sports has donated over $120 million in new gear to 10 million kids in all fifty states. I’ve been here for three years now, and it’s a lot of fun. I really love this job. A lot of people use their first job as a leapfrog position, but I’ve found a lot of fulfillment and a lot of joy in this work. It speaks to me because sports were always a big part of my life growing up.

“It’s troubling to me that some kids can’t play sports simply because they can’t afford to pay for equipment or fees. I knew I wanted to be in philanthropy, and I wanted to intersect that with sports. All signs pointed to Good Sports in that way. What’s really cool is that so much of what I talk about at Good Sports and the benefits of playing sports is really my story as well with all the things I learned running track in middle school, high school, and in college.”

The Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award was established in 2017 and has become one of the most competitive and prestigious awards in the business of sports.

“The Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award recognizes the most promising 25 and unders across the sports industry,” said Olds, who was the 2022 SEC Brad Davis Male Community Service Leader of the Year honoree. “I wanted to build a body of work and a resume of impact that would allow me to be considered for something like this. When I found out I was being recognized, it was a crazy feeling. I was thrilled. I’m just so grateful that they thought of me for it.”

Olds’ commitment to serving others is nothing new. In high school, he founded “Wiley’s Warriors” to raise awareness of childhood hunger and organized food drives in the area. At South Carolina, Olds was the Community Service Chair for the Gamecock Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Council (S.A.A.C) and was the lead volunteer coordinator for the City of Columbia Complete Count Committee for the 2020 Census, worked with the Columbia Urban League Young Professionals (CULYP), and managed student-athlete volunteers to polling places to pass out water and food. He also volunteered at Homeless No More and served meals at the Oliver Gospel Mission.

While Olds has always had a passion for giving, he credits his time at South Carolina for feeding that fire and getting him where he is now.

“I talk so much about South Carolina and the athletics experience itself, but the experience with the athletics department specifically and all that they invested in me with the resources they provide was truly pivotal in preparing me for my career,” Olds said. “When I chose South Carolina, I knew the level of competition, both academically and athletically, was going to be world-class. I knew South Carolina was going to have world-class resources to take advantage of.

“South Carolina gave me so many opportunities to build my confidence that I could be successful after sports. I went to the SEC career tour. I was on S.A.A.C. I was a Beyond Sports intern for Gamecock Athletics. I graduated with a 4.0 and a lot of that was because of the Dodie (Anderson Academic Enrichment Center) and the tutoring resources and having a computer to get on every afternoon. It’s a credit to all the people there as well.

“I’m still reaping the rewards of it. I feel like a product of Gamecock Athletics, and it’s incredible to think that because of that, I’ve now been named to this award. If I didn’t choose South Carolina, where would I be?”