The Herd Returns June 15!
After the spring sports seasons were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, USD 457 and Garden City High School began preparing for the re-start of summer athletic camps, clinics and scheduled workouts. All are in compliance with the Kansas State High School Activities Association, the State of Kansas Health Department and Finney County Health Department.
Buffaloes will begin their summer workouts on Monday, June 15. Here is a roundup of each sport. Please be mindful that you can follow these sports on their respective social media platforms that also are listed.
It’s been a difficult three months for the Buffalo Herd to be penned up, but now that they know the gate opens on June 15, they can’t wait to get out and roam!
GIRLS & BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
The Buffs’ cross country girls and boys teams will begin their summer conditioning workouts on Monday, June 15, and will include runners in 5th through 12th grade for the 2021-22 school calendar year.
Any runner who intends to participate in fall cross country should get a physical prior to Aug. 10, which will be the first day of the fall semester. This also includes runners at Kenneth Henderson and Horace Good Middle Schools.
The summer workout plan includes Summer Runs from a variety of starting locations.
There will be a Buffalo 10k run on Aug. 15, with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Garden City High School and the run will start at 8 a.m. at the school.
During the week of Aug. 10-14, the teams will go through their preseason prep work, with runners from grades 7-12 meeting from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Dean Wiley Park.
Official practice begins on Aug. 17, with runners slated to meet by the training room door at 3:30 p.m. This will take place Aug. 17 to 20, and then there will be an early morning practice on Aug. 21 from 6:05 to 6:50 a.m., again meeting at GCHS.
If participants need more information, contact GCHS head coach Krista Linenberger at 620-521-4642. All summer information and updates will be posted to the GCHS Cross Country Facebook page and Remind text.
“If you don’t commit to running in the summer, competitors can’t expect much from their cross country season,” Linenberger said while encouraging the runners to participate fully throughout the rest of June and July.
Weekly Locations for Summer Runs
Week 1 June 15 Meet at Zoo 8:00am (any 5th-12th grader can come to run beginning this week)
Week 2 June 22 Meet at Buster Park (Spruce St, by Football and Softball fields) 8:00am
Week 3 June 29 Meet at Scout Park (N. 8th St.) 8:00am
Week 4 July 6 Meet at Zoo 8:00am
Week 5 July 13 Meet at Meet at Buster Park (Spruce St, by Football and Softball fields) 8:00am
Week 6 July 20 Meet at Fair Grounds, by Grand Stands 8:00am
Week 7 July 27 Meet at GCHS 8:00am
Week 8 August 10 Meet at GCHS for preseason conditioning 3:30pm
Saturday August 15: 10k XC BUFF Challenge (10K, 5K, and 2 mile races) 7:30 register 8:00 start
Monday August 17: First official day of XC 2020 season
FUNDRAISER DATES: 9th-12th grade only
Three Saturday’s June 27, July 4, July 11. 7:00-11:00 a.m. GC Farmers Market in Sequoyah Theater parking lot on North Fleming St. We sell baked goods donated by our running families.
July 22-26 8:00-8:45 a.m. at Finney Co. Fair Grounds grandstands. We provide trash pick-up for the fair. This is another excellent fund-raiser for the program.
Please try to participate in our fund-raisers. Runners receive points towards lettering for their time spent at the event helping. We hope this eliminates our need to do fundraisers during the season. Funds are used to provide meals after meets, team shirts, and upgrade/replace team equipment needs. If no fundraising events are attended, then the runner will need to make arrangements with Coach Linenberger to compensate in some way.
There will be an information parent meeting on Monday, Aug. 24 from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. in the GCHS Media Room, which is located just off the left entry way at North Point.
Here are the team social media information sites:
GCHS Athletes: Remind Text @buffsxc to 81010
5th-8th summer run: Remind Text @gcrun to 81010
Parent Remind Text @xc16buffs to 81010
Facebook GCHS Cross Country
Twitter @gchsxc
GIRLS BASKETBALL
With the bulk of his team returning for the 2020-21 season, GCHS girls coach Matt Pfeifer is looking forward to getting his team back in the gym to begin summer workouts beginning on Monday, June 15.
In order to avoid having too many teams in The Garden at the same time, the Lady Buffs basketball players will be doing their weights program from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Monday through Thursday each week, except for USD 457’s moratorium week of July 5-10.
