When a program has a new head coach at the helm, the culture is going to change.

First-year Panther Valley varsity girls' basketball head coach William Lynn has maybe the youngest squad in the Schuylkill League - and has been preaching toughness and physical play since the get-go."Right now it looks like I'll play up to ten kids on varsity," Lynn said. "They're young and I have to get them in to get the experience. One of our main goals is to be competitive. From day-to-day we want to compete, and I told them don't look to tomorrow, but focus on today. They work hard; they're a good group of kids who have a lot of character."Sophomore guard Abigail Hoben had back surgery over the summer, but is truly providing the type of leadership that Lynn is looking for by example."As soon as she got the OK to come back, she hasn't missed a single day of practice," explained Lynn. " She's been here since July 18th with me, although she can't play until the end of the year, she's always here with her uniform on, ready to go. It's things like that, which make you proud as a coach."Returning for PV will be its sophomore point-guard Christina Dacey. As a freshman, Dacey led the team in foul shooting, and ranked third in scoring."She got better, stronger and she's more physical," Lynn said. "One of the things I preach is to be physical. Christina (Dacey) is one of our leaders coming back from last year, and I expect a lot from her. She played for me at the younger level and she knows that she runs the show; she's the quarterback of this team."In fact, Lynn coached at the younger level in the program for the previous nine years. He has experience instructing all of the girls on this team, including his lone starting senior Brianna Picht."I definitely think it's going to help," Picht noted of Lynn's familiarity with his personnel. "All of these girls are athletes that play different sports. No matter what, we always stick together. We all get along as a team, and we work as one through all of the differences and tough times."Picht said she's been working hard, hitting the gym everyday right after the girls' practice. The senior is showcasing her leadership on the court, as well as off of it for the program."She's a great leader; she probably knows the plays better than I do," Lynn jokingly said of his lone senior. "She's a smart, vocal leader and she tells the rest of the team what's going on. They're here all summer in the weight room, conditioning, right after school -they're always here working."Lynn mentioned he is going to get a ton of girls playing time. Expect to see Picht and Dacey joined by Chloe Miller, Chloe Markovich as well as handful of other players on the court throughout the season."I definitely leaned that it's all of the small stuff that matters," Picht explained. "We're going to have to play hard every night for the entire game. From open gyms, to summer league, to when school started - all of us that are here are really dedicated."