Nobody Cares!

The boys basketball team at Papillion La Vista South HS won the first state championship in boys basketball in school history. I was fortunate enough to have an inside scoop on their season since my FREE2COMPETE partner, Joseph Cooley, is the varsity assistant coach and their head coach, Joel Hueser, is a dear friend.

Their theme for the last two months of the season was NOBODY CARES. This theme was inspired by a 20-second clip from a 60 Minutes segment about females in the military. The 20-second clip has nothing to do with females in the military but everything to do with a simple life truth that NOBODY CARES. Watch the clip from the 9:50 mark to the 10:10 mark.

A picture of the Marine Corp Major with this look on his face from the clip was the last thing the Papillion La Vista South Boys Basketball players saw when they left the locker room to take the floor at every state tournament game.

Why this picture? This would be the face of your competition if you were trying to make some excuse.

• Never played in a state tournament game before…NOBODY CARES!

• Body worn down from a long season…NOBODY CARES!

• Having an off day shooting the ball…NOBODY CARES!

• Dealing with a cold…NOBODY CARES!

A quick story help illustrate how this theme stuck with the team. I was at a banquet a few weeks after the state tournament to celebrate the season and the state championship, the food from the caterer was not on time. Their response in that moment…NOBODY CARES…and they moved on to the next play until the food showed up about an hour late.

As the calendar turns to May our spring sports teams enter the Championships phase of their season with district and state competitions looming on the calendar. I’ve coached a spring sport now for 25 years. The spring season brings interesting challenges in terms of spring breaks, proms, graduations, up-and-down weather, final exams, and a team full of students with the minds constantly drifting into the upcoming summer. The reality is NOBODY CARES!

Nobody steps into the arena of competition and thinks “Oh you had prom this weekend, I’ll go easy on you” or “Oh, you missed two days of practice this week because of lightning & storms rolling through, I’ll go easy on you” or “Oh, you are just coming back from injury, I’ll go easy on you.” The list could continue. The reality is NOBODY CARES!

This phrase can come across as harsh, but I think Sahil Bloom communicates the truth of these two words better than I can. If you aren’t following him on X, I encourage you to do so. Please click on the tweet and read everything he has to say about NOBODY CARES, it is worth your time!

TAKE IT TO YOUR TEAM!

I would encourage you to share the 20-second clip or Sahil Bloom’s thoughts above with your team and talk about what it looks like, sounds like, feels like to apply this truth…NOBODY CARES…in your team setting and in their individual lives.

WE ARE READY TO WORK WITH YOUR TEAM!

Would you like to have our FREE2COMPETE team come work your athletes this summer? Please contact Coach H at [email protected] to line up a free zoom meeting to discuss how we could serve your team! We still have room in our summer schedule for you!

HAVE AN ATHLETE WHO WANTS TO GROW THEIR MENTAL GAME?

Do you have an athlete who seems to struggle getting their mental game to match to their physical ability? We have openings for athletes interested in working on their mental game through our 1-on-1 sessions. Have them contact Coach H at [email protected] for more details.