It’s often said that the work done in the offseason translates to championships in the postseason.

The Gruver Greyhounds have done that work and saw their fruits of that labor through an 8-1 regular season as they get ready for what could be a lengthy stay in the state playoffs.

It’s a different story from where they were last year.

In 2018, Gruver was a state runner up under the leadership of head coach Terry Felderhoff. They went 8-5 with a senior-heavy squad in 2019 before Felderhoff left for Era.

Not only did Gruver need young players to step into big roles, but it needed a new head coach to guide them.

In 2020, the Greyhounds found their man in Lee Brandon from Wellington for his first head coaching gig. But before Brandon could find his footing, Covid-19 hit.

“The first two weeks I was on campus, I got to meet some kids, but I really couldn’t meet a lot of them because the school was closed down,” he said. “That was really tough and made it hard to get connected and form a cohesive group.”

Brandon said the hardest part about starting in the pandemic was that there was no spring training and conditioning.

“A young team grows up so much in the spring,” he said. You get a little faster and stronger and get into the mindset of being ready to compete.”

Even without a spring, the Greyhounds finished in fourth place in their district with a 3-9 record and made a modest run into the second round of the playoffs. While Gruver didn’t go as far as Brandon wanted, he saw the potential in his youthful team.

“I’ve never been one to say you’ve gained something from a loss, but you really do,” he said. “You see progress and the things you need to work on and need to improve. Then emphasize those facts throughout the course of the year and help your team be better. Our kids are ready to work.”

As the calendar turned to 2021, Brandon and his squad were ready to attack the offseason. Especially at a 2A school, strength and conditioning is vital for a team that needs its players to work both side of the ball.

“Our kids did a great job in the summer and in the spring of competing,” Brandon said. “I really noticed us growing up quite a bit. In smaller schools our kids go straight from football, to basketball, then to baseball and track and all those other sports. We really started seeing them grow up in the middle of basketball season last year. They were able to come together and win a basketball district championship. Then they carried that over to the spring. Now we’re seeing all of the fruits of our labor coming to fruition in the fall.”

That offseason effort has turned into 8-1 record and a finish near the top of District 3-2A Division II. And the Greyhounds have been battle tested with close wins over Panhandle and Vega along with the familiarity they have with other teams at the 2A level. But if any game goes to a last drive to win or lose the game, the Greyhounds are prepared.

“Every Wednesday, we do a two-minute chaos drill,” Brandon said. “We try to put the kids in chaotic situations and try to get them used to that. In a game there are so many intangibles that you can’t replicate, and you can’t practice. So, we try to simulate that as much as we can.

“We play against our JV since we don’t have a lot of numbers. But a lot of the credit goes to the JV kids because they work their butts off and give us a great look.”

As Gruver sets its eyes on the playoffs, Brandon has strong buy-in from his squad. Within two seasons, he has been able to turn a young squad into 8-1 team with major playoff ambitions. Not only that, but he has also instilled a culture that keeps everyone accountable and always hungry.

“Our mindset is focusing on us,” Brandon said. “We obviously have an opponent but a lot of times your greatest opponent can be yourself. If you don’t believe this play or team can be successful, it’s probably not going to work. We want to focus on our attitude and our effort because those are things that we can control. If we are putting out best self out there and believe in ourselves then we’re going to be able to compete at the highest level that we are capable of.”