By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
At the March USD 428 Board of Education meeting, Randy Beck and several other teachers and staff were recognized for celebrating work anniversaries. Beck was celebrating 30 years with the Great Bend school district, and at Wednesday’s school board luncheon his plans to retire were announced.
Beck, who grew up in Hoisington, knew he wanted to be a ballplayer and went to Fort Hays State University to play baseball.
“Fort Hays was a blast,” said Beck. “I loved it. I met a lot of great guys, and we still keep in touch. Even to this day, I’m still playing some of my former teammates that are coaching other teams.”
Among other coaching duties, Beck has served as the head baseball coach at Great Bend High School since 2010. A few of Beck’s FHSU teammates whom are coaching or used to coach include Rick Sabath at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Joel Thaemert at De Soto, Neil Baker at Scott City and numerous assistant coaches.
“It’s a small world sometimes,” said Beck. “It’s so cool catching up with those guys again and competing against each other. We always wanted to win but there was always that respect win or lose.”
After graduating from FHSU, Beck began substitute teaching in the Barton County area. Once the Great Bend Middle School P.E. teacher decided to retire, Beck slid in and took the position.
Beck began coaching baseball right away in the mid-1990s with the C-team and junior varsity before starting with the varsity team as the pitching coach under head coach Jeff Langrehr. Langrehr left for a position at Gardner-Edgerton High School in 2009 and Beck stepped in to lead the Panther baseball team.
“I learned from a lot of great guys,” said Beck. “Eventually, you form your own philosophy as you go through. Coaching with Langrehr and Kurt Schaub helped early on. You get to the point of ‘yeah, I can do this.’ I jumped in and here we are now, several years later.”
With multiple trips to the State Tournament as an assistant and head coach, most recently in 2023, Beck noted beating rival Hays High School at the Indians' field in the Regional Championship game in 2019 as one of his most memorable moments.
“That moment is near or at the top of this list,” said Beck. “Winning that Regional at Hays, that was a pretty sweet thing. First time winning the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title is up there. We were underdogs a lot of years and enjoyed knocking off some of those teams.”
This spring will mark Beck’s final year coaching the Panthers after going 18-9 a year ago.
“I told the seniors, it’s you guys and me. We’re all going out. Let’s make the most of this.”
Beck said he plans to take a few months off following the end of the school year before he makes any decisions on his future.
“I’ll probably find a part-time job, otherwise I might drive my wife crazy and drive myself crazy. Especially coming off the baseball season where you’re always busy. It’s hard to just sit down and relax.”
Beck will have earned his chance to relax as he retires as the P.E. instructor at Great Bend High School.
“I grew up as a baseball player. I loved sports. I loved working with kids. This was a good fit more me.”