I Am: How Nebraska got where it’s trying to go
Positive affirmations and unshakable belief helped drive the Huskers’ journey to the Final Four.
“I am a good competitor.”
Those were the words Laney Choboy shared with her team before Nebraska’s sweep over Wisconsin on Sunday. Choboy ended the match with five digs, including an impressive save that forced her to collide with Nebraska’s bench — but more specifically with head coach John Cook.
“I was ready because I knew where she was going,” Cook said post-match. “I was going to take the hit and not let her hit (the scorers table), because it was right there in the corner of the scorers table, so I'm like, ‘I'm not letting her hit this thing.’ I took the hit, I was ready.”
Those words Choboy spoke pregame — “I am a good competitor.” — rang true at that moment. Nebraska swept Wisconsin for the third time in one season, this time to send the Huskers to the Final Four in Louisville.
It was clear Choboy’s words were never just for show. They were her personal rallying cry.
She wasn’t alone.
Cook remembers seeing an Instagram video that sparked an idea. The gist of the video centered around positive thinking.
“They actually did a research study that says it’s actually when you say something positive, your brain believes it,” Cook said about what he watched.
That video turned into what Nebraska has called “I Am” statements. Before every match — starting this season — the Huskers go around the locker room and state their personal intentions for that specific game day. Players can repeat over a season, but the intent is to share whatever that player needs to hear for herself on that day in the moment.
“I am a great passer,” one player might say.
“I am confident,” another will follow.
From there, each player will write their statement on the locker room’s big board while Cook reinforces the positive affirmation back to them. He also gets it started each match, saying his own statement before passing it to the athletes for theirs.
“I feel like that is always in the back of my mind whenever I’m on the court,” senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair said about the pregame tradition. “I think it’s really empowering and really gives us this confidence that we didn’t really know how to bring out of ourselves before.”
What is said in the locker room stays there, unless a player feels like sharing. A number of players declined from making theirs public from the win over Wisconsin, each with their personal reason for doing so.
However, they’ll each tell you a version of this:
That positive affirmation, whatever it may be for each athlete individually, makes a big difference.
“Scientifically, when you’re telling yourself you are something, it makes you actually believe it,” Choboy said. “So when I’m telling myself I’m a great passer, well, now I believe I’m a great passer and I’m going to go out and pass great.
“Instead of saying I’m not going to do this or I’m not going to do that, I’m saying I will do this or I will do that. It just switches your brain to be more positive.”
Cook is no stranger to the conversation of mental health, both on and off the court. He’s opened up about his own struggles with anxiety and stress, which he’s worked through with the help of cognitive behavioral therapy. This particular therapy teaches individuals to challenge negative thought patterns and turn less toward unhelpful behaviors. It is known to reduce symptoms of mental health conditions like depression, PTSD and anxiety.
“The little things matter,” Cook told Flatwater Free Press in 2022. “You can’t just run yourself into the ground.”
Cook’s transparency with his own mental health struggles provided an understanding on how he handled the challenges sophomore outside hitter Harper Murray faced this past spring. A number of off-court incidents led many to wonder if Murray would stay with the team, but Cook understood the gravity of that.
“There were times where she wanted to give up, I wanted to give up,” Cook told Amie Just of the Lincoln Journal Star. “If it wasn’t for the staff and her team, she would not be here.”
The “I Am” statements seem to be as much for Cook as it is for his team. The consensus is that the statements have helped center each athlete, providing them a way to focus on the moment they’re currently in.
“When Coach brought it up, it was more than just the statements,” senior setter Kennedi Orr said. “Our whole team went around for the first time and he was like, ‘Yeah, you are that.’ It was just that kind of reassurance and it definitely brings about self-belief, but also belief from your teammates. To hear everyone agree and say, ‘Heck yeah, you are,” it just means something more.”
Landfair agrees.
“It’s nice just hearing, ‘Yes, you are that,’” she said. “We’re then feeling all this positivity and all this energy, and you take that to the court knowing you are an amazing blocker, you are an amazing passer, whatever it may be.”
Landfair transferred to Nebraska from Minnesota for the 2024 season with big goals. While she accomplished a lot in her time with the Golden Gophers — a quick glance at her bio highlights that, including her 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year honor — there were things still on the table.
One of those goals? To become a Big Ten champion. The other? To go to the Final Four and win a national title.
With goals as big as those, it can be easy to get lost in the day-to-day. The “I Am” statements have helped center Landfair, which in turn has helped her navigate the Big Ten this season.
“Every night, there’s never been a feeling that this is going to be easy,” Landfair said. “Just giving respect to each one of our opponents means we go into the game being like, ‘Point by point, game by game, there is no need to look forward.’ We know we need to stay in the present at all times, because that’s what’s going to get us where we’re trying to go.”
Nebraska is now in Louisville, preparing for Thursday’s matchup with Penn State. Landfair can’t quite put it all into words, but “surreal” and “magical” are two she goes back to. She’s thankful for the support of her coach and teammates, who she knows will have her back every step of the way.
“I never thought it would go like this,” Landfair said. “I hoped it would, and I’m happy it’s come to this.”
Choboy has a few “I Am” statements she goes back and forth between. They mostly center around being a good competitor and teammate, because her goal is to always do what she can to benefit her team.
Against Wisconsin, she felt she accomplished the vision she had for herself.
“But this team makes it easy to have energy,” Choboy said. “You can always celebrate everyone else’s accomplishments, so we just have so much energy coming together and we’re not letting anything fly that isn’t going to fly.”
On Thursday, as Nebraska prepares for its next challenge in the NCAA tournament, the team will stand together once more and reaffirm all of that positive thinking. Each athlete will have her specific “I Am” statement ready, an opportunity to place her rallying cry into the universe once more.
Choboy wasn’t sure yet what her next “I Am” statement would be, but she did know one that stands true for her team — no matter the outcome.
“Our whole team can say, ‘I am supposed to be here,’” Choboy said. “Every team has its ups and its downs, but we are supposed to be here and we are here for a reason. We have made it this far and we have worked so hard for us. I think at Nebraska there is such a high expectation but we can step back and just remind ourselves:
“I am supposed to be here. We are supposed to be here.”
First serve between Nebraska and Penn State is set for Thursday at either 8 p.m. CT, or 30 minutes following the conclusion of Louisville vs. Pitt — which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT — but no sooner than 8 p.m. CT. ESPN will carry both matches.