BOSCOBEL - As the new school year approaches, several Bulldog athletic teams, as well as the marching band are already gearing up and preparing for a new year.
The Bulldog football season got underway with equipment handout and a parent meeting with the new coaching staff on Monday, August 5. Entering the second week of practice, first-year Boscobel coach Wayne Otto feels that the squad is ready to move forward. Unfortunately, as Otto has made it his goal to help improve the school’s athletic mind-set, old habits slowed the first week’s progress.
Practices were less efficient as the coaches would have liked, as several players had yet to fulfill obligations such as having physicals and paperwork completed, and adjusting work schedules to free them up for practice. Otto and his coaches identified the problem and sought assistance from players and the parents to address it.
The coach and Activities Director shifted the team’s practice time to a 5:00-8:00 p.m. slot and sent out an e-mail asking parents to help their student/athletes to make the necessary arrangements to fill out paperwork and adjust work schedules.
The early result was a fully attended practice on Monday that Otto and his coaches labeled their best and most efficient of the young season. A full week of a full squad attending practices and workouts should bring results moving forward.
First scrimmage Friday
Otto and the Bulldogs will be able to get their first measure of where the team is this Friday evening, August 16, as the team will participate in a five-team scrimmage at Cashton beginning at 6:00. Boscobel will get to test their new offensive and defensive systems against other teams for the first time.
Schools represented at the scrimmage will include Kickapoo, Milrose-Mindoro, River Ridge, and host Cashton. The Bulldogs will open the regular season August 23 on the road with a game at Brookwood High School. The kickoff is scheduled for a 7:00 at Brookwood High School in Ontario.
Cross-country/volleyball begin practices Monday
Two other athletic squads begin their seasons next week as Monday, August 19 marks the first official date for practice for cross-country and volleyball.
The volleyball program was active this summer. The incoming freshmen and sophomores competed in a summer league at Prairie Du Chien on Sunday evenings, helping the young players gain some valuable experience as they get ready for the new season.
The juniors and seniors completed a modestly successful summer league season held on Monday evenings in Westby. The Bulldogs finished second in the end of summer tournament in the Silver Division. A summer of competition and open gyms gives head coach Cassie Kirschbaum and her squad reason for optimism as they enter their first regular week of practice. The varsity volleyball squad will be preparing for their first taste of live action, which will come at the end of their first week of practice, as they will participate in a scrimmage at Lancaster High School on Saturday, August 24.
The cross-country program begins its first official week of fall practice with high expectations. Both the boys and girls teams qualified for the state meet last year and are returning many of their top runners. Coach Skyler Reynolds is also excited about some promising newcomers to the program as well.
The boys and girls have worked hard this summer as coach Reynolds noted that the Running Club workouts were well-attended throughout the off-season. The Bulldog cross-country team will travel to Crescent Lake near Rhinelander for an overnight training and bonding session on August 21-22, then will finish their first full week of practice with a fund-raising event, as the cross-country program will host the Fly-In Breakfast on August 25. The Bulldog cross-country team’s first competition will be on Saturday, August 31 at Onalaska.
Marching Band prepares
Boscobel band instructor Charles Calabria and his band members have been busy preparing for the upcoming school year as well. Marching camp was held July 29-31 as Calabria and his band members worked on drills to ready themselves for a busy school year. Last week Calabria held a camp for the incoming sixth graders to help prepare them for the upcoming year as well. Individual band members have been attending lessons each week as the band prepares for their opening performance at this year’s Tailgate Party, which is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 30.