By Liz Siggins and Kelsey Hamilton

The AHS girls basketball season started Nov. 5 with coaches  Casey Pelzer, Terry Hinzmann, and Natalie Ross. Varsity coach Pelzer said he’s expecting 25 to 30 girls out for basketball. He also said the main reason people don’t go out is it’s hard and time consuming.

Pelzer’s favorite part of coaching is “working with all the wonderful ladies that come out.” He said he never has an idea of how the team will turn out each year. He explained that the team will work around height since the Trojanns don’t have height on their side. He plans for his team to make up for their height by doing their best on ball handling and speed.

JV coach Hinzmann said the best part of coaching is “when the play comes all together!”

Hinzmann said that his team need improvement on ball handling and shooting. He also thinks attitude has a major impact on the game. “Once you’ve been beaten you play like it, but if you are confident you get positive results.” He said that conditioning is also a major addition to the game because “legs need to be conditioned.”

Allie Siggins said that she is very excited to be with the team. She said, “My goal is to become a better teammate.”

Although English teacher Elizabeth Huggins attends more boys’ games than girls’, she mentioned that she was embarrassed by the student section for her first couple of years here because they were very rude. She said that this year they are not as rude, but they don’t have much enthusiasm.

Huggins said that the chocolate chip cookies (sold by the Booster Club) are worth going to the game for even if you don’t like watching basketball. “I think the goal for any student athletics is to build character through celebration and training,” Huggins said. She said that the loss of last year’s seniors won’t have too much impact on the team because all players get better and gain different qualities.