Lehighton girl's basketball coach Eric Gidney began his tenure with the Lady Indians two seasons ago. Prior to his arrival, the program has historically struggled to string together some winning seasons.

Gidney knew that the wins wouldn't magically start piling up without change, so he's used his creativity and motivation to help change the environment of the program."I'm a big culture guy," explained the Lehighton coach. "There wasn't a very positive culture here when I arrived and maybe rightfully so. There were four coaches in four years, and only five winnings seasons in the past 25 years. I felt that I had to change the culture first before the wins and losses.""We've tried to make them more of a family, and they now realize that they compete with each other for the right to compete against the opponent, but at the end of the day we are still here for one another, lifting each other as teammates which helps us rise up when facing adversity."Returning for the Indians will be two-year senior captain Riley Durishin and fellow junior captain Allie Rossino two of the team's three leading scorers from last year."There were no captains when I came in a few years ago during the offseason. I felt that I needed that representative between the team and myself," explained Gidney. "I saw certain particulars and leadership qualities in her (Durishin) that I thought was important. She's very vocal with the team and has been a phenomenal teammate. Allie Rossino is another one of our captains and leaders and certainly does a great job for us too. These girls are proactive on and off the court and there's not much I have to ask them to do."Joining Durishin and Rossino will be returnees Brooke Scott, Jada Whiteman, Celina Fital, Brooke Blasiak, and Holly Bollinger. Gidney's squad took a major step in the right direction last season as the program earned eight wins. The Indians now have major depth, a wealth of experience, and more importantly an exciting team culture."Everybody is excited to get into the new season," said Durishin. "We have some new players coming up and I feel like we have really bonded as a team up to this point. Coach (Gidney) brings a new kind of vibe to the team and it's great. We haven't been to districts in a while and I really think this team can get there."The Lady Indians do quite a bit of activities as a team such as community service and other group exercises."Things like that will help us in times of adversity and remind us that we're lucky and blessed to be playing this game," explained Gidney. "We can run drills all day, but if there's no mental toughness, this team could lose. We are taking the proper steps as a team to be successful, and I really do believe that culture, atmosphere, and environment leads to success on the court."Lehighton will have to deal with some unfamiliarity this season, as it will be playing its first season in the Schuylkill League against brand new competition."We have discussed changing leagues quite a bit because and it's another challenge," Gidney said. "We want to meet that challenge head on, we don't know how it is going to fair for us, but we will be up for it. I think the style of play is much different. This is a team who likes challenge and thrives on them. These girls need goals, and wanting to be competitive is a goal that they've embraced.""The girls want to qualify for a district berth so it's important that we do everything we can to put ourselves in that position. I would like to know that upon graduation, those four seniors (Durishin, Scott, Blasiak, Fital) will feel like the challenges prior to my arrival here were worth it and that they not only have became better basketball players through this program, but better people. I want their families to feel that this was a successful season and that we were winners. If we play our best and give our all, those things will take care of themselves."