11-2, Bad Days can be learning experiences!

Well, the wining streak comes to an abrupt halt. The Lady Railroaders lost to the NHC today and now sit at 11-2.  We had a very tough time adjusting to the great defense of both the Homestead and Columbia City teams.  We had a terrible day shooting free throws and an equally bad day turning the ball over.  In the first game we were 8 of 20 from the line and followed that up with 6 of 16 in the second game . Both NHC teams are well coached and are very disciplined teams.

I don't usually comment on officiating.  The Railroader faithful were not thrilled with the officiating at either game (to say the least).  I have to admit when I got to the first game I noticed we had a very inexperienced officiating crew. Because of the quality of the teams playing, i knew this would be an intense game and I have to admit I was worried about the officiating from the beginning. I am not sure they had the experience of this level of game. HOWEVER, WE DID NOT LOSE THIS GAME BECAUSE OF THE OFFICIALS! We lost because we had twice as many turnovers as Homestead and shot only 40% from the free throw line. BOTH teams had exactly 20 fouls called on them. I have to admit this was a lot of fouls but the officials were calling the game equal for both sides. The final score of 52-55 could have been in our favor had we just corrected the turnover and free throw stats.

The second game we had a very experienced officiating crew.  We can disagree with some of their "untimely" calls but again they had minimal impact on our losing this game.   Our poor free throw shooting and equally poor shooting from the field (33%) had much more of an impact on our loss.   When you combine that with their rebounding advantage of 2 to 1. It's hard to blame the loss on officials.  Columbia CIty was called for 17 fouls while Garrett was only called for 14.

So, I always say when we play a perfect game and lose, then we can blame the loss on the officials. We were far from perfect today.

Hopefully we can learn from these losses today and we can correct some things to get ready for the ACAC tournament and the IHSAA tournament! We need to learn from days like this and make ourselves better!

Third Times a Charm -- Cancellations!

Both the Boys and Girls C-Team games at Fremont scheduled for tonight have been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date. We will look for a date sometime in January -- Third Times a Charm!

The VARSITY Wrestlers will practice this afternoon from 1pm-3pm.

The VARSITY Girls Basketball Team will practice this afternoon from 3pm-5pm.

The Boys Basketball teams were not scheduled to practice today.

All other Athletic Practices have been cancelled for today.

HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS BREAK. Enjoy the time you have with your families and try to have some fun!

Merry Christmas and remember the Reason for the Season!

Another Buzzer Beater!

I don't know how many times I can take it. But, the Varsity Boys (3-4) defeated the Angola Hornets tonight on the road in the Hornets Nest!  The game was close most of the way. THe Railroaders had the largest lead of the night at 8 points but Angola battled back to take it to the last few seconds of the game. Garrett was on defense for the last 34 seconds of the fourth quarter when the Railroaders were called for a foul.  Angola hit both free throw shots and led by two points with 4.3 seconds. Garrett brought the ball up the court after a time out and were fouled. We were not in the bonus yet. Then Todd Frickey took the ball out of bounds with 1.6 seconds left. He passed the ball in to a WIDE OPEN Drake Landes who drained a 3 point shot at the buzzer. GAME OVER!

What a finish. Two of these in one year is tough on your heart. But, it is a lot easier to take when you are on the winning side! Great Job Railroaders!

The Boys have short Christmas Break and are not back in action until after the New Year!

11-0

I have dreaded this game since last December. The 2nd ranked Lady Railroaders traveled to the Stardome at South Adams High School to take on the Lady Starfires tonight. The South Adams Girls Basketball program has struggled to win games. They have won only one game this year and have been beaten soundly by most of their opponents. It is just as hard to play this type of game as it is to play an opponent you know is going to beat you badly.  It certainly is tough to Coach and tough to prepare for. Last year, we got accused by their former Head Coach of running the score up.  You are in a no win situation with this type of game.

Our coaching staff led by Dan Feagler did a wonderful job tonight. All of our girls played. Craig Kelham did a great job playing all of his girls in the jv game and Dan did a great job distributing playing time for all of our varsity girls also. The only stat that's important is this: Every girl on the Varsity squad tonight played and scored.  Heather House, Megan Getts, and Jessica LaTurner all were in double figures on the way to a final score of 68-15.  The Lady Railroaders did not press at all during the game and still came up with 33 Starfire Turnovers.

We now have a 10 day break until the NHC-ACAC Challenge at Columbia City. The games will be much different on that day. Homestead has a great team this year and Columbia City is always tough and especially so on their home court. This challenge will tell exactly where we are in preparation for the post season tournament.

Amazing Stats!

Here are some amazing stats form tonight's game

Garrett shot 43% for 2pt shots -- Leo shot 45% , however Leo took 51 2pt shots, we took 35
Garrett shot 22% for 3pt shots -- Leo shot 23%, however Leo took 31 3pt shots, we took 23

Garrett shot 86% for Free throws - Leo shot 72%, however Leo shot 25 free throw, we shot 14.

We had 49 rebounds, they had 56.  Here's the kicker: Garrett had 25 turnovers, Leo had 8.

I point this out for one reason. We got beat by 28 points. It sounds like we got dominated. But, we matched them stat for stat except on big one, Turnovers. If we can keep from turning over the ball, they don't get as many possessions, then they can't score as much and this game might have a different outcome.

Our Guys are close!

The Lions Den!

Daniel may have survived the Lions Den with the help of God, but the Railroaders couldn't survive the Lions Den at Leo tonight. Leo's aggressive trapping defense and up tempo game style were too much as the Lions defeated Garrett 85-57.

I was very proud of how are players and coaches worked hard throughout this game.  It was great to see Drake Landis and the rest of the boys on the team scrapping for every loose ball all the way to the end of the game.  I also want to tip my hat off to the Leo Lions and specifically Coach Cogdell for their sportsmanship tonight. I know Coach Cogdell  and Athletic Director Brock Rohrbacher very well and Leo does not have a reputation for being gracious in victory. But, Coach Cogdell backed off the defense after the game was well in hand and the Leo fans also displayed good sportsmanship throughout the game. At the very end of the game, in a great display of sportsmanship, he also decided to hold the ball instead of continuing to attack on offense. Although this prevented us from substituting some jv kids into the varsity game, it was done with good intentions. Thanks Coach Cogdell, it is good to be a part of a conference where players, coaches, and fans can be gracious in VICTORY as well as defeat.

Next up, the Boys travel to Angola to take on former NECC Rivals.  I guess we go from the Lions Den to the Hornets Nest. This is a triple header basketball night is next Tuesday, December 21st with the C-Team game starting at 5pm, the JV at approximately 6:15pm and the Varsity at about 7:45pm. Good Luck Railroaders!

NHC - ACAC Showdown

Garrett has 4 of the NHC teams on it's schedule this year. The first installment of the "Showdown" goes to the NHC.  I have not received the final stats but Bellmont dominated most of the game. Garrett had spurts where we played pretty well and just before the end of the 2nd half, we brought it within 2 points. But, Bellmont had a small run at the end of the first half and Garrett was down 5 points. However, the Braves came out with some intensity to start the 2nd half and dominated the rest of the game.  The Braves were much taller than us and dominated the Boards. We also helped their cause by committing several turnovers that led to Bellmont points. We dug a hole and couldn't fight our way out of it.

The Boys continue the season on Friday night traveling to the Lions Den to face the Leo Lions in another key ACAC conference game.  Leo plays a very up tempo game and the Railroaders will have to be patient and play good defense. Game time tip-off for the C-team and JV is 6pm. Good Luck Railroaders!

10-0 + ACAC INFORMATION

Well, the Big Train keeps rolling. The tracks aren't as smooth as they should be but the Lady Railroaders keep finding ways to win. The team defeated a good Fremont team (6-2) by a score of 42-32.  Fremont shot 33% from inside the arc while the Railroaders only shot 30%. However, Garrett was 4 of 9 from behind the 3 point line while Fremont was 1 of 7. In all other stats the two teams were pretty evenly matched.  Garrett was led by senior Heather House with 15 points, Megan Getts had 8 and Katie Depew had 7 points. Fremont had two in double figures, Carlson and Kobalek.

The Lady Railroaders will travel to  South Adams on Saturday night for the last game before the Christmas break.

Today, the ACAC Tournament draw was held in Decatur. This tournament is the longest running tournament in the State, 2nd only to the IHSAA tournament.  Both Railroader Basketball teams will travel to Heritage High School on Tuesday, January 11th. The Boys will open the night at 6pm followed by the Girls game at approximately 7:30.  The reason for the switch is that the Boys Semi-Finals are at the Coliseum on Wednesday, while the Girls Semi-Finals are on Thursday.  The early Boys game gives them the opportunity to go home early on Tuesday so they will be fresh to play on Wednesday.

The Garrett teams would face either South Adams or Woodlan in the Semi-Finals.  Garrett's Semi-Final game times would be at 7:30pm on Wednesday or Thursday. The Championship games will be played at the Coliseum on Saturday. The girls will play at 10am followed by the Boys at Noon.  Good Luck during the tournament.

Practices and Cancellations

Snow will be redeveloping in the area later this afternoon and tonight. The winds will continue to be a problem through this evening.

The C-Team Boys Basketball game at Southern Wells has been postponed to Monday, January 31st at Southern Wells.

The JV Wrestling 4 way tournament at Northrop has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.


Wrestling, Girls Basketball, and Boys Basketball practices will be permitted ONLY between 1pm-3pm today.  These practices are for VARSITY teams only.  Coaches will be initiating their "phone trees" to share this information.  Practices during these conditions ARE NOT mandatory. IF a parent or student does not feel they can travel to practice safely, they should remain at home.  There will be no consequences for not attending. As usual, the safety of our kids is #1!

