The girls basketball teams are set. Head Coach Rick Witte, also an AHS math teacher, and senior manager Abby Leyden say they are preparing for the upcoming season by having the players training and working out daily.

On the varsity team this year are 15 players and two managers. See the end of this article for the 2016 roster.

“I am very excited for the season. This year our team is incredibly close and we can’t wait to get out and play for each other. Our biggest hope is that we get to stay together as a group for as long as possible,” says Leyden.

According to Leyden, the team goes to the weight room, does skill sessions, and scrimmages in the preseason after school. She says the practices contain high levels of energy partnered with high levels of focus.

Leyden says the girls like to have fun while getting things done. The team has an Energy Chart which keeps track of who gives high fives, helps teammates off of the floor, and other positive ways people impact practice.

“Practices are very fun, yet require a lot of focus. In the beginning of the week, we usually focus on what we did wrong in the previous game. Towards the middle of the week, we start to focus on what we need to accomplish in the next game,” says sophomore varsity player Lauren McDonald.

According to sophomore varsity player Bailey Deininger, before tryouts, the team would be in the weight room everyday conditioning for practices. Players like McDonald and Deininger say they prepared for the upcoming season by going to summer camps, open gyms, and leadership discussions every Tuesday morning.

Managers sophomore Lauren Powell and Leyden say they prepare for the season by attending everything the players go to as well as setting up the technical side of the team. The technical side of the team involves recording percentages, working on team spirit, and other aspects.

“We’ve had open gyms which allow us to go and work on things as an individual that we aren’t very good at. In leadership, we had a book that we had to read [Un-Train by Mike Lee] and then we discussed how we could be a leader and how to handle our thoughts,” says McDonald.

According to Witte, the team hopes to use their individual and collective gifts to make everyone around them better.

“This group of girls works hard. They have put in a ton of time both physically and mentally. They are great to be around because no individual is bigger than the group. They buy into We>me 100%,” says Witte.

2016-2017 AHS Varsity Girls Basketball Team Roster:

Coach: Rick Witte
Seniors: Grace Gilmore, Liz Erdmann, Dom Fortune, Cara Engelking

Juniors: Megan Peterson, Karina Smits, Kylie Ballmann, Abbey Lippold, Karissa Hucke, Caitlyn Harper, Sarah Edwards, Kendon Schutt

Sophomores: Bailey Deininger, Lauren McDonald, Lauren

Managers: Abby Leyden and Lauren Powell.