It is well known that the girls varsity basketball team has a bad track record. They currently have zero wins and four losses in league play. However, it is not their record that defines the team, the strong determined players do that.

Although league games have been rough, the varsity girls have not been disheartened. Junior point guard Jolene Kvinsland, believes that her team will, “keep improving and go to the playoffs.” The girls have not started off strong since they have an all new varsity team. Kirsten Ritchie, Samantha Sayers, Lilly Portteus, Lauren Gillette, Makenna Petersen, And Mackenzie Walch are all new to the 2015 varsity team.

The team also has a brand new coach: David Hawkins. Unfortunately, the varsity girls only had two weeks to train with Hawkins. This is because he was hired after summer league. Therefore the girls really just jumped head-on into the season with almost no experience as a new team. Hawkins has coached for ten years. He was most recently at North Mason High School in Belfair, Washington. Hawkins is very excited to coach Peninsula’s Varsity team because of his quality connection with the players. He believes the team should, “Work hard, play hard,” both hard work and fun are equally important to him. His top priority is to make sure the seniors finish off their last season with great experiences.

Hawkins’ coaching foundation revolves around, “Playing for today and building for tomorrow.” He believes that varsity’s main strength is their height, since Portteus and Ritchie are both over six feet tall. Their weaknesses are their common injuries and their little experience as a team.

However, there is hope for the team. They are extremely determined to improve together. The girls all believe in themselves and each other; they feel that they are a family. The varsity team gets together before Saturday practices for breakfast and bonding time. Michala Zilkey, senior post, states, “Performances so far haven’t represented how we play. There’s a lot of pressures it’s all going to come together once we get more experience as a team.”

All of the varsity girls are skilled players. Two new freshman, Sayers and Peterson, are talented ball handlers, Ritchie and Portteus are beneficial posts, and Bando, Gillette, Bancard, and Walch are all forwards with good aim. Once all of these strengths come together, the team will finally play up to their full potential.