9-0

Another W for the 2nd Ranked Lady Railroader Basketball team. But, after a dominating 1st half, the 2nd half was actually won by the Lady Jets of Adams Central 22-19.

The Lady Railroaders had 9 blocks and 13 steals, but also had 19 turnovers for the night. But a win is a win and we will take all we can get. We certainly have things we can work on to earn the number 2 ranking in the polls.

Fremont will be a very tough challenge and their record of 6-1 is pretty impressive. The game is in the Bateman Gymansium on Tuesday with a 6pm JV start.

On a special Note.........Thanks to Principal Matt Smith for filling in for Bob Novy as announcer. Our Principal is the greatest.

WR Results

Here are the results from last nights Wrestling vs Leo:

Another great match. The meet came down to Zach Helton's match and he pulled out the win! Great team effort tonight.


JV

130- Chris Hunkler (Gar) pin Chase Ringwood 1:35

145- David Helper (Leo) pin Gabe Gunion 3:25

152- Brock Omspacher (Gar) dec Chris Rave 13-10

215- Luis Martines (Leo) pin Matt Schultz :27



Garrett 37 vs. Leo 30

Varsity

125- August Novy (Gar) dec Anthony Crossgrove 5-2

130- Austun McCray (Gar) dec Rance Harris 8-6

135- Brayden Moreau (Gar) maj dec Aaron Eichart 16-3

140- Corey Botts (Leo) dec Logan Lee 5-2

145- Kyle Lanning (Leo) pin Alex Copeland :52

152- Isaac Stevry (Leo) dec Brett Schendel 5-0

160- Garret Weber (Leo) pin Nathan Duesler :20

171- Spencer Cooper (Leo) pin Che Fuentes 1:06

189- Alex Jacacki (Leo) pin Erich McCrumb 2:51

215- Travis Carunchia (Gar) pin Braden Waggoner 1:33

285- Austin Gibson (Gar) pin Jesse David 4:14

103- Ryan Fawcett (Leo) def Forfeit

112- Dustin Alwine (Gar) def Forfeit

119- Zack Helton (Gar) dec Logan Gengler 4-1

WR Rumor!

Rumor has it the Wrestlers got an ACAC victory tonight by defeating the Leo Lions at Leo. I don't have details but I do know it was another close match with the final match determining the winner.  Congratulations to Coach Fielden and the Mighty Railroaders!

How to Talk to Your Child's Coach

Truth #1 = Coaches are not evil.

Truth #2 = You can communicate with your coach.

This is a great video that endorses our Athletic Department policy on Coach/Athlete/Parent communication.

Watch the video for tips and ideas from someone outside our school. I think you will see our philosophy is not unique!

If you as a parent have a question or problem with your coach, there is a proper way to communicate. In short, our policy is to follow this process:

1. The first step is to encourage your athlete to talk to their coach personally and privately. One of the most popular questions is about playing time. The best way for an athlete to handle this question is to ask, "What can I do to increase the amount of time I get to play in games?" I have never, ever heard of a coach that won't take the time to answer this question of a player. We want our student-athletes to learn through their participation in sports. One of those learning experiences is to learn how to communicate properly with adults who have authority over you. This is not always a comfortable situation, but it is great for them to learn. The question doesn't have to be about playing time. ANY conversations about questions or problems that come up during the season should start with a Player / Coach discussion. 95% of the time this is the only discussion that needs to occur. As the video says, students can become responsible for their own experience.

2. If this meeting does not go well or if issues are not resolved, it may become necessary for the athlete/parent to set up a meeting with the coach to discuss the issue. As with the player/coach meeting, this discussion needs to be in private and NOT after or before a contest. Most schools use a 24 hour rule. This rule says that a player or coach will not talk to a coach within 24 hours of a contest. This gives some "cooling off" time. Cooling off time is important because parents are passionate about their kids, and they should be! But sometimes emotion can get in the way of problem resolution. Follow the 24 hour rule, it works!

3. The 3rd step is for the Athletic Director, ME, act as a mediator for resolution of the problem. I can tell you that every single one of our Coaches at GHS talk to me about issues that come up on their teams, DAILY! There are very few problems I am not aware of (however, sometimes it does occur!) After going through the first two steps, if your son or daughter does not feel the problem has been resolved, I should be contacted. Re-read that statement. Make sure it isn't just a problem YOU have. If the athlete is satisfied, let it drop. If not, I will schedule a meeting with all the interested parties and we will come to some type of resolution. That doesn't always mean we can fix it to a parents or athletes satisfaction. Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree about the resolution of a problem But, we are committed to doing what we think is best for the kids at GHS.

4. The 4th step is to forward this problem to the Principal. He/She will also set up a meeting to talk about the situation with all the parties involved. Again, if the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction.

5. The final step is to set up a meeting with the Superintendent.

I was a parent of a couple of GHS students at one time. I am proud that my kids graduated from GHS! They participated in many sports and extracurricular activities. I know how much it hurt me when my daughters were upset about how things were going on their team or at school. But, try to take the emotion out of it. Try to look at both sides of the issue. Our coaches care deeply about your kids. They want what is best for your son or daughter. The Coaches want and want what is best for the team. You may disagree with their decisions, but they do it with a good heart. No one can say our coaches don't care about their players. No one can say they don't want the best for their team. I love our coaches, athletes, and parents at GHS. Roll Big TRAIN!

Good and Not so Good!

Do you want to hear the Good news first or the Bad News?

I never know how to answer this question. So I will start with the Bad News first.

The Varsity Boys Basketball team were defeated tonight by Fremont at the Bateman Gymnasium. The lone bright spot of the night was Senior Eric Custer dominated inside. Eric Scored 26 points but the Railroaders were soundly defeated 84-64. Although the offense was not as good as we're used to, it was the defense that really struggled tonight.  You have to give Fremont credit. They out hustled us on both ends of the court.  The Railroaders started out with a 12-4 lead and then never recovered  the rest of the game. The other bright spot of the night was the JV victory on a last second 3 point shot by Kylan LaMotte.

The Good News is the wrestlers bounced back after the tough defeat to South Adams last week by beating Snider in a make up game from November. Garrett won by a score of 40-34. The Railroaders won 8 of 14 matches. Brayden Moreau and Hayden Lee remained undefeated for the season. The match came down to the final match with Carunchia pinning Snider for the victory.

The individual results are listed below:

JV
135- Chris Hunkler (Gar) def Carsten Clark 7-3
171- Che Fuentes(Gar) pin Adam Whisler :36
Garrett (40) vs. Snider (32)Varsity
103- Hayden Lee (Gar) tech fall Drew Gordon 18-3
112- Enrique Early (Sni) pin Zach helton 3:22
119- Jose Casa (Sni) maj dec Dustin Alwine 10-4
125- Mason Meling (Sni) maj dec August Novy 11-3
130- Austun McCray (Gar) pin Tyler Mckee 3:03
135- Brayden Moreau (Gar) maj dec Jared Wilson 11-1
140- Logan Lee (Gar) maj dec David Frygang 13-1
145- Kyle Lanning (Gar) pin Aaron Bender :54
152- K.C. Corey (Sni) pin Gabe Gunion :59
160- James Storks (Sni) pin Nathan Duesler 1:14
171- Brett Schendel (Gar) def Braine Morgan 4-3
189- Logan Dan (Sni) pin Lucas Bobay 1:38
215- Austin Gibson def Forfeit
285- Travis Carunchia pin Jarimiah Kelsaw 1:45

The other good news of the day is our Girls Basketball team moved up to 2nd in the State 2A rankings behind Bishop Luers and they were chosen as the Wane TV 15 team of the week. 

Wane TV Team of the Week -- Video

 Great work Lady Railroaders! Keep the Big Train Rolling!

Cancellations!

I hope this is not an early trend. But, Winter is here!

The C-Team Boys and Girls Basketball games at Fremont are cancelled and will not be rescheduled at this time.

Also, all practices are cancelled today. This includes Wrestling, Boys Basketball and Girls Basketball.

The weather conditions are  not expected to improve until tomorrow. Although main roads are in decent shape, the side roads and country roads are snow covered and slick. The winds are supposed to continue to increase throughout the day.

Just as a note of information, Decisions about games and practices will be made by Noon if possible. Practice and Game cancellations will be decided based on existing and expected weather conditions. IF practices or games are held on School Cancellation Days and parents feel their son or daughter can not get to  practice or the game safely, they are excused and NO consequences will be issued. Safety of our Student Athletes is the most important factor.

8-0

BIG, BIG WIn for the Lady Railroaders. Always a tough opponent and a very rough game, Leo again came ready to play. But, despite a rash of illness all week, the Lady Railroaders overcame the rough play and won by a score of 39-31.  Leo shot just 27% from the field and Garret wasn't too far behind shooting only 33%.  With 40 fouls (Leo had 26 to 14 for Garrett) to say it was a rough game is an understatement. 3 Leo girls fouled out of the game and 1 Garrett player reached 5 fouls.

This game is always so critical because the Lady Lions have knocked us out of the ACAC championship several times in the past. But, when we have defeated Leo, it seems like we have a tendency to let down somewhere in the season. So, STAY Focused Lady Railroaders! Keep the Big Train Rolling!

Simple Truths - We Hope You Enjoyed the movie!

Simple Truths - We Hope You Enjoyed the movie!

