On Nov. 9, the Western Plains Unified School District No. 106 met for its regular meeting in Ransom, Kan.
Several items were discussed, but most notably was the extension of a contract to one Todd Vogts to be the assistant boys’ basketball coach for the high school team.
Stunned silence has permeated the circles in which Vogts travels because anyone that knows him knows how much experience he has with the game invented by James Naismith — except for the occasional pick-up game with friends, Vogts has never played basketball for a team.
Even so, Vogts is excited to be helping lead the basketball charge in Bobcat country. He understands the game, but it is the shooting that plagues him with the most problems. It just isn’t his strong point.
Today after school will be the first day of practice.
Several of the players know how much experience Vogts has, but they underestimate how physical he will play on the post. After all, that is one reason he was brought in.
Bobcats head coach Jerrod Horchem said he wants Vogts to help teach the big boys how to play tough while under the basket.
Vogts knows he can come through in that department, and he is also confident that he will be a quick student of the game and be able to contribute more as the season progresses.
The boys’ team comes of a winning record from last year, winning 11 of 21 games.
When asked about how this year would go, Horchem said he wasn’t going to make guesses, but he did make it clear to his team during their first meeting that he takes the game very seriously and wants to succeed. Horchem played collegiate basketball while attending a small college in Nebraska.
With an experienced player and a novice coming together to help lead the team, it should be an interesting season of Bobcat basketball.
“I will be keeping people informed about how this new coaching adventure is going via my blog at www.voiceofthevogts.com,” Vogts said.
In other coaching news, Travis Schafer has been named the head high school girls’ basketball coach. This will be his first year coaching, just as it is his first year as a teacher (he teaches second and third grade at the Western Plains Elementary School in Ransom).
Schafer has said he is excited to be controlling the reigns of the team and is excited to bring a little more passion back to the court in hopes of intensifying the fan base and the confidence of the Western Plains student athletes.
The Lady Cats are coming back from a less-than-stellar season, and though Schafer declined to speculate about the success of this year’s squad, he did say he is confident they will be playing harder with more heart than most of the teams.
Schafer will be assisted by Debbie Hagans, who is a social studies teacher at Western Plains High School.
Practice for the girls also begins today. It was initially going to start at 6:30 a.m. for the first day of a week’s worth of two-a-day practices, but due to weather concerns, the first practice was delayed until the end of the school day.
Two-a-days will begin tomorrow, according to Schafer.
Horchem is only holding afternoon practices.
