He wakes up , but not too early because he ’ s not a morning person . Then he gets ready for the day and heads to class . After class he eats a quick lunch and then focuses on homework . At about 3 p . m . he heads to John Milledge to coach football . Waits around in the locker-room until everyone is gone , then he heads back home around 5:45 p . m ., freshens up , and then heads to church for youth ministry leadership . He gets back home around 9 p . m .
Then , Grayson Oliver gets ready for the next day .
A native of Milledgeville , the 20-year-old Oliver is not only the offensive and defensive line coach for the John Milledge Academy ’ s middle school football team , but he is also a youth leader at Lakeside Baptist Church in Milledgeville . Not to mention that he is working toward a degree from Georgia Military College in history with hopes of one day becoming a teacher . His mother is a pre-K three teacher and his father is the pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church .
As an only child , Oliver was homeschooled up until the seventh grade when he made his first appearance in a school setting . It was then that he realized he wanted to be a teacher .
“ There ’ s just something about the classroom dynamic and the relationships that you can build in the classroom .”
He saw this from the student perspective and thought about how he wanted to help students and mentor them .
It was also around this time that Oliver realized he wanted to coach football .
“ It ’ s weird , I started liking football when I was around 11 years old . I would envision myself playing the game , but I would also envision myself coaching the game more . I looked up to the coaches more than I looked up to Payton Manning and I have a passion for helping kids .” So , in 2019 , Grayson decided to pursue his dream .
After graduating from JMA in 2019 , Oliver decided to put his desires of youth ministry leadership , teaching , and coaching into fruition . He graduated from high school on a Friday , started youth ministry leadership on Sunday , started college courses at GMC , and soon snagged a coaching opportunity .
“ I always liked the idea of coaching , but sometimes you can like the potential of something , then when you actually get into , you realize you don ’ t like it anymore ,” Oliver says . “ The work doesn ’ t seem to be worth it , but after that first season of coaching , I really knew I loved it and that passion really seems to keep growing every year .”
Oliver says he didn ’ t think that he would get the opportunity to coach because he didn ’ t have as much experience in football as others .
“ I started meeting with a coach I ’ ve known my whole life who ’ s really a mentor . [ I ] started to learn the game more from the coaching perspective and from there it just took off . I always wanted to coach more than I wanted to play , and John Milledge was gracious enough to give me the opportunity to do that .”
Ministry is another arena where Oliver reaches young people .
“ I ’ ve been involved in the youth ministry since I was a youth . I got with our youth pastor and have been doing it for two years now .”
He spends a lot of time with the youth ministry because it ’ s yearround as opposed to football , which is seasonal .
“ You never truly feel qualified to mentor these kids , but it ’ s an honor , and I ’ m able to see the kids grow .”
Although Oliver dedicates a lot of his time to the youth , he describes himself as a social introvert .
“ I ’ m never gonna be that high-energy person , but I enjoy being around people .”
Oliver says he often ponders how his football coaching persona is so different from how he carries himself off the field .
“ Do I flip a switch and be someone I ’ m not to get the job done ? No ,” he says .
He ’ s not that rough and tough coach who ’ s always yelling . Every coach has a different style . “ It ’ s rare that I have to raise my voice to get on to a player ,” he says . “ These players have a lot of guys yelling at them and they need at least one guy to tell them , no , you ’ re good , just do it right the next time .”
Oliver says he loved attending John Milledge as a student , and he loves the people there and the atmosphere .
“ If I could just choose and say that John Milledge is where I ’ m staying , then that would be pretty awesome .”
grayson oliver
BY INDIA JACKSON
20 Under 40 2022 | Milledgeville Scene 21