Win #2

The Boys Basketball team did a really nice job fighting off the adversity of the Prairie Heights game to bounce back with a big ACAC Conference win tonight AT Woodlan.  The Garrett Guards were the difference in the game from start to finish. Drake Landes and Quinten Fiandt were top scorers for the team and they put just enough pressure on Woodlan to come out with a big win. Todd Frickey only scored 3 points tonight but they were big.  The Railroaders were down by two with 4 seconds left in the game. The Ball went to Todd and he shot a LONG 3 to end the game for the W. I guess it just goes to show, you don't have to score a lot to be a major contributor to the team Hitting a pressure filled shot to win the game is not easy.   The team had a great effort and really played well defensively.  Next up the Railroaders will host the Fremont Eagles in the Paul Bateman Gym on Tuesday Night.

The Girls team will host ACAC Rival Leo tomorrow night. The girls have also had to battle some adversity this week. Heather House, Kelly Singleton, and Katie Depew have all been sick this week.  Laura Moynahan had a head injury from practice and Katie Wisel has had an infected toe. This is not the game we want to play without being at full strength. Good Luck Girls.

Don't Forget tomorrow night is Black Out Night.  We need all the GHS Lady Railroader fans to be there to support the team in this important ACAC match-up!

ACAC Wrestling

Well, we didn't get the results we wanted at South Adams tonight. Our wrestlers lost to a tough Starfire team in the Stardome tonight.  The team is young and we had some matches that did not go the way they should have. I haven't gotten the results sent to me. But, I can remember Travis Carunchia, Hayden Lee, Brayden Moreau, Brett Schendel, Austin Gibson, and Austin McCray all won. If I'm leaving someone off, my memory is not that good.

Coach Fielden has some things to work on and I am sure they will work hard. The next ACAC match is next Thursday Night at Leo High School. Good Luck Wrestlers!

How Ashland Cross Country Plays the Game

How Ashland Cross Country Plays the Game

7-0

Well, it certainly wasn't pretty. But, The Lady Railroaders defeated Prairie Heights tonight by a score of 56-38.  The lone highlight of the night was freshman Brandi Dawson scoring a career high 24 points.  She was amazing throughout the game. Heather House had a bad night but most people didn't know she was suffering from the flu. She struggled all night but really gave a gutsy effort to still help lead the team.  You can tell a lot about an athlete by how hard they play when they are sick. Good Job Heather!

The Railroaders had 17 turnovers for the night. Most of the time you will lose a game when you have that many turnovers. But, PH had 22. They helped us survive the night. Jordyn Knott was the only other GHS player in double figures (12 points). The Lady Railroaders dominated most of the other stats winning the rebounds, steals, and blocks.

A team really shows it's character when it has an off night and still wins the game.  Now we can move on to focus all our energy on the Leo Lady Lions. This is the biggest game of the young season to this point. If we want to win an ACAC title, we have to go through the tough Leo Girls Basketball team to do it.

Remember it's "Black Out" night! Saturday Night. C-team game begins at 5pm followed by the JV at about 6:15 and the Varsity at about 8 oclock.  GOOD LUCK LADY RAILROADERS!

This Week in sports!

The girls Varsity Basketball team travels to Prairie Heights tomorrow night to try to make it 7-0 for the season. The JV will tip-off at 6pm followed by the Varsity.

The Wrestlers travel to South Adams on Thursday to take on the very tough Starfire team. We have had a few injuries and illnesses to start the season but the Railroaders will be ready to give it everything they have to defeat the South Adams team in Berne.  Wrestling will begin at  6:30pm on Thursday.

On Friday Night the Boys Basketball team travels to Woodburn to take on the Woodlan Warriors and try to reverse the results of the Saturday game. We just need to remember the game is a full 32 minutes long and finish.  The JV game will start at 6pm.

On Saturday Night the Girls Basketball team will battle the Leo Lady Lions in the Paul Bateman Gymnasium.  Both teams are always strong in the ACAC and could be battling for a conference title.  In order to PUMP UP the fans and team on Saturday we are having a BLACK-OUT! All the Railroader Fans need to wear black to the game and support another girls victory.

Keep the big train rolling!

The Wisdom of Wolves Movie | Store Landing

This is a great lesson for our players, coaches, parents, and fans. Just click below to watch the movie.

The Wisdom of Wolves Movie Store Landing

Boys BBall 1-1, Wrestlers 2-3

The Boys Basketball team had a rough night tonight up at Prairie Heights. They struggled most of the night with turnovers but were able to stay close and were tied at halftime. The 3rd quarter was back and forth but the 4th quarter was a completely different story. The final score was 74-55. Garrett was again led by Drake Landis.  Drake got in foul trouble in the first half and again in the second half. We needed him to be on the floor. Brandon Porter was the second leading scorer.  The entire team struggled with turnovers and fouls. Coach Bodey knew this would be a much tougher opponent than game #1. He was right. We lost our composure in the middle of the  4th quarter and then let that adversity get the best of us.  I think our fans lost their composure as well.  The game exposed some physical and mental weaknesses of this young team and I am sure Coach Bodey and his staff will get to work to improve in those areas.  You win as a team and lose as a team. Since Athletics are Educational Experiences, I hope we ALL learn from this game. As Kim Lobsiger used to say, "We are one!" and as another famous American said "United We Stand, Divided we Fall". I think this game proves those two sayings are true! Next Up the boys will travel to Woodlan High School to take on the Warriors at Woodburn.

The Basketball team was not the only team competing today. Our Wrestlers traveled to Peru High School to compete with some very good State Wrestling Powerhouses. We went 2-3 with this young team and were defeated by Yorktown, Bellmont, and Huntington North. We defeated Lakeland and LaPorte. Undefeated wrestlers for the day were Hayden Lee and Brayden Moreau. Just like the Boys Basketball team, every one of these early season contests will tell important things about our team. I am sure Coach Fielden learned something about each of his wrestlers and knows what we need to work on.  This team travels to South Adams on Thursday to take on another very tough conference opponent.

6-0 and more!

I know it's a bit repetitive but another dominating performance by the Lady Railroaders defeating the Lady Warriors of Woodlan High School 75-46. Heather House had 23 points, Jordyn Knott had 20 points and Megan Getts had 10 points.  It could have been a lot more but Coach Feagler did not press at all in the 2nd half and the JV girls played much of the 4th quarter.  Heather and Jordyn were unstoppable and lso dominated the Boards. Garrett had just too much for Woodlan who has a girls that's 6'1" and going to play division 1 Basketball at Toledo. Between Jordyn and Megan Getts, she couldn't guard both of them. Jordyn was all over every board and did an amazing job putting the ball through the hoop. They had absolutely no one with Heathers speed and they just couldn't defend her at all.

Next up for the Girls, on the road to Prairie Heights this Tuesday Night. The Boys travel to Brushy Prairie tomorrow night also to take on the Prairie Heights Panthers. They will try to make it 2-0.

The wrestling team travels to Peru for the first Varsity contests of the new season and the competition is really tough.

Good Luck to all the Railroader Winter Athletic Teams!

No Cheerleaders!

I have often gotten questions about why the Cheerleaders do not Cheer at all the Basketball games. SO I thought I could share this information with all of you.

Every winter our Basketball teams play over 50 basketball games between the Boys and Girls teams and tournaments. We would love to have the cheerleaders cheer at every single one of these games. But, this really isn't appropriate to require the cheerleaders to cheer at every game. There is not a single other athletic team which requires it's team members to have a season consisting of 50 games. It's not even close. During the Basketball season both the Boys and Girls teams average 2 games per week. We never play games on Sundays, so  that means that the cheerleaders would have to cheer, on average 4 nights per week and only have 2 nights off. Of course, on those nights they would probably practice. Yes, they practice at least 2 nights a week during all of the fall season and the winter season. Again, no other team has to have this level of commitment.

So with all of those thoughts in mind, we do not require the cheerleaders to cheer at all the basketball games. Since we don't require them to cheer at every game, we have to come up with a way where they cheer equally at Boys and Girls games. Area schools do this differently. Our conference schools also handle this situation differently. Some schools have their cheerleaders cheer at all conference games. Some have them cheer all home games and not any road games. Still other schools just give them a number of games to cheer at and it is a combination of home and away games.  At Garrett High School, I sit down with the cheer coach and we decide which games we will cheer at treating the boys and girls teams equally. Generally the agreement is to cheer at all conference games and tournament games. This year, we have decided to increase the number of games they cheer at (over last year) by having them cheer at all weekend games and tournament games. This will mean our Cheerleaders will cheer at more than 30 games this season. (Depending on our success in the Conference Tournament and the IHSAA tournament it could be more or less)  That's a lot of games for one coach and a volunteer assistant.

As I said before, we love to have our cheerleaders at the games to get our fans excited and support our teams. But, there is a limit to what is a reasonable expectation.  When the cheerleaders aren't cheering, it is up to the students and the adult fans to step up their support and yell even louder. I have been very impressed with our students this year and the way they have cheered for our teams. Tonight was no exception!

Great Start!

Wow! What an impressive start to the Boys Basketball season in the Paul Bateman Gym tonight! I haven't been sent the stats but the Railroaders dominated the Blazers of Eastside High School in nearly every part of the game. It was easy to spot the leading scorer. Drake Landis had at least 28 points. (Like I said, I haven't been sent the stats yet.) But more impressive than that was the way we played. Coach Bodey has been pushing teamwork since the very first practice and it showed in the game tonight. I heard we had 24 assists and that would not surprise me at all. We got contributions from many different players and the unselfishness of this team was very obvious throughout the game.

I can't wait to see us do the same thing on the road at Prairie Heights on Saturday Night. All three high school teams will play. The JV and C-team will play at 6pm followed by the varsity at about 7:30pm.

Don't forget that the Girls also play over Thanksgiving break when the Lady Railroaders travel to Woodlan High School on Friday Night. Let's keep the Big Train rolling with another couple wins!

