Bobby Hahn knew there would be some growing pains in his first season as Pleasant Valley’s head coach.

And he was right.

The Bears stumbled to a 2-20 finish last season after reaching the district playoffs the year before.

But Hahn saw signs of life down the stretch, with both of the team’s wins coming in the final six games of the season.

With a full offseason under his belt, Hahn is ready for Pleasant Valley to take a big step forward this winter.

“I’ve been looking forward to it since last year ended,” said Hahn. “I hate to lose more than I like to win at times, so last year the competitor in me just couldn’t wait for this season to start to go out there and prove how much better we got as the year went on.”

Hahn has watched his players put in the work during the offseason and over the summer, something he believes will pay dividends this year.

“All the credit goes to the players for the work they put in because it is very easy for a player to sit there and crumble when everything gets tough,” said Hahn. “But seeing that they took what they saw last year, and they got better; and they took that momentum into the offseason to try and really improve. They came out to make sure they get a different result this year. They’ve worked harder, and all the credit goes to the players with just how much time and effort they’ve put in to get better.”

Hahn is hoping a deeper lineup will help the Bears be more competitive in the rugged Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Noah Mitchell (8.6 points per game), Sebatian Piszczatowski (7.8), Mychal Kearns (4.5), Nick Waltermyer (2.3) and Kory Kearns (2.0) are among the team’s key returnees from a year ago.

While Pleