To say the Vikings women’s basketball team is young is almost an understatement.

With the start of the season already underway and three less practices under their belt, the team must find its rhythm quickly; and they must do so without senior players.

The varsity team has six juniors, two freshman and two sophomores. A young team means more ground work lays ahead without as many returning varsity players to share insight. Because of the recent weather, the young players also had less time for developing relationships on the court.

“The snow kind of messed things up, because we have not had a chance to get to know each other,” said junior Indigo Williams.

Teams take advantage of preseason practices to form bonds with each other, along with running drills. The three cancellations of after-school activities because of a storm on Nov. 22 cut the team’s practice time in half.

Head Coach Tim French had less time to observe the players in action, which affected key decisions. He said he will use the first game as a trial run for the team to see where player’s strengths are and player positions will not be set in stone right away.

Despite the setbacks, French looks forward to seeing the team perform.

“It’s going to be a great experience to see where we are going to be,” French said. “I’m just excited to get into it.”

Returning players such as juniors Lexi Simmons, Williams and Indika Bray will play a key role on the team, French said.

At 5 feet 11 inches, Bray may become a high-scoring player on the team; at 5’9 Williams shows a strong rebounding capability and 5’8 Simmons is expected to be an all around strong player.

Because the Vikings are juniors or younger it means a strong returning next year, French said. In order to make this work, the players need to get to know how each handles herself on the court, both for this year and the future.

Developing an identity will play a key role in a team’s performance throughout the rest of the season. French would like the team to build its own identity as early as possible, an identity that reflects the team now, not what it was.

Along with creating a “positive team culture,” French said the team will work on new defensive strategies. One aspect of the game the team will improve upon will be how it handles man-to-man defense, he said.

Before becoming head coach of the women’s team, French was an assistant coach on the men’s JV team. As head coach of the women’s volleyball team, French took the team to the state tournament for the first time.

Though he does not know how well the team will develop this year, basketball is a sport he has always enjoyed coaching and hopes to make the team his own.

“I think we’ll be pretty good this season,” Williams said. “We’ll definitely play our hearts out.”