5-0

Another great night for Lady Railroader Basketball.  The team rebounded from a great performance against Dekalb by defeating a very good Angola Lady Hornet team.  It wasn't about offense tonight. The Railroaders only scored 39 points against a very quick and challenging Angola defense. But, the Garrett defense only gave up 31 points. The Lady Hornets shot a low 29% from the field and were only 2 for 5 from the free throw line. On the other hand the Railroaders shot 55% from the field but also were 9 for 11 from the free throw line.

Last year at this point in the season the Girls had 3 tough losses already. They have now avenged two of those 3 losses and will have to wait until February to avenge the 3rd loss against East Noble. Everyone on this team is contributing to the success and we continue to step up against the tough competition.

Next up the Woodlan Warriors in the first ACAC contest of the year. The Lady Warriors have an experienced team and the Lady Railroaders have to face them on the road.

The Boys get there first test of the year tomorrow night when the Eastside Blazers visit the Paul Bateman Gymnasium to open the 2010-2011 season. I am really looking forward to the continued improvement of the young railroader basketball program.  The Game begins at 6pm.  Good Luck Railroaders!

4-0

Wow! What a dominating performance from our Girls Basketball Program tonight. The night started out with a great win by our C-Team followed by a come from behind win by our JV team and then came the main event. I have not seen such a dominating half of Basketball from our girls, ever. The girls team really worked together as a team to lead 34-12 at the half. We dominated rebounds, shooting, defensively, and in about every other facet of the game. We came out with great intensity and focus like I have not seen in a long time.  We put it on cruise in the second half and ended up winning by a score of 55-45. I love the real TEAM work and that stood out win you look at the leading scorer . Laura Moynahan had a fantastic night leading the team with 12 points. But, the stat of the night was Megan Getts with 6 assists.  Usually the roles are reversed, but good teams take what they are given. Jordyn Knott also had 10 points, Megan Getts had 9 points, Heahter House and Brandi Dawson had 8 points each. What a great effort!

On another note..............What a great Crowd we had tonight. I was so impressed with the Student Cheer Section. I have not seen that kind of support in the past 5 years. The Band and Cheerleaders were great. We had the Train Horn fired up and the atmosphere was dynamite!  Thanks  Garrett for supporting our athletic teams.

Next Up the very tough Angola Lady Hornets on Tuesday Night. This is also a triple header night starting with a C_Team game at 5pm, followed by the JV and Varsity. Good Luck Ladies Keep the Big Train Rolling.

Blind the Barons!

Tomorrow night the Lady Railroader Basketball team faces the Lady Barons of Dekalb High School in a great early season Basketball Match Up. This will be the first real test of the young season for the Lady Railroaders. Everything is ready for the big event. The Cheerleaders will be there. The Band will be there. We have two preliminary games to warm-up for the main event with the C-Team (5pm) and the JV playing (6:15pm). The Cheerleaders will be there. The Band will be there. We'll have Chick Filet, Chuck-A-DUCK, AND the GREAT RAILROADER FAITHFUL!

Everyone is encouraged to WEAR NEON to the game. We'll "Blind the Barons" with all the neon in the Bateman Gym and we'll dazzle them with our speed and skill.  Come out and support the Basketball team!

Boys Hoops!

It was good to get the Boys Basketball team out on the court competing against someone else. The Railroaders "Practiced" against Norwell tonight in the annual pre-season scrimmage. As in all pre-season events, it's so hard to tell what the season holds. I am sure Coach Bodey would say we did some good things and we have some things we can work on. These scrimmages are for that purpose. They help us to be able to focus on some areas that need improvement and it points out some of the strengths we can use.
So Coach Bodey and the staff have exactly one week to work through what they saw tonight and to put it into a plan to defeat Eastside.  Unfortunately, these scrimmages also have a tendency to bring up more questions than provide answers.  Just makes the season interesting. If we only had a crystal ball we could peak at the end of the season and make our adjustments right now.

Well, whatever the end of the season, I can guarantee you our Coaches and players will do everything they can to win some games. Good Luck Railroaders!

3-0 and More!

Garrett Lady Railroader Basketball team dominated the Lady Cougars from Central Noble tonight. Heather House was the only one in double figures (12) but 7 other team members scored. The attack came from everywhere. The stingy Lady Railroader defense forced 32 turnovers, 11 of those were steals. Katie Depew led the way with 4 steals. In the first half Garrett gave up 18 points and only gave up one point in the second half.

The real test in the young season will come on Friday Night as the Lady Railroaders host the Dekalb Lady Barons. This is a tripleheader night with the C-Team playing at 5pm followed by the JV at approximately 6:15pm, and the Varsity at about 7:45pm. Then the team will turnaround and host a very good Angola Lady Hornet team next Tuesday Night (also a triple-header night).

The Boys Competitive season begins tomorrow night with the Scrimmage against Norwell. The First Real game of the year will take place next Wednesday Night when the Boys host cross county rival Eastside.

2-0

Garrett Girls Basketball team notched another early season win by defeating the Lakewood Park Lady Panthers, 66-32.  Megan Getts dominated the game with 22points. Freshman Brandi Dawson proved she belongs by adding another 14 points. Katie Depew had an aggressive game scoring 12 points and Senior Heather House had 11 points.  Heather also led the team with assists and steals.

The team continued to find it's way early in the game with a scrappy Lakewood team. I'm sure Coach Feagler and his staff were not happy with the 15 turnovers and the poor shooting percentage. But, it is early in the season and I'm sure we will get better.

The JV team also had a better night defeating the Lakewood Park JV team.  They also made some big improvements between Tuesday night and tonight.

NEXT UP -- Central Noble on Tuesday Night at the Paul Bateman Gymnasium. REMINDER -- CENTRAL NOBLE DOES NOT HAVE A JV TEAM AT THIS TIME. THE VARSITY GAME WILL BEGIN PROMPTLY AT 7:00PM!  Good Luck Ladies!

Wrestling 2010

The wrestling team has been practicing since last week and the last group of wrestlers are making the transition from Football to wrestling this week. Because of the successful and November end to the Football season, we have moved the Snider Wrestling Match to Tuesday, December 7th. The match is still at Snider and will begin at the same scheduled time , 6:30pm.

Please make this change on your calendars. Good Luck Coach Fielden and the wrestlers in the upcoming season.

1 - 0

Good start to the Girls Basketball Season tonight in Turtle town. The Varsity won easily over the Lady Eagles with a 53-25 W. Heather House lead the scoring with 12 and Freshman Brandy Dawson added 8.

You could tell this was the first game of the year. Our shooting percentage wasn't spectacular, but it was good enough. I am sure Coach Feagler will have the girls working on some Free Throws and will continue to work on the press. We committed a lot of silly fouls, (you could tell it was the officials first game also!)

Garrett had good positive contributions by most of the girls varsity team. The depth of this team should be a great asset. I really didn't see anyone who hurt the team when they came in.

The Jv team lost but also had some positive minutes by quite a few girls. The JV Lady Railroaders are also very young and will continue to get better as the season progresses. They will definitely win some games.

NEXT UP -- Lakewood Park at LP on Thursday Night. JV tip-off at 6pm!  Good Luck Ladies!

HOOPS!

OK tomorrow night the girls basketball team kicks off the official start of the 2010-2011 Winter Athletic Season. The girls team travels to Churubusco to take on the Lady Eagle Basketball team. The JV team will tip-off at 6pm. The Varsity will start at about 7:30pm.

The girls team will travel to Lakewood Park Christian School on Thursday Night. This is an addition to the schedule for the 2010-2011 season. The East Noble Girls game has been moved to the end of the season and will be a part of a Boy/Girl Doubleheader at East Noble.

A lot of people ask why we don't do more Boy/Girls Doubleheaders. The answer is simple. Financially it is better to have the games on separate nights than as a single night. You don't make the same money putting them on the same night as you do playing on different nights. We actually have two of these nights now. The first is the Southern Wells Conference game. This game is in late January and the reason we scheduled this as a B/G doubleheader night is because of travel.  The other game, as mentioned earlier, is the B/G East Noble Doubleheader. The reason we scheduled this doubleheader was purely to keep it on the schedule with the addition of Lakewood Park. It might not be as good financially but it allowed us to change our schedule.

Well, ready or not here comes 2010-2011 Hoops! Roll Big Train!

Life stands still for No One!

I mean no disrespect to our Football Team and the Coaches. But, I don't get much time to mourn the end of a season. I love competition and what it does to help our student-athletes grow. We grow through wins and losses. I feel for the Coaches and players, especially the seniors.  I saw so many tears last night from our players. They love football. Most of them (Seniors) will never participate in a competitive football game every again.  I also saw tears from our juniors and sophomores. They also know their games are dwindling. Time travels so fast!  The only advice I can give is work as hard as you can right now.  Enjoy the moment right now.  Don't let there be any regrets when it comes to working hard and preparation.
This is really no different than life. When we experience a loss, whether it be a job, or the death of a family member, or some other situation, you go through the same process. But, you also don't have a lot of time to mourn the loss. Time stands still for no one!  I'm sure you have heard the saying "Seize the moment!"  That includes all areas of your life.  Take time to enjoy your family and friends.  Get involved at school, in your community, with the love of your life. Get passionate about something and live like there is no tomorrow! Don't waste your time devoted to destruction decisions. Don't devote yourselves to things that will bring you down. Spend time Loving God, then your Family, then your friends!

All Winter Sports will be in season beginning tomorrow. The Girls Basketball team begins their season this week on the road. They will begin the season on Tuesday at Churubusco and then travel to Lakewood Park as the Lady Panthers are added to the schedule. Wrestling practice began this past Monday, and the Boys Basketball team begins practice this Monday. Good Luck to all the Players, Coaches and Fans. If you want to know the schedule. You can see it on www.highschoolsports.net . The schedule cards are in the high school office but as always highschoolsports.net is the best way to stay up-to-date. Many schools will change schedules of freshman or jv games depending on how many athletes they have. Also, if we have game cancellations or practice changes they will also be posted on that site.  As always, you can also get to these sites through this blog or the school website. www.gkb.k12.in.us

Good Luck Railroaders in the NEW SEASON!

