You Only Need One Yes. After Missing The 2022 Olympic Team, Boone Niederhofer Found His.
Senior year at Texas A&M, Boone Niederhofer tore his ACL and lost his shot at a pro day, the one chance he'd have had to play football beyond college. He finished his degree in petroleum engineering, took a job with an oil and gas company in Houston, and tried to make peace with a different plan.
"I thought it was the Lord kind of pushing my life in a different direction."
But the competitiveness that had been building toward a pro career didn't disappear when the opportunity did.
"Looking back, I think getting hurt my senior year kind left some more competitive juices in me."
Niederhofer’s athletic dreams were put on hold, until one phone call.
A year and a half into working, his company got bought out. At the same time, an old A&M teammate called to catch up. His teammate had tried out for the USA bobsled team the year before, and when he heard Niederhofer was between jobs, he didn't hesitate.
"I remember it so vividly. He goes, 'Dude, just come try out bobsled.'"
Niederhofer put his job search on hold and took a leap of faith, becoming a newbie in a sport he’d only ever watched on occasion.
He didn't make the 2022 Olympic team, but that wasn't the end of his story.
Going into the Beijing Games, Niederhofer was racing alongside pilot Frank Del Duca on what was effectively the USA #3 sled. They effectively out-scored the USA #2 team, but Team USA selection did not swing in Niederhofer’s favor. Del Duca was mixed onto a squad that went to Beijing. Niederhofer stayed home.
Around the same time, he got married, and he and his wife moved to Midland, Texas. Shortly thereafter, they welcomed their daughter.
"Life really picked up and my wife and I decided I needed to get a real job for a bit."
It would have been a reasonable place to stop chasing the Olympic Dream. A failed qualification attempt, a new baby, a demanding job in an industry that doesn't bend easily around a bobsled.
Most people wait for the perfect opportunity. Niederhofer went out looking for one.
The itch to come back never really left, and as he searched for a new job, he was upfront in every interview:
"Hey, I have a dream of making the Olympic team. Is this a dream that you might potentially support?"
Remote work isn’t typical within the industry. Even his uncle, who'd spent decades in oil and gas, wasn't optimistic.
"He was like, 'I'm not sure that job exists out there, but you're welcome to go try and find it.'"
It only took one company believing in his vision to help make the impossible, possible.
"If I didn't find a job, I just wouldn't have been able to make it happen, because I needed to support my family. That was obviously priority one. And thankfully, the Lord just kind of paved the way."
His son's first birthday landed on selection day.
His daughter is three and a half now, and his son turned one in January, the very day Niederhofer found out he'd made the Olympic team.
"Going into selection day, we were either saying, 'Well, it's gonna be a happy day or a really happy day.'"
His family had become the reason the whole pursuit felt worth the risk in the first place.
"My wife and babies really ended up being a huge motivating factor for me. Not only did I want to experience the Games, I wanted them to get to experience it too. Their support has made this possible.”
What he wants them to take from it.
"I hope I can pass along a lot of perseverance. Honestly just having a positive attitude through whatever circumstance you're in, and feeling joy that you're living life, that you're healthy. And just doing whatever it takes to pursue the dream that you want to go after. Some people don't always even get that opportunity. But all you can do is control the circumstances you can control."
Niederhofer did just that. Sometimes, one yes from one bold question is all it takes to change your future.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
I'm Amy Wotovich, and I'm on a mission to personally interview 100% of the 2026 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team. How do elite athletes train their mindset, overcome failure, sustain dominance, and compete with confidence? Boone Niederhofer is one of 304 athletes sharing their unfiltered answers. Follow @backtheteam to level up your mindset alongside the world’s best.
