Not everyone gets to play on varsity as a freshman. Only four students in Olathe West’s seven years have gotten to play varsity basketball as a freshman. However, Colton Nichols has earned the opportunity to be the fourth. Nichols’ dedication has gotten him a place on the varsity basketball team this year.

Nichols is focused on staying in the moment and staying “humble and hungry,” despite the struggles he may face being a freshman.

“I just play my game, stay true to myself,” Nichols said.

Nichols said that to prepare for a game, he takes a second by himself to reflect and pray so he knows he is playing to the best of his ability. 

Every athlete has their struggles, and Nichols shared that one of his struggles has been playing as a freshman and having to compete with seniors on the team. 

“The biggest challenge is being a freshman and having to work even harder because there’s seniors that are leading you but they’re also competing with you, they’re full grown and I’m still growing,” Nichols said.

Nichols also shared that keeping up with the pace of being on varsity has been an adjustment for him. Though having to work to keep up with the harder work that comes with being on varsity, Nichols says he is glad that all his hard work has been paying off.

“There’s certainly a learning curve for freshmen when they come in, and he’s still in that learning process. But, hopefully our culture is good enough to win, it doesn’t matter how old you are,” boys varsity basketball coach Brad Ball said.

Despite the extra work to keep up with his teammates, Nichols cares about his friends and enjoys getting to play and celebrate with them.

He even shared that his biggest highlight from the season has been winning games and getting to celebrate with his team.

“I don’t really like to focus on me,” Nichols said. “I like to have the team involved and just after every win, the energy, and we’re all just hyped up.” 

Ball shared that part of his decision to put Nichols on the team came from how developed Nichols is as a player, despite being so young.

“He plays really hard, he makes things happen on the court, he picks things up pretty quickly,” Ball said. “So, those are all things that you want in any player that you have but when it comes to a freshman. He’s physically good enough to handle, and that’s sometimes the big difference maker.”

Nichols shared that he is grateful for his teammates and coaches while being a freshman on varsity.

Because he is just a freshman, Nichols still has three years ahead of him at Olathe West and he is ready to continue to grow. Nichols hopes that after his hard work at West, he will go on to play at the collegiate level somewhere.

“Right now, I’m focused on winning the next game and taking it one step at a time,” Nichols said.