Shut off the camera and see what High School Sport is about!

I can't say enough about the classy Garrett Football program. Coaches Frickey, Cole, Wisel, Hathaway, and Clifford have done a great job getting us to the sectional finals. Our senior class has been unselfish and have made sacrifices for one sole purpose...........to WIN. We've made some mistakes along the way that have cost us a couple of victories. But, no one has pointed fingers. Our coaching staff has a bigger goal than just winning a game. They have the goal of teaching through competition. Our coaches aren't satisfied with anything but the best out of our players. This effort will continue regardless of the outcome tomorrow night.  Every week the coaches and players have put everything on the line to win ball games, but more importantly this group has come together as a family, You don't mess with the family.

When outsiders who don't know Garrett and don't know our kids, don't know our town, and probably haven't even been to Memorial Field, start trash talking our team, They've gone to far.  You don't have to predict we'll win the game. You can talk about our weaknesses, every team has them. But, when you start trash talking from the Sports Department! That's wrong. It's unacceptable to use your position of power in broadcast sports to predict an outcome based on car accidents, and murder.

We are a character counts community, the only way we can respond is with respect, responsibility, and caring. We love our student-athletes. They are not highly paid professionals earning millions every year. They are not highly recruited College players who will get to earn their college education through sports. Our players, just love the game. They're High School Student Athletes who can't wait til Friday Night to put the pads on play the game. These players will go out and take that field tomorrow night with Railroader pride and they will do everything they can to win a football game. They won't need a car accident, they won't need a murder. All they need to do is show up and play. Garrett will play with the class and honor they have every week this year. We will leave the wins, losses and gruesome prognostications to the big shots in the news room! Shut off the camera and see what High School Sport is about!

Coaching the Fans

Coaching the Fans

Championship Game next week

Great Job Railroaders! A great win! We will play for the sectional championship next week at Garrett vs Bremen. Garrett defeated Eastside by a score of 28-13.  This was a tough game played with a lot of emotion. The Train Trophy stays at GHS for another year.

It is always great to play High School Football in November!

Train Game Part 2

Tomorrow night the resurgent Railroader Football team makes the short trip to Butler to take on the Eastside Blazers in round 2 of the IHSAA Sectional tournament. The Railroader defense has done a great job stopping the opponents the last two weeks. Our young team is getting on a roll and still has some good games left in them. The game starts at 7:30pm. The cost is $6. It would be great to have a large LOUD crowd to cheer on the Railroaders.

For everyone going to the game: All Railroader fans should park in the NORTH parking lot at Eastside. To get to the lot. Turn North on Hwy 1 in Butler at the stoplight. Go North to Liberty St. and turn East (right). This road will take you directly to the NORTH PARKING LOT. You will pass the Softball field and then see the school. The entrance is to the North of the main Home side Bleachers. You then walk around the North side of the track to get to the Visitor Bleachers.

Come out and show your support for the mighty Railroader Football team.

Winter Season Begins

Tomorrow starts the Winter Athletic Season. (The Fall season is not over yet, GO RAILROADER FOOTBALL TEAM!) The Girls Basketball team is the first to begin practices. They Start tomorrow. I  don't have the official schedule with me, but the Girls will have to late practice most of the time this year due to Coach Feaglers' "Day" job.

The wrestlers  begin practice next Monday, November 1st and the Boys Basketball team practices begin on Monday, November 8th.   Practice schedules will be posted by the end of the week on www.highschoolsports.net You can get to that website from this blog. Just look on the right hand side of this page.  Expectations are high! Good Luck teams!

Wow!

What a great volleyball game tonight.  Very intense from start to finish. Garrett Girls battled the entire game and came up just short of a sectional championship. We lost the first game 25-18. Then we won the next 2 games 25-23 and 28-26. We lost the 4th game 21-25, (we should have won this one!) Then we lost the final game 7-15.

Prairie Heights is a very good volleyball team. We played hard and matched them player by player, point for point, and oh yea Coach to Coach. Sallie did a great job in her first year as head coach. I couldn't be more happy with the way she handled this team and the competitiveness she brings to the program. We finished with the second best record in Garrett History. 22-10.  She and her team have raised the expectations for GHS Volleyball. Great Season! Too bad we didn't get the hardware to back it up.

2 week Run!

I know it's not a "streak" yet! But we are getting on a roll with our stellar defense. The Railroaders beat up on Central Noble with a 42-13 win. The 13 points were scored late in the game, long after the final chapter was written tonight.

We are on the road next week to Butler, Indiana as the Eastside Blazers defeated Prairie Heights 18-12 in the rematch of last week. I guess we call this "Train Game" part 2! We need to stay focused and take care of business. They are better than the first game of the year, but so are we. Game will be AT Eastside and will once again start at 7:30 p.m.

Good Luck to the Lady Railroaders tomorrow as we have our work cut out for us defeating a very good Eastside Volleyball team and then defeating PH or CN. I have all  the confidence in Coach Richardson and the might Railroader Volleyball team. Game begins at approximately 12:30pm tomorrow in the Bateman Gym.

Roll Big Train!

Spell INTENSITY!

Ok, this is not an Athletic Post, per se. However, I just had to give a big congratulations to the GHS Spell team for qualifying for the State Spell Bowl on November 13th. Those of you who are die hard Railroader Athletic Supporters will think this is crazy but, the State Spell Meet is one of the most intense COMPETITIONS I have ever been too. That includes various state championships in a variety of sports. It was amazing. Nancy Feagler was our Coach at the time. I don't know how she didn't explode.  It really was just by chance that I even attended. I was down in Indy at post season cross country race. The State Spell Meet just happened to be the same weekend. When one of my students found  out I would be there, they said I had to go. So, reluctantly, I went. I thought "How bad could it be?" Wow! It was great! If you've never been to a spell competition, this would be the one to go to. I don't know all the details. I know it's in West Lafayette and it's on November 13th.  You need to contact the school and Coach Beth Leitch to find out all the particulars. PLEASE GO AND SUPPORT THE RAILROADER SPELL TEAM! YOU WON"T REGRET IT!

FB Regular Season ends on Positive Note! + (Go Ariel!)

Congrats to the Railroader Football team for ending the season on a positive note by defeating the Heritage Patriots on their own turf 7-0 ! The Garrett Defense should get the game ball. They came up with some great stops and forced several key turn overs in the game.

Let's keep the Big Train Rolling throughout the Sectional Tournament.

Good Luck to Ariel McCoy at the Regional Cross Country Meet tomorrow at West Noble. We are proud of your leadership and your accomplishments! RUN FAST!

Awards Nights!

Since several sports have concluded their seasons, coaches are busy scheduling awards nights for their teams.  Here is what I have so far:

Boys Soccer Awards -- Tuesday, October 19th @ 6pm -- High School Cafeteria

Girls Cross Country Awards -- Sunday, October 24th, @6pm -- In Room 17A/B, use door #2.

Boys Cross Country Awards -- Tuesday, October 26th, @5:30pm -- High School Cafeteria

I will let you know when we get Football, Girls Soccer, and Volleyball scheduled.

Football Sectional Schedule and information

We had our Sectional Meeting today. Here is some information you might want to make note of:

All Sectional #26 start times were set at 7:30 p.m. NOT 7:00 p.m.! This time was chosen to allow for the potentially greater travel times throughout the sectional tournament. For example, Woodlan has to travel to Fairfield for the first game.

Tickets prices have been set at $6 for each game. Pre-sale tickets ARE NOT available for sectional football games. (In Football their is no tournament discount). These prices were set by the IHSAA at their Board meeting this summer. (Please don't shoot the messenger!)

Everyone will need a ticket First grade and higher!

Banners and Posters are not allowed.
No Battery, or Elevtronic Noisemakers, Sirens or whistles are allowed,
Throwing of articles, including toilet paper is not allowed.
Solicitaions, Donations, Contributions, and vending of school spirit items is not allowed

Fans are not allowed to make line-up lanes on the field. SO, our normal Pre-game line-up lane is not permitted during sectionals.

Bands are not permitted during sectional games.

Season Finales!

The Boys and Girls Cross Country teams wrapped up their seasons tonight with the Sectional meet at West Noble. The girls finished 7th and the boys 11th. The night was hot and the competition was even hotter. THe lone bright spot in the night was Ariel McCoy who placed 14th and qualified as an individual for the Regional Meet this Saturday also at West Noble. I have said it before and want to say again how proud I am of our kids and coaches. We have two very young teams who really had very little career mileage. In Cross Country, Career miles is everything. Both Coach Minton and Rhoades brought these kids a long way. Great season. We look for more in the future.

The Girls Soccer team also ended their season with a hard fought match against Dekalb at Dekalb. We lost by a score of 4-2. Heather House scored our two goals in the first half. We were tied at halftime but were unable to score in the second half. We had a lot of hardworking seniors on this team and we are proud of their effort. I think their final record was 11-6!  Congrats to Coach Yarde and VanGessel for a great season.

The Volleyball team ended their regular season with a decisive victory over Whitko (25-16, 25-15, and 25-22) This was senior night and also our Breast Cancer Awareness game. Coach Richardson did a great job raising money for a very worthy cause. She has done a wonderful job with our team and ends the regular season with a great 21-9 record. Now focus on a sectional championship!

VB downs West Noble

The Volleyball team got back on the winning wagon by defeating West Noble on the road tonight in Ligonier! The scores were 27-25, 25-19, 25-11. Now let's see if we can keep things rolling all the way through Sectionals!

