Coming Home

If he’s being honest, Jason Zelasney wasn’t sure he’d ever come back to Osceola. 

Oh sure he always loved O-Town. Graduated from Osceola High in 2003. But going back to coach and lead the basketball team? Not on his priority list when he got his degree in elementary education from Hastings College in 2008. 

Now, he can’t imagine doing anything else. 

“I think looking back it was a long time coming,” the Osceola mentor said. “I missed out on some opportunities that I am thankful for now. 

“But it led me back home. Our family has been completely accepted here. My kids are in a place where they just know to come home when the street lights come on.”

He’d been contacted about the job a few times while he was teaching at Jefferson Elementary School in Grand Island. He had found a nice, little niche being an assistant coach for Grand Island Central Catholic. But the request hit different after the 2020 season. 

In the midst of Covid, Zelasney — prodded by his wife Mallory — decided it was time to give it another shot. 

“It was the absolute worst time to do it,” Zelasney said of trying to take over a program during Covid. “I went and did the interview anyway and asked them for the weekend. 

“Friday was a no. Saturday was a no. Then we got contacted about a house and, well, we decided to go.”

The results have been impressive. Three state tournament appearances in three seasons, but just one win in Lincoln. Before Zelasney arrived, the last time Osceola had been to the state tournament was in 1988. 

Now, heading into 2024, the Dawgs have a 7-3 record, with a pair of two-point losses to Class D-2, No. 1 Shelton and Class C-2 Mead in a weekend holiday tournament. Zelasney challenged his team with a difficult early schedule. On Wednesday, they kick off the near year with a conference – and county –  foe Cross County. 

And, of course, the Dawgs have goals for the next couple of months. Heading back to Lincoln is at the top of that list, but the coach also knows that a season is a marathon not a sprint and that, really, his program is more about building men than winning games. 

“Most of the kids who come through our program won’t ever be looking for a college scholarship,” Zelasney said. “They do it to be with their friends, they do it to win games with their buddies and have pride in their school. 

“The biggest thing we want to teach them is that in life, adversity is going to hit them. How are you going to respond to it? How are you going to bounce back from it? How will you learn from it and grow from it? We want to use basketball to keep them constantly learning.”

In Osceola – and many other towns in Nebraska – that is what basketball (sports in general, really) is all about. Kids want to represent their town and their school. Their stories vary, but the lessons are all the same. 

And, Jason Zelasney is glad he is back to teach it. HIs family is in the stands and on the bench with him.

“In small towns, you get that feeling of wanting to go get your haircut the day after the game because you won a big one and everyone wants to talk about it,” he says with a smile. “And when you lose you hide because everyone is invested.

“The whole community is invested in it. The first game I coached here, I got chills being able to coach for our kids and our town. We are just trying to do our best to make the town proud.”

This story plays out over the winter in so many Nebraska towns. Especially in Osceola. And, for a guy who chuckles about how it all turned out, now it means more than ever. 

Our featured content and series “The Season” during the 2023-24 winter sports season is provided by a partnership with Tom Dinsdale Automotive — proud supporters of Nebraska High School athletes.