With the weather starting to drop and snow popping up in the forecast, winter sports are ready to kick off. Led by head coach Laura Darby, freshman captain Avni Koenig, and sophomore captain Maddie Mathews the girls’ JV basketball team played their first game of the season on Dec. 6 against a strong Northwest team.

After finishing last season with no wins, the girls’ JV basketball team looks to improve in the upcoming season. The season will last around four months and practice is every day. “This season I think the team has really grown with lots of new talented players and I believe we can improve this season and start winning more games,” freshman Emory Scofield said.

The season started back on Nov. 15. This was when tryouts took place and with nobody getting cut, the team’s final roster consists of 11 players. The team is made up of only freshman and sophomores who believe that they have all the pieces for a great year.

This season the team will play in 16 games taking place at home in the main gym or away at opposing schools. Games will usually be at 5:15 to 5:30 and are typically right before the girls’ varsity basketball team plays. “I like to go to the JV game to watch people in my grade play and then just stay and wait for the varsity team to tip off around 30-45 minutes after the JV game finishes,” freshman Blake Graham said.

Other than playing in games, the team also practices every day. Practice takes place either in the upper or lower gym and lasts around two hours, starting anywhere from 5-5:30. The team once in a while will practice with the varsity players because eventually those who play JV will be the ones trying to bring back championships on the varsity team in the coming years.

This year the team has been preparing for the season even before tryouts officially began. In the summer, players had a chance to participate in a program at the Rockville Sportsplex where they got to play against other high school teams in the county. “We have a great group of players this year and I am excited to start playing games and improve our record from last season. I expect that we’ll be able to get better every day, push each other to work hard, and win some games,” Coach Darby said.

Being on the team doesn’t only mean playing basketball all the time. Outside of the court and locker room the team also participates in team bonding exercises. Secret Santa, team breakfasts, team dinners, and occasionally having activities on weekends are just the beginning of their team bonding experience. This helps build team chemistry and better prepares them for the upcoming season.

In season the team can play anywhere from one to two to even three games every week. When those three game weeks come around in January and February, players need the right rest and treatment. During those weeks the games are on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so the team will use the two off days as easy practices and film watching time.