Volleyball Sectional Announcement!

The IHSAA Sectional draw for Volleyball was held this morning in Indianapolis. Below are the results! Garrett is hosting the sectional on October 21st and 23rd.

Game #1 Churubusco vs Prairie Heights -- Thursday, Oct. 21st @6pm

Game #2 Central Noble vs Fremont -- Thursday, Oct. 21st @approx. 7:30pm

Game #3 Winner Game #1 vs Winner Game #2 -- Saturday, Oct. 23rd @ 11am

Game #4 Garrett vs Eastside -- Saturday, Oct. 23rd @ approx. 12:30pm

Game #5 Championship Game -- Winner Game #3 vs Winner Game #4 @7pm

Just like the Football Sectional. We have been blessed with a great draw.  We have to beat a feisty Eastside team. But having the Bye Game is a great advantage in the tournament.  Their is not anyone in this sectional we can't beat. (When we are playing well!)  Good Luck Ladies in the tournament!

Football Sectional Draw

Ok, Here it is!

Garrett will host Central Noble in the first round of the IHSAA Sectional on October 22nd. Garrett will travel to either Prairie Heights or Eastside for the 2nd round game on October 29th. Then Garrett would host the championship game UNLESS Whitko wins the upper bracket. Then the sectional championship game would be played at Whitko.  The Upper Bracket has the Whitko Wildcats traveling to Bremen and Woodlan traveling to Fairfield in the first round.

The formula for hosting games in the Sectional Tournament is complicated. The bottom of the bracket will host the game in the first round. In the second round, the team without a home game in the first round will host the game. If both teams did not host or If both teams did host the first round game, then it goes to the bottom bracket. In the Championship game the bottom of the bracket will host UNLESS the team in the upper bracket has hosted fewer or no games in the tournament than the bottom of the bracket. Now that is clear as MUD!

Scenarios:

Second Round -- Garrett @ Prairie Heights, or Garrett @ Eastside

Championship Game -- Whitko @ Garrett (If Whitko face Fairfield in Round 2)
                                      Garrett @ Whitko (If Whitko faces Woodlan in Round 2)
                                      Bremen @ Garrett (All scenarios @Garrett)
                                      Fairfield @ Garrett (All scenarios @Garrett)

Looks like a pretty good draw for Garrett. 3 out 4 championship scenarios would be played at Garrett,

CC

I love attending a Character Counts School. I am so proud of how we handle victory and defeat. Coach Frickey and his entire staff and players represent GHS well even in a 49-7 defeat.

Can argue with great effort!

Tonight the Boys Soccer team ended their 2010 season with a very intense 1-0 loss to the undefeated Lakewood Park Christian team.  The lone goal was scored after 48 minutes of scoreless  soccer. It was scored by the newly crowned Indiana Career Soccer Goal Leader, Austin Altimus. Congrats on a great career Austin.   Garrett's own Karsten Cooper held Austin scoreless for those 48  minutes with the help of some great goalkeeping and defense by the Railroader team. I could not be more proud of a Garrett team. This team showed a lot of class and played with guts and heart all night long. Austin was forced to earn his goal from a good team.  I got so many compliments about how our kids played and the class they showed after Austin scored his record setting goal.  Coach Klopfenstein, Coach Cordes and Coach Degitz did a great job with this young team this fall.

While I was at the "Pitch" with the Boys Soccer team, the Lady Railroader Volleyball team played the semifinal match of the ACAC Volleyball Tournament. The VB team won the first game by a score of 25-20. They battled the Lady Lions but lost the second game of the best of 3 by a score of 25-23. So, the final match would determine who made it to the championship game. Coach Richardson team cam up short and lost 25-20.  Principal Matt Smith said we battled all night and were in attack mode from the first point to the last.  We have one more tournament this weekend at Whitko, two games next week and then we will be ready for IHSAA Tournament Play. I can't wait to see how far we can go!  Good Luck Coach and all the Lady Railroader VB team.

Soccer Record

The girls soccer team got another win tonight defeating West Noble 4-1. Heather House had 3 goals and Brittany Scalici had one goal in defeating the Lady Chargers.  Great end to the regular season!

Tomorrow night the Boys Soccer team faces a tough Lakewood Park Christian team at Garrett. This game is getting a lot of attention by the media as Austin Altimus is one goal away from breaking the State Boys Soccer scoring record. All of the area media will be covering this game. What a great way to get some exposure for our Boys team. We are also going for a record 7 wins in a season. That record might not be getting attention from the media, but it is getting a lot of attention in the area soccer coaches. I am so proud of this team this year. We are young. But, I have not seen a group of boys soccer players work as hard as this group.  If they continue to work hard at developing their skills and WORK HARD  IN THE WEIGHT ROOM, they will see some great results in years to come. It was funny, at the ACAC Championship game, when the parents said (Joking) that we need to pump some steroids into our boys. Well, seriously, this team needs to devote themselves to getting bigger, faster, stronger through the WEIGHT ROOM! If they can do that, we will have a great chance at winning some hardware!  Everything is in place. They need to take the next step.

Good Luck tomorrow and in the future!

ACAC Cross Country +

With two VERY,VERY young teams both Coach Minton and Coach Rhoades know they would have a tough time winning the ACAC meet. But, both teams ran smart races and arrived back at Garrett with 3 All-Conference Cross Country Runners. The Boys took home two of the honors. Kendall Slabaugh took fifth place to earn First Team All-Conference honors and Jaron Somers got 10th and earned 2nd team All-Conference honors.  For the Girls, Ariel McCoy earned 1st team All-Conference  by finishing 4th in the meet.
The Boys team, who have suffered all season with countless injuries, finished and impressive 3rd place behind two strong ACAC foes. (South Adams and Leo).
The girls team who has only 2 experienced Cross Country runners got 4th place. They have not beaten Southern Wells all year and finally were able to  defeat them.

I am a former Cross Country Coach and I appreciate the accomplishment of both these teams. Both teams are very young and inexperienced. Running at a fast pace is an endeavor that gets better only after years of training. To be able to accomplish this with mostly inexperienced runners is quite an accomplishment. Thanks Coaches and Runners for your hard work. Good Luck next week at the West Noble Sectional.

Plus.............
The Volleyball barely got past a feisty Bluffton Tiger Volleyball team tonight in the first round of the ACAC Volleyball tournament at Heritage.  The Lady Railroaders defeated Bluffton easily in the regular season but took 3 close games to win the best 2 out of 3 match. I'm not sure of the exact scores but the first game went to Garrett 26-18 (I think). The second game went to Bluffton 26-24 and the third and deciding game went to the Lady Railroaders 26-24.  The girls had to come back in the final game after being down by a 16-21 deficit. They will face the Leo Lady Lions in the Semi-Finals on Thursday at Heritage.

Also the Girls Soccer team ended their regular season by defeating the Central Noble Lady Cougar Soccer team by a score of 4-2.  Now all attention goes to defeating the Lady Barons next Tuesday Night at Dekalb. The game will start at approximately 7:15.  Good Luck Ladies!

Coach Minton

Coach Minton sent this to me.  We are proud of the Boys CC team and I couldn't agree more. Athletics teach many things. Perseverance is one of those valuable lessons.  Good Luck in the ACAC meet and the sectional meet next week!

From Coach Minton:


Good effort by the Boys Cross Country Team this ACAC season.  Despite having a varsity runner out for the year with a stress fracture and another varsity runner requiring surgery after the ACAC meet, the boys posted a regular season record of 4-2.  Though there is still room for improvement it shows what a little  perseverance can do. 

Coach Minton

Coach Minton sent this to me.  We are proud of the Boys CC team.  Good Luck in the ACAC meet and the sectional meet next week!

Tournament Week!

We have tournament play begins this week for several GHS teams:

The Boys and Girls Cross Country teams travel to Adams Central Tuesday for the ACAC Cross Country Meet. The Girls race will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the Boys race. Both teams are very young and the Boys team has had more than it's share of setbacks due to injuries. But, It looks like both teams will get there share of All-Conference honors.  Good Luck Railroader Harriers!

The Volleyball team also enters the ACAC tournament on Tuesday. The Lady Railroaders will face Bluffton in the second game of the night on Tuesday. This team has won 10 matches in a row and are ready to make some noise in this tournament and then the IHSAA Sectional in a couple of weeks.

The Boys Soccer team has one more win to tie the record of 7 wins for a Boys Soccer Team at GHS. They will have to do it in the IHSAA tournament which starts Thursday Night at 5pm. The Railroaders host the tournament and that always gives our team a great advantage. The Boys will face a very tough Lakewood Park team. But, they certainly have the ability to be able to win this sectional. We are all  proud of our program and look forward to the upset on Thursday night!

The regular season action continues for the girls soccer team this week as the season gets ready for sectional play next week at Dekalb. The girls will travel to West Noble on Wednesday and then will begin preparation for the Sectional game against the Host Barons next week.

The Football team will face a very tough Leo Lion team at home on Friday night. The senior football players, cheerleaders, band, show choir, and cross country runners will be honored at the game. Good Luck to the Railroaders!

Great day for CC and the Band!

The girls cross country team finished 3rd as a team and Ariel McCoy finished 3rd over-all at the South Adams Small School Cross Country Invitational just 3 points out of 2nd place. Kaitlin Hinkle placed 14th, Rachel Hood 16th.  Great effort Ladies!

The Boys finished 11th as a team and were led by Kendal Slabaugh's 17th place finish and Jaron Somer's 32nd place finish.

Both teams head to the ACAC meet at Adams Central on Tuesday.

The band also received a Gold rating today at Homestead and will be heading to the Regional Competition in two weeks. Great Job Railroader Regiment and Good Luck!