Pfeifer’s squad will do skills workouts from 7 to 9 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, with 3-on-3 Nights to be held on Wednesday. Pfeifer’s 3rd through 6th grade youth camp is set for June 29 to July 2 and will be held from 9 to 10:30 a.m. The high school team camp will be July 13 to 16, with the time set from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
“Summer weightlifting and basketball skills are a great way to improve as an athlete,” said GCHS girls basketball coach Matt Pfeifer. “Our skill workouts are mostly aimed at improving shooting, ball-handling, and improving in competitive game situations. Attendance is important and can help jump-start a successful season!”
The Lady Buffs will likely compete in a MAYB tournament the weekend of July 18-19 either in Wichita or Salina. Another 3-on-3 Night is slated for July 28, a Tuesday. While nothing is scheduled yet, there will be possible games with area schools on weeknights and those will be posted on the team’s social media platforms.
Those include:
Twitter— @gchs_bb
GCHS Remind-Text “@buffsgirls” to 81010
HGMS Remind –Text “@Girlsmsbb” to 81010
KHMS Twitter/FB–@khmsfalcons; Kenneth Henderson Middle School on FB
BOYS BASKETBALL
The Buffaloes’ boys basketball players will begin their summer schedule on Monday, June 15, with weights from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Middle school boys will conduct weights from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there will be high school and middle school skills from 9 to 10:30 a.m. On Wednesdays, there is Open Gym from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
Youth Camp for grades 3rd through 6th grades will begin June 29 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and will conclude on Thursday, July 2. High school team camp will run the same days, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
There will be no activities the week of July 6 to 13, with weights and skills resuming their original schedule on July 14. On July 15-16, July 22-23 and July 29-30, the high school and middle school players will have 3-on-3 events from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Fridays will be an off day throughout the entire June and July schedule, as well as Mondays of July 13, 20 and 27.
Breakfast and lunch is being served at the high school cafeteria during the summer.
Social media information can be found at the following locations:
HG MS Remind: Number 81010; Message @boysmsbb
HS Player Remind: Number 81010; Message @gcboysbas
KH MS Remind: Number 81010; Message @khbas
HS Parent Remind: Number 81010; Message @gcbballpar
FOOTBALL
Head Buffs football coach Brian Hill begins his second decade at the helm, and the summer program kicks off with a week of weights and conditioning drills to provide the players an opportunity to slowly rebuild their overall physical conditioning after being sidelined by COVID-19 which cancelled all spring sports across Kansas in mid-March.
“We’re going to focus on getting the kids’ bodies back into condition with a lot of stretching, conditioning to avoid any serious injuries, pulled muscles, ACL tears or any other injuries,” Hill said of his soft re-opening of workouts. “We eventually will have an extra week of workouts in August thanks to the extended summer schedule made available by KSHSAA.”
Hill said that weights and conditioning will be the sole focus for three weeks, leading up to a week off from July 6 to 12. On July 13, the Buffs will practice and plan to run through plays. On July 13, 20 and 27, there will be 7-on-7 performances. On July 15, 22 and 29, there will be specific workouts for wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks.
There will be an August Boot Camp from the 3rd to 5th, beginning at 5:30 a.m. and concluding at 7 a.m. with different plans set up for training each day. Team Camp will run from Aug. 10 to 14 with regular practices included. Officially, fall drills begin on Aug. 17. Football Friday Night in Garden City will be Friday, Aug. 21 at Buffalo Stadium, and the Buffs will travel again to Wichita Heights on Aug. 28 for a 3-team Jamboree that will also include Maize High School.
The Buffs open their 2020 season on the road Sept. 4 at Manhattan.
Times of Different Activities:
Weights: 9-12 grades, 7-8:30 a.m., HS weight room; Aug. 6-7: 3:30 to 5 p.m., HS weight room.
Skills: Monday’s 7 to 9 a.m., Buffalo Stadium
7-on-7: Varsity only, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m.
QB/WR/RB: 9 to 10 a.m., Buffalo Stadium
Team Building: 7 to 9 p.m., GCHS
9th Grade Conditioning: 8 to 9 a.m., Buffalo Stadium
GC Team Camp: 9th to 12th grade, 4:30 to 6 p.m., Buffalo Stadium
Boot Camp: 5:30 to 7 a.m.
