Garden Plain High School has had many successful years within its athletic programs. Whether it’s winning state track championships or having consecutive winning seasons, they have continually proven their success within each of their programs. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Athletic Director Cory Brack on his thoughts on the recent success the school has had and how they plan to keep it going for many more years.

The success of each individual sport is great at this high school, but were there any challenges that the students and coaches faced? I was wanting to know more about the transitions between two different sports and how they prepare for those sports. “It starts with great collaboration between our coaches and our strength teacher. They work together to make sure our athletes are properly rested. We are in a great position because most kids are going from one season to the next,” Mr. Brack states. I was also wondering about the relationships between coaches and students and how they motivate kids to come out and keep coming out for their sports. “We encourage our freshmen to try everything, and if they don’t have a good time, they don’t have to go out the next year. They (the coaches) are great recruiters in the hallways, and they develop great relationships with our student athletes.” Building these relationships is crucial to the success and future of these programs.

The success at this high school has been at a high level and has been very consistent throughout the years. We asked Mr. Brack what achievements really stood out this year, and this is what he thought: “Girls volleyball made it back to the state tournament and had almost 50 players on their team this year.” These types of numbers for the sport are a very good sign for the future of the program. “The football team embraced many different challenges and changes, yet they embraced these changes and bonded as a team,” Brack said. “The boys and girls basketball teams had success, with the girls winning the league title and the boys making it past the first round in their substate game. The wrestling team qualified three for the state tournament, and each one won a match during the tournament.” This made for a very successful winter season for Garden Plain. We are currently in the spring season of 2023, but Mr. Brack already has some great things to say about the programs that are in progress. “We have great numbers for baseball, softball, and track, and I can’t wait to see how they finish the year,” he said.

Not only do the athletes have to perform well on the field, but off of it as well. I asked Mr. Brack about how he makes sure his student athletes are successful on and off the field. “Our coaches meet with their team and talk about their expectations. They also meet with their squad leaders. With squad leaders, they do book studies, explain expectations on how we want our athletes to handle themselves, and check the pulse on their team.” Making sure that your students are successful academically and athletically is a very important thing to do to make your school well-performing as a whole.