NEW SPORTSMANSHIP BLOG

I found a great NEW blog from Character Counts that is something we should all follow. I have it listed in my favorite links. The articles are great. The First Posts include an article about Derek Jeter faking an injury by a pitch that never hit him. I was greatly disappointed in Derek's actions. Even the greatest of players sometimes don't get it. If we have a win at all costs mentality, where does the final line get drawn.  Read the articles. Help teach our students and fans the true meaning of sportsmanship.

GHS Memorial Field!

1 thing missing!

Not too many people know what work has gone on behind the scenes to get ready for homecoming. So many people are involved with making this a great night for GHS.  First of all you have to take your hats off to Becky Wright and Kristen Maksimchuk. These two great ladies are sponsors of our Student Council. They were a big force behind all of the events of the week. They work tirelessly directing our students and helping them organize such a large community event. They plan the parade, powder puff, snake dance, 1/2 time ceremonies, float building, after game dance and so much more. They also happen to be in the middle of planning for the State Student Council Convention. Besides all that, they also have to teach classes everyday. (their other job!) You also have to give a big hand for the GHS Aims committee that organized shirt sales, the pep session, float building, and generating school spirit for the week.
Lastly, I am eternally grateful for John Bennett and Greg Griffin for their hard work. I get so many compliments about how great our football field looks. These two guys are the reason. When everyone else was spending the day-off at the Fair. They were working all day getting the field ready for the game. Greg designed the center of the field. He and John laid it out and painted it by hand. They started early this morning and worked straight through lunch to get the field done. Greg went home, changed clothes and came right back to help set off the fireworks during and after the game. John put the final touches on the field cutting it at about 4 oclock. He then climbed the light poles at the field to get some great pictures. (I am including them. ) John doesn't get enough credit for his hardwork and dedication to our wonderful facilities. Thanks Griff and John!

About the only thing that could have made this a perfect week would have been a win. Oh, well. We can't have everything!

This just in!

I just got my text from Coach Richardson. The girls volleyball team just moved to 16-6 by defeating the Lady Patriots at Heritage High School. The scores of this 5 game drama were 25-12, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, and 15-8. That is a big conference win and it looks like it was done in an exciting match. That is the last tune-up to the ACAC tournament.  I also understand the JV won. Great night for VB at GHS!

Scores and Powder Puff Football!

The Volleyball  went north tonight to Hamilton to take on the Lady Marines.  They dominated the games winning the JV 25-22, 25-6 and the Varsity won 25-11, 25-12, and 25-6.  I would say that is complete domination.

The only other game on tap tonight was the Boys Soccer game at Columbia City.  The Eagles soundly defeated the Railroaders 10-nil.  Now the Boys can concentrate on a game plan to defeat Lakewood Park in the first round of Sectionals.

The Homecoming Powder Puff and Snake Dance were tonight. The Senior girls defeated the freshman girls. The Juniors defeated the sophomores and in the championship game the Seniors defeated the Juniors. I'm not going to say anything else about the games except THANKS Mrs. Maksimchuck and Mrs. Wright for all your hardwork and efforts to plan all of the Homecoming events. It is a lot of work and we appreciate your dedication to organizng fun activities for our students! WE ARE A CHARACTER COUNTS SCHOOL!

Down Syndrome Football Player Scores TD in Washington Game (The Ike Spec...

Senior Night Soccer and More!

Tonight was Senior Night for Girls Soccer.  We are so proud of the Lady Railroader Senior Soccer players and appreciate all the hard work and dedication over the past 4 years. The Lady Railroaders defeated a hard charging Elkhart Christian team by a  final score of 5-4.  Great Job Ladies!

Both Boys and Girls Cross Country teams split with Adams Central and South Adams in the final regular season dual meet of the year.  Both teams defeated Adams Central and were defeated by South Adams.  Great times were set by the runners on a perfect night for running!

The Volleyball team got another ACAC victory by defeating the Lady Raiders of Southern Wells in 3 straight games. The JV team also got another win in two straight games.

The IHSAA Soccer Sectional Draws were tonight. The Boys begin play at home next week and drew a tough Lakewood Park team in the first game of the tournament. The Railroaders will take on the Panthers next Thursday night at 5pm. The second game of the night will see the Noble County teams compete for a chance to make it to the Championship game.

In the girls sectional draw, the Lady Railroaders will take on the County rival Lady Barons of Dekalb High School. I do not have the specific game times for the girls tournament. The tournament will be held at Dekalb starting October 11th. When I get the schedule, i will publish it here first!

Hit the Road Railroaders!

Well, it's fair week and the Railroader Athletic Teams are going to hit the Road, for the most part!

The Boys Soccer team travels to Central Noble on Monday Night to try to tie the school record for Soccer Wins. They wrap up the regular season with another road trip to Columbia City.  The IHSAA Soccer Draw is on Tuesday Evening. Garrett will host the Boys Soccer Sectional on October 7th and 9th.

The Girls Soccer team wraps up their home schedule on Tuesday, Senior Night. They will face the Girls Soccer team from Elkhart Christian. The game will begin at 6pm! The Girls Soccer Sectional Draw is also on Tuesday night. But, their Sectional will not begin until the week after the Boys.

The Volleyball Team will host Southern Wells on Tuesday night (6pm JV start) and then will travel to Hamilton on Wednesday Night and to Heritage on Thursday Night. The Girls are in the final preparation for the ACAC tournament which starts next week at Heritage.

The Cross Country teams will travel to South Adams twice this week. The first trip is scheduled for Tuesday as the run the last ACAC meet of the year agains Adams Central and South Adams (5pm jh start). The second trip will be made this Saturday when both the Boys and Girls will participate in the South Adams Small School CC Invitational (Noon Start).  The ACAC meet is only one week away and then they will head into the IHSAA meets.

The Football teams only have two games this week. The JV team will travel to Woodlan on Monday (630pm kickoff) and the Varsity Team will host a good South Adams Starfire team at Homecoming on Friday Night.

Good Luck to all the teams as the Fall season heads to the home stretch. The cool weather hints at the all important IHSAA tournament and the transition to winter sports!

Great Day!

I got home too late last night to post about the Ball State --ACAC Saturday. What a great event and near perfect weather. I can't say enough about the ACAC Athletic Directors and schools.  It is so fun being a part of a conference where the Athletes are the priority. It is a lot of hard work by everyone to solicit sponsorships, sell tickets, and organize the day into a special event for the athletes and fans.
I also can't say enough about the Hospitality of the Ball State  Athletic Facility Department and Dan Byrnes.

We had 4 great games and great support from the communities! Through all that, we also got another Railroader win! Bring on Homecoming!

We are proud!

We might not have won the games tonight in the Championship of the ACAC, but we are proud of how hard our Soccer-athletes have worked to get where they are. We have high expectations. SO, we are all disappointed in the results. The Boys lost 4-1 and the girls lost 5-0 to Leo.  I can't say enough about where these two teams have been and where they are going.

Last year the girls had their first season with fewer wins than losses. Yet they are now poised to turn that around. The boys have been trapped with f 1 or 2 wins a year. Yet, this year we are one win away from matching the school record of 7 wins. The amazing thing about the Boys Soccer team, we are still very young and have absolutely no seniors.

Keep working hard. Keep improving your skills now and in the post season. Win, Lose, or Tie we are proud of you!

SCORES!!!

The Volleyball team continues to roll.  The Lady Railroaders defeated a tough Angola team in 5 games tonight at the Paul Bateman Gymnasium.  The team won the first two games, then Angola rallied to when the next 2. Garrett won the final game 15-13.  Great effort!

Both Soccer teams won in the first round of the ACAC Soccer tournament at the Fort Wayne Sports Club. The boys avenged a tough loss earlier in the season by defeating Heritage 2-1. They are now 1 win away from matching the school record for the most wins in a season. The girls dominated South Adams with an impressive 8-0 final.

 Both teams are now in the championship games and will face Leo. The girls will play in the 6pm game and the Boys team will play at approximately 8pm.  Go to the game tomorrow night and support the Railroader soccer program.   Directions: Take I-69 south to the Hwy 24 exit (Lutheran Hospital) Go east on Hwy 24 to Engle Road and turn right. Take Engle Road to Ardmore and turn North or Left onto Ardmore. The fields are on the left or West side of the road. Good Luck Railroaders!

Never a Dull moment at GHS!

No GHS Athletic Events tonight! But, we have a lot going on the next several days. Tomorrow the Girls Volleyball team hosts the Angola Lady Hornets.  The Boys and Girls Soccer Teams open the ACAC Soccer tournament. The Boys play Heritage at 6pm and the Girls follow with  8pm.  The games are played at a new location this year. It is located on Adrmore Ave. in Fort Wayne. This soccer club has great fields and we are looking for a great tournament.  If you need directions to the game, contact the athletic department tomorrow!

We still have tickets for the Ball State - ACAC football games. Tickets are $8 and will be $10 at the gate on Saturday. Also, if you buy tickets now the Athletic Department gets most of the money for those PRE-SALE tickets.  This is a big event for our conference. We try to do special things for all of our sports teams. The ACAC soccer tournament, Baseball at Parkview Field, Basketball Tournament at the Memorial Coliseum are all examples. We also sponsor the Semi-State wrestling Tournament at the Coliseum and were a driving force behind naming Fort Wayne as the host for the Girls State Basketball finals.  Regardless how much work it is for the conference, we try to do what is best for the student-athletes.

Next week we start Homecoming Festivities. The Powder Puff Football game is on Wednesday night at 6pm followed by the Bon Fire and Snake Dance. The Homecoming Football Parade is at 6pm on Friday. The game starts at 7pm. THe game will have al the great Halftime activities and floats. PLUS the fireworks show during the game and a great grand finale at the end. The Homecoming dance will finalize the great week.

