What do ice skating and basketball have in common? This is a question that some people may ask themselves when they hear that the girls’ basketball team is planning to go ice skating. “This year, we’re planning on going to PPG and ice skate around the Christmas tree,” Junior Maddi Lewis said. It turns out that each year, the girls’ basketball team has one pre-season ritual where they all get together and bond. Coming off a not-so-great great season last year, the team hopes only to improve. With the thought of winning on their minds, that is what the girls strive for this upcoming season. “I hope to at least win more games than last year,” Lewis said. The coaches are on full board with the steps that the girls need to take if they want to become successful. “We’ve done a lot of conditioning, a lot of work on fundamentals, and these girls have played for a really long time together,” Coach Ron Kelm said. Even though some of the girls may not always see eye to eye with the coaches, they have their best interest at heart. “I love and care about all three coaches for dedicating their own time to be there and to help keep us motivated,” Senior Captain Carly Arbes said. The practices have gotten harder and the intensity has been pushed to an entire new level. From practicing every day after school until 5:15, the girls are working hard. “There is a lot of running,” Freshman Madison Daubenspeck said. In most sports, there are underclassmen that are trying to get used to the program. However, this does not apply here. “It doesn’t feel like [the underclassmen] are new. We’ve played with them for so long because they made it to conditioning previously,” Lewis said. On the other side, just like every other sport, there are upperclassmen with extremely high hopes. “I want my senior year to be a year I’m going to remember forever,” Arbes said. “With the team we have this year, I’m sure I’ll never forget what playing basketball was like.” The season can only improve from here. As the girls continue to practice and condition, the saying, also their motto, that the team keeps in mind is: “Expect perfection, accept excellence.”