Ohio State coaches edge players 5-4 in June Olympics showdown

Linebackers coach James Laurinaitis finished the penalty-kick shootout for a 5-4 coaches’ victory in Ohio State’s June 19 June Olympics, after the players’ dodgeball win tied the head-to-head race at 4-4.

The third annual June Olympics for Ohio State football turned into a nine-event swing battle in Columbus. The early sequence set the tone: the defense beat the offensive coaches in paintball, the coaches answered with a half-court shooting win, the players grabbed momentum with golf, and the staff pulled back ahead in pool. Billy Fessler and Keenan Bailey then delivered another point for the coaches in Kan Jam, but the players answered in dodgeball.

Ryan Day, Ohio State’s head coach, beat linebacker Payton Pierce in pickleball to put the staff back in front, then Devin McCuin answered for the players by beating safeties coach Matt Guerrieri in a three-point contest and forcing one last event. Laurinaitis was named Ohio State’s linebackers coach in February 2024 and is a three-time Buckeye All-American. He was part of a 2024 defensive staff that helped the Buckeyes finish No. 1 nationally in total defense and scoring defense. The finish gave Ohio State’s coaches a second June Olympics win in three years and a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.