Practice makes perfect

Kansas high schools began practice Monday for the upcoming season, as mandated by the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA).

Expectations are high for the football team at Pittsburg High School, coming off back-to-back Southeast Kansas League titles (perfect 5-0 both seasons) and its 45-35 win over then No. 1-ranked Blue Valley in district play. Pittsburg finished 6-3 during its first season under head coach Tom Nickelson.

Senior running back-linebacker Anthony McNeely and senior offensive-defensive lineman Dakota Taylor (both returning starters) had a little time for conversation one hour into their first practice.

“It’s going good,” Taylor said. “It’s like every other first day of practice. You’ve got your adversity but you push through it and try to get better.”
“So far so good,” McNeely added.

McNeely and Taylor are two of 10 returning starters (5 offense, 5 defense) and will be counted on for their leadership this season.

“Freshmen, coming in, they don’t know what to expect,” Taylor said. “As a four-year player for Pittsburg, you know what to expect and you know what to do.”

Addressing his coaching peers and gathered media last week, Nickelson touched on his players’ offseason preparation.

“We’ve had a successful summer,” Nickelson said. “Our numbers haven’t quite been where they’ve been at in the past but I think our commitment level’s up drastically. We had about 80 percent of our kids who were 95 percent attenders at every activity or better. That’s good for us. . . . We asked a lot of our boys and they rose up to it. So we feel like we’ve given ourselves a chance this year. They’ve pushed each other hard, they’ve encouraged each other, they’ve built a lot of good team chemistry over the summer.”

Taylor vouched for the offseason work on Monday.

“We worked really well this summer,” Taylor said. “We worked a lot mentally, physically. We worked ourselves to the point of exhaustion, to the point of breaking, but that’s what it takes to be a champion. You break yourself down to build yourself back up.”

With only seven teams remaining in the SEK League after Columbus and Iola made their exodus, Pittsburg faces all SEK teams on its pre-district schedule and plays Independence and Parsons for the first time since 2007. Pittsburg meets Blue Valley West, Blue Valley Southwest and Blue Valley in district.

“We’re looking to be the Southeast Kansas League champions, beating the other six teams,” Taylor said. “We don’t have a win-loss percentage (to decide a league title) so we know the clear winner of the SEK. Then we’re looking to beat all the Blue Valley schools in our district. We beat the No. 1 team in the state (Blue Valley) last year, 45-35. We know it’s going to be a tough game and a tough district.”

Pittsburg opens its season Aug. 31 at home with Labette County.

“They’re a good team,” Taylor said. “I know that just like every year, it’s going to be a tough one.”

Volleyball
Pittsburg held its first practice Monday in the PCMS gymnasium.

“It was pretty good,” head coach Mary Packard said. “We had to be flexible because our gym wasn’t ready. So we kind of had to scramble. I had to send the girls text messages. They were here early and we got started on time.”

Packard wore a T-shirt Monday displaying back-to-back SEK League championships in 2010 and 2011, both seasons 8-0 for the Purple Dragons. A favorite cliché: IF YOU WANT TO BE THE BEST, YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST.

“I feel like we have a target on our back all the time, which is a compliment,” Packard said. “We look at it as a compliment simply because we’re finishing high enough in our league. It’s a little different league this year because there’s only seven teams without Iola and Columbus. I always believe the teams in our league are very competitive and the same thing this year. It’s a hard road. Certainly, winning league’s our goal but it’s tough with the teams in our league.”

League championships are won in the offseason and Packard discussed her players’ offseason work ethic.

“They worked their tails off,” Packard said. “The varsity girls put a lot of hours on the court. We had a lot of open gyms that everybody was invited to, we went to a Southeast tournament, we went to a Fort Scott league and we played pretty good but we still need to get better. They had a lot of time in the weight room. They put the time in, they earned it and we’re ready to get moving.”

Pittsburg graduated Skyler Muff (now on the roster of UMKC, a Div. I program) and several varsity contributors. However, a trio of varsity stalwarts — Andie Casper, Alaura Short and Lizzy Willis — returns for their senior years.

“We lost several girls but our philosophy the last several years has been that we’re not relying on any one person,” Packard said. “That certainly happened last year when Skyler (Muff) broke her arm and then somebody else gets injured. We do have a good senior group. They’ve done offseason volleyball and they’re the ones who were all in the gym working out. It’s different but it’s different every year.”

Pittsburg opens its season Aug. 25 with a quadrangular hosted by Girard also featuring Columbus and Fort Scott.