Enjoy all the activities! Never a dull moment at GHS!

Busy Tuesday!

The Boys Soccer team got another win tonight 1-0 over Eastside. The Boys are at 5 wins on the season. They are only two wins away from matching the most wins in GHS Boys Soccer history. Good work Coach Klopfentstein and our very young team

The girls volleyball team continues to roll with another powerful victory in 3 games over South Adams. They are really starting to dominate the court!

All of the Cross Country teams  ran at Woodlan tonight against the Warriors and Southern Wells. THe Boys defeated both conference opponents but the girls lost.  The girls lost to Woodlan by 2 points and to Southern Wells by 1 point. Too close. Keep working Hard girls. Ariel McCoy led the girls and won the meet defeating all of the Lady Warriors and Raider runners.

More VB domination!

The Lady Railroader Volleyball team dominated Lakeland tonight. They won easily in 3 games with scores of 25-11, 25-9, and 25-19. I can't say enough about how proud I am of Coach Richardson and Coach Webb. (By the way, the jv team also won tonight!) Keep up the good work and I can't wait for the ACAC tournament. Even better yet, I can't wait for Sectionals and beyond. Garrett is hosting the VB sectional AND the winner of our sectional will host the one game regional! This year could be magical for our VB program!

Volleyball Hardware

Today the Varsity Volleyball team won the Wawasee Volleyball Tournament. I am not sure we've ever won this before.  The competition is good and mostly bigger schools.  We needed this win after a rough week battling the ACAC powerhouse volleyball teams.  We need to take this momentum and continue it through this week and then into the ACAC tournament.  Congrats Coach Richardson and the Lady Railroaders!

Girls Soccer Romp!

The girls soccer team dominated the Lady Panthers of Lakewood Park tonight at the "Pitch" in Garrett. The final score was 10-3? I think. It was an entertaining game. Thanks Heather for a good laugh in the Press Box. Even if we laugh we still love you! Several girls got there first goals. Congrats on a great evening of soccer!

Is Cross Country a TEAM sport?

The Boys and Girls Cross Country teams ran their only home meet of the year tonight vs New Haven and Columbia City. The boys team were defeated by both teams. The Girls team led by  Ariel McCoy were defeated by Columbia City.  However, the Lady Railroader Harriers defeated New Haven by a tie breaker.

Ok, most of you don't know how a Cross Country meet is scored any way.  Let me bring you up to speed.  A team consists of 7 runners. In a dual meet, like tonight, you have a total of 14 places.  Each place is worth points based on what place it is. 1st place is one point, 2nd place is two points, 3rd place is three points, etc.  The first five finishers on each team score points for your team.  The sixth and seventh runners are called "pushers". Even though their places don't count in the score, they are to push the top five of the other team as far back as they can.  The only time the sixth runner on a team is counted in the scoring is when there is a tie.  Below is the scoring of tonight's meet:

Garrett                                                         New Haven

2nd place - Ariel McCoy         - 2pts.         1st place - Brenda Diaz          - 1pt.

4th place  - Rachel Hood         - 4pts.         3rd place - Mikala Hiatt         - 3pts.

5th place  - Katlin Hinkle        - 5pts.         6th place - Angela Lahr          - 6pts.

8th place  - Shelby Hartman    - 8pts.        7th place - J. Lothamer            - 7pts.

9th place  - Siboney Martinez - 9pts.      11th place - Amanda Fendel      - 11 pts.

Total                                28 pts.                                                       28 pts.

10th place - Caitlyn Prem    - 10 pts.     13th place - Kayla Fendel - 13 pts.

12th place - Zujey Collins      - 12 pts.        

As you can see, after the scoring runners, the score was tied 28 - 28. Garrett's "pusher" Caitlyn Prem pushed the 5th place runner further back in the scoring.  If Prem doesn't do her job Garrett would lose 27 - 28.  Instead, she forces the tie and since she and Zujey Collins beat the 6th New Haven runner, GARRETT WINS!

Everyone thinks this is a sport of individuals, but it truly is a team sport where everyone on the team can have an impact on the scoring.  Congrats to Coach Rhoades and her team on a great meet!

This week in sports!

Busy week for the Railroaders mostly on the road:

Monday the Boys Soccer team gets the week started with a game at Leo at 5pm.

Then the Volleyball teams travel to Adams Central for a key ACAC matchup and they follow that up with another big ACAC match at Leo.  Both of those matches will start at 6pm.  They finish out the week with a big tournament at Wawasee.

The Cross Country teams have their FIRST and ONLY home Cross Country meet of the season Tuesday night.  This is a High School only meet.  The girls will start the night with a 5pm start.  Then the entire Cross Country Program runs a big meet at West Noble on Saturday.  For those of you who have never attended a Cross Country meet, give it a try. It is a great atmosphere and won't take up a lot of your evening.

The Girls Soccer team takes the first part of the week to prepare to face the Lakewood Park Girls Soccer team on Thursday night at 6pm.  They will then host Blackhawk Christian on Saturday with a 12noon start time.

Reminder:  The freshman football game scheduled for thursday has been changed to EAST NOBLE.  Adams Central does not have a freshman team this year.  The freshman team will travel to Kendallville to play on the "Carpet" at EN.  The JV will host Adams Central on Monday night with a 630 kickoff.

The Varsity Football team will travel to Bluffton on Friday night to try to break a 3 game losing streak. Kickoff is 7pm!

DON'T FORGET TO PURCHASE YOUR BALL STATE TICKETS! $8

Good Luck to all the Railroader teams.

Bad night -- Should we tell our kids "Good Job?"

Well, we didn't have a great night for our varsity teams tonight.  Volleyball was defeated in 3 straight games vs a tough Woodlan team.  Both Boys and Girls Soccer teams were defeated by Dekalb. I haven't seen the final scores but I think the Boys lost 5-0.

I was talking to Coach Richardson tonight after the game and one of the Woodlan Coaches came up and said our girls did a good job tonight. Good Job?  We got beat in 3 straight games! It fueled a discussion about whether we should say "Good Job" to our athletes and coaches when we clearly did not do a good job.  I am not being critical of our volleyball team.  They were down 3-11 in the first game and fought back to really make a game of it. In the last game they were down 13-21, came back and lost 24-26.  But Coach Richardson was not happy because of the inconsistent play by our team. She was frustrated because she believes are a better team than we played tonight. So, should we tell the girls they did a "Good Job" tonight?  Woodlan is a top ranked team in our conference and state in 2A.  But, we clearly had opportunities to win and did not play up to the potential Coach Richardson thinks we can achieve.

I don't pretend to have the answer to this question. But when a competitive athlete has someone tell them they did a good job, when they know they didn't, it's a hollow compliment. So what do you say? When you're on your way home from the game what do you say?'

One approach could be ask questions. "How do you think you did tonight? It could lead to other questions like, "What could you have done to play better? If they feel like they played their best and still lost, it might be helpful to find out why they think they lost.  If they start blaming other teammates, I think it is important to ask again"What can YOU do to help your teammates perform better?"

Sometimes you have a kid who doesn't want to talk about it.  Sometimes it takes a while for them to analyze the game in their own mind.  In that case, questions are not a good idea.

The most important thing is to let them know in some way that you love and support them no matter what. You aren't more proud of them because they played well and your not less proud of them for playing bad. Your love is not based on how well they perform. Their effort and their desire to continually work to improve their weaknesses should alway be the focus. What can they do to get better?!

Like I said, I don't claim to have all the answers, but just thought I would provide some ideas!

Important VB game tomorrow!

Tomorrow night at 6pm the Lady Railroader Volleyball team faces the Woodlan Lady Warrior Volleyball team in a very important ACAC matchup.  Woodlan has a great history of volleyball and will provide a challenge for our team. But, our volleyball team has done a great job this year and are up to the challenge.  It would be great to pack the gym tomorrow night to help support them in the first big ACAC match of the year.  The Varsity will play at about 7pm.

Finished!

Well another year at the "Auburn Auction Park" / Labor Day Auction is finished.  I am so thankful for all the great help these past 5 days.  Number 1 on that list is my great wife Stephanie! She was there with me every single day from Thursday at 6:30am - Sunday night at 6pm.  She was in charge of all the gate workers and accounting with RM Auctions.   She was so great in helping get all the workers where they needed to be.

Number 2 - Terry Yarde -- What would I do without him?  He is so dedicated to GHS and this athletic department. Besides being a great coach, he would sacrifice anything to help.  Like Stephanie, he was there every day -- all day from Thursday-Sunday. He doesn't have to do what he does, but he does it anyway.

There are so many others that put in many many hours helping out. Kasey Shultz, Scott Bishop, Mike Andrews, and Tracy Martin, are just a few names of people that go way beyond what is expected. I also can't say enough about Garrett State Bank for letting their staff help out during the work day to man our ticket booths on Thursday. Of course, every one of our high school coaches are key in helping make sure our kids get the job done SAFELY.

Do you realize that we staff nearly 2400 hours over this 5 day period.  If you estimate we have 300 high school athletes, that means each athlete averaged 8 hours throughout this 5 days.  Of course, their coaches, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friends, help fill all the spots needed.  For a small school, we have a HUGE group of people dedicated to our success.

I can't say enough about our athletes and coaches.  We do a great job and the character of our kids is really amazing. Our great kids witness the under-belly of society.  We get yelled at, cussed at, flipped off, and treated with a great amount of disrespect.  Yet, our kids show true character and I am SO proud of them. I get a first hand appreciation of just how great they are when we work this weekend.

Thanks everyone for all your work. You are awesome! We couldn't do it without you!