Kevin Kringe has a bubbling personality.

He’s smart, witty and makes one feel right at home.

So when he took over the Weatherly girls’ basketball program his players seemed to buy into his approach. And before one knew it, this team was believing it could be a winner.

“You’ve got to make it fun, and that’s the most important thing,” said the fourth-year head coach. “I love the kids, love their approach to the game and that’s half the battle. If they like you they’ll play hard each and every night. So far, they must like me.”

That drew a chuckle on both accounts. But sincerely, Kringe is a determined coach. He wants success, and he takes losses very hard and accentuates the positive even when there is a negative outcome.

What’s in store for 2018-2019 could be another good run from this team, and mainly because there’s a terrific player who has been an all-stater the past two seasons in senior Emily Zoscin. Zoscin averaged 18.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5 steals and 3.6 assists all per game last season.

“What can I say about her,” said Kringe. “She’s such a team player. She wants to make us better and she absolutely does. But it’s not just about her. We enjoyed success because we’ve got players that fit right into the system and want to be a team player and part of winning.”

Back in the fold are seniors Megan Peifer (5-7), Abby Hernandez (5-7), and Lindsey Hoffman (5-9), sophomores Ashley James (5-7), Grace Miller (6-0), and junior Tabitha Hinkle (5-7).

There’s some size there, nothing overly tall save for two sophomores in Miller and hopeful performer Skyler Provizzi (6-0). Although Zoscin’s stock is high, don’t overlook a few other solid returnees, including Hernandez, who was a valuable inside player last year, along with Hoffman, who fired in eight points per game, including 34 three points. James added 6.5 points per clip along with three rebounds per game last year.

Peifer could be the second go-to player as she scored 9.6 points per game and hauled down a team-leading 6.6 rebounds and 3 steals.

“She’s such a gamer,” said Kringe. “If we can get her more involved (offensively), that’s going to be a huge plus factor for us since teams are going to do everything possible to try and stop (Zoscin).”

Weatherly is looking to build depth during the preseason. That could come from senior guard Kailyn Jones (5-3), sophomore forward Gianna Lowman (5-9), guard Kaileigh Barnes (5-0), fellow senior guard DeAnna Strouse (5-2) or swing player Taylor Cichon (5-5).

Kringe feels that his team needs to create a lot of havoc on both sides of the ball, and is looking for high energy and intensity to bring out success.

“We’re not very big, and we want chaos,” said the coach. “The need to play strong defense with constant pressure is going to be a factor, and we want to attack offensively from all different areas on the floor – we will spread it out and we want to dictate tempo.

“Our biggest hurdle will be how we handle success from last season. We haven’t beaten some teams, and that’s a bit of a mental block that we’ve got to overcome. And we aren’t going to be taken lightly anymore. No sneaking up on anyone.”

If the Lady Wreckers stay hungry and remain humble, they could be a postseason contender.

“We can beat anyone on our schedule, and we could lose to anyone on our schedule,” said Kringe. “We need the right mindset to have a big year.”