Player Meeting: 3:10 to 4:10 p.m., Place TBD
Parents Meeting: 6 p.m., Commons Area, GCHS
Social Media Platforms:
Twitter: @GCBuffsfootball
Facebook: Buffalo Football Family
GIRLS & BOYS SOCCER
New GCHS Buffs soccer coach Jose Vital Caro didn’t get a chance to see his Lady Buffs in action during the spring, but he will be overseeing the girls and boys summer workouts to prepare for the 2020-21 seasons. The Buffs’ boys will have their regular season in the fall while the Lady Buffs will return for the spring 2021 season.
Starting on Monday, June 15, the Buffs’ boys will do their training on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, starting at 7:15 p.m. The Lady Buffs will do their training on Wednesday’s at 7 p.m. There will be optional weights on Friday’s.
The week of July 6 to 10 is a moratorium on any organized workouts after USD 457 opted to include a week off for all sports. Workouts will resume the week of July 13, with boys focusing on weights on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and the girls on Wednesday that week. Training workouts are back the week of July 20, with boys again on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 7:15 p.m. and the girls on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Optional weights on Friday. This schedule continues through August 6. Caro’s boy’s team will then begin its official fall practice on Aug. 10, with the opening practice set to begin at 4 p.m. at Buffalo Stadium.
“We are working both the boys and girls this summer,” Caro said. “Even though the boys have a slightly bigger concentration of summer workouts, the girls will get their chance during the winter months to further their concentrated training. The boys need to prepare a bit more for their upcoming season.”
GIRLS & BOYS SWIMMING
Head boys swimming coach and assistant girls swimming Coach Brian Watkins will oversee the summer schedule in preparation for the winter boys and spring 2021 girls’ schedules.
The swim workouts will be conducted at the Garden City Family YMCA.
High school workouts will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 to 8:45 p.m. Middle school, as well as high school, workouts also will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, workouts will be available, too.
Regular GCHS weights and conditioning will be held for swimmers from 7 to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday. All workouts begin the week of June 15.
“Unfortunately we probably won’t see any real meet opportunities this summer,” Watkins said. “Maybe some exhibition swims with surrounding summer squads will be available as we can get scheduled.”
VOLLEYBALL
The summer Lady Buffs volleyball program will see a few returners, but also many new faces, after graduating one of the top classes in school history following a 33-5 2019 season and a fifth consecutive trip to the state 6A tournament.
Monday, June 15, head coach Trista Bailey will greet her squad of more than 50 for high school as well as more than 35 middle school players for the start of the summer schedule of workouts.
On the first day, after three months of non-activity due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Lady Buffs will do weights and also include skills from 7 to 8:45 a.m., following with weights from 8:45 to 10:15 a.m. There will be combination days of both as well as days with just either weights or skills. The week of July 6 to 10 will be a moratorium on workouts, but the Lady Buffs will be serving Meals on Wheels to local citizens. Each week, the team will have Friday’s off until the August schedule rolls around.
On July 22, there will be a Summer Slam to include girls in grades 9 through 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and there will likely be some team matches that day. August 3 through 6 will see Team Camp open for the Lady Buffs from 5 to 7 p.m. for grades 9-12, with the final day being Aug. 7, followed by a fund-raising car wash on Aug. 8 at the ESC on Fleming Street from 1 to 4 p.m.
The week of Aug. 10 to 14 will be preseason workouts from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. for high school players, with official fall practices set to start Aug. 17 with tryouts for freshman, junior varsity and varsity squads to be completed over two days. Tryouts for ninth graders will be from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m. while 10th through 12th grade will go from 5 to 7 p.m. Daily regular season practices will begin at 3:15 p.m. in The Garden.
“Our No. 1 priority right now is to get kids back in a healthy routine, both mentally and physically,” said Bailey, who will be entering her fourth year as the head coach. “We know they are going to need time to acclimate and reignite their muscle memory, both in the weight room and in the gym. With that being said, this will be a slow to start process in order to prevent injury and burnout.”
Bailey said that despite the two-week late start to a usual June 1 date, the KSHSAA has given two additional weeks in August to fall sports.
“So we are really just focused on individual reps and development for most of June and July,” Bailey said. “If we are competing back at high level by the first of August, I think we can feel good about going into our season.”
On Aug. 27, there will be a Middle School (4 p.m.) and High School (5 p.m.) scrimmage at the Garden, open to the public.
Social Media platforms:
Twitter: @gchsvolleyball1
Facebook: GCHS Lady Buffaloes Volleyball
Instagram: @gchsvolleyball1
Garden City High School 