Practices start next week for Buffs

Monday marks the start of the fall sports seasons as students at Greybull High School and around the state begin preparations for their competitive debuts coming up Friday, Aug. 30 and Saturday, Aug. 31.
Football
Coach Jeremy Pouska has announced that the parent meeting will take place Friday, Aug. 16 at the high school gym.  Two-a-days are planned for the first week, with morning sessions running from 6 to 7 a.m. and evening sessions from 6 to 8 p.m.
The regular after-school practices will start the second week, leading into a Week 0 scrimmage on the Buffs’ home field Saturday, Aug. 31.  Pouska said Wind River, Wyoming Indian and Rocky Mountain are expected to attend.
Pouska said he’s optimistic heading into the season.  The Buffs finished 4-4 and missed the playoffs last year, but several key players return, including all-stater Lucas Bolzer and all-conference performers Wyatt Didrickson and Caiden Sorenson.
“We had 31 players attend our camp at Black Hills — the most we’ve had in my four years — and we had a lot of success there,” said Pouska.  “On top of that, for summer lifting program, we averaged eight a day.  I think the most we had in one day in the gym was 16.  In the past, we were fortunate if we had two coming in to lift.”
The Buffs open the season Friday, Sept. 6 at Wright.  It’s one of only three Friday games on this year’s schedule.  They will play four times on a Saturday and once on a Thursday.
Volleyball  
Coach Sara Schlattmann said she anticipates a squad of approximately 25 players to report Monday.  
“We’re very excited to get going,” she said.  While the team lost a number of seniors, the returning cast has shown its dedication to the sport by participating in open gyms and camps during the summer months.
“We took 17 girls with us to team camp at Black Hills State and had a great experience,” she said. “We were competitive and the most exciting part was that we had a large number of incoming freshmen also attend and you could see the tremendous improvement they made through spring and summer.  I think nearly all of my returning players were at camp.”
A parent meeting is planned Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Two-a-day practices are planned Monday and Tuesday with normal after-school sessions the rest of the week.  The team’s annual serve-a-thon fundraiser, in which the girls gather pledges to support their goal of 100 serves, is Friday and Saturday.
“As is the case every year, we will spend the first full week teaching and reviewing passing and serving, emphasizing the need to be focused and be purposeful with our time so that we get lots of quality reps,” she said.
The Lady Buffs open the season at the North Big Horn Invitational.