Fall practices begin Monday for local high schools

Golfers already hit the links Monday, but for the rest of the fall high school sports teams at Lovell and Rocky Mountain, practice opens next Monday, Aug. 17.

All coaches remind players and parents that sports physicals must be turned in at high school offices before the first practice.

Football

With school starting next Wednesday, Aug. 19, in Lovell, Lovell head football coach Nicc Crosby will hold two-a-days at different times next week. On Monday and Tuesday, the Bulldogs will practice from 6 to 8 a.m., then Wednesday through Friday from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m. and 6:15 to 8 p.m. Lovell will play a zero week game in Buffalo Saturday, Aug. 29, at noon, then open the regular season against Burns on Thursday, Sept. 3, in Glenrock at 5 p.m.

With school not starting for Rocky Mountain until August 26, the Grizzlies will have a more consistent practice schedule next week. The Grizz will practice from 6 to 8 a.m. next Monday through Friday, with second practices Monday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., Tuesday from 4 to 6 p.m. and Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. There will be one more two-a-day on Monday, Aug. 24.

Head coach Jessee Wilson said the school doesn’t have a zero week game scheduled but is hoping to schedule one. The Grizz open the regular season Friday, Sept. 4, against the Southeast Cyclones in Yoder at 6 p.m.

Volleyball

The defending state champion Lovell Lady Bulldogs will gather for a player/parent meeting tonight (Thursday) at 6:30 p.m. at the high school multipurpose room, then practice all next week and the following week from 6 to 7 a.m. and 4 to 5:30 p.m., with the only difference being that from August 24-28, the early practice will be for the freshman team, and the late practice for the junior varsity and varsity squads, head coach Tera Kostelecky said.

The Lady Bulldogs will open the season at the Columbus Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 29, with the freshman team at the Powell Invitational the same day.

The Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies will practice Monday from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., then 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday through Friday. Coach Kay Townsend will hold a parent meeting August 27 at 6 p.m., and the Grizz will host the North Big Horn Invitational on August 28-29.

Cross country

New Rocky Mountain cross country coach Gerry Burton will open practice Monday at 3:30 p.m. and continue the rest of the season at 3:45 p.m. The Grizzlies will run at the Billings Invitational Friday, Aug. 28, at Amend Park to open the season.

The Lovell cross country team will open practice Monday at 4 p.m. at the high school gym lobby.

“We ask that everyone have their Bulldog cards for the first practice,” coach Caleb Sanders said. “The practices for the rest of the week will be adjusted according to heat advisories, but we are planning on practicing at 4 p.m. on August 18 and at 3:45 p.m. when school begins on August 19. Practices will remain at 3:45 as a standard time from then on out.

“We hope that kids will consider cross country as a sport that will help them develop life-long habits of healthy living. It also provides an opportunity to build relationships and grow through doing challenging things.”

The Bulldogs will open the season at the Billings Invitational August 28 at Amend Park.

Middle school practices begin on the first day of school, Wednesday, Aug. 19, for Lovell and Wednesday, Aug. 26, for Rocky Mountain.