Football has come to an end for the Garden Plain Middle School. The 7th and 8th grade boys went 7-0 as they ended their season Thursday night, October 12th against Conway Springs. The amount of dedication and hard work they put in was extravagant. The boys would wake up to go lift weights at the high school before school to get an extra workout in.

Coach Brent Randolph, who has been coaching for 18 years, said what stood out to him about this group of boys is their availability. He said, “The greatest ability of this group is their availability.  They all show up for weights, practice, volunteer work, or anything else that is asked of them. They are willing to work towards their goals, and understand that nothing is going to be given to them. It is a great group of kids and the parents that raised these kids have done a great job in teaching them the value of hard work.”

The team has faced some challenges. Coach Randolph said, “Coaches always battle the mindset of  ‘What’s best for me?’ or ‘But this is what I want!’ and can we set aside our selfishness that is inside all of us and instead be selfless?  If we can, then we’ll see success both as a team and as individuals.  The team struggled with that at times, but the strength of the group pulled us along to reach our goals.”

Randolph did offer some advice to the boys as they start their high school career. He said, “You haven’t reached your goals, you’ve only taken a step towards achieving them.  Stay the course, keep grinding.  Don’t be complacent and continue to COMPETE in the weight room, in your sport, and in the classroom.” Randolph added, “I think we are building something great here in the Garden Plain Football Program from grades 7-12 and I hope that more people want to be a part of it.” Throughout the years people will look back on this season as an amazing time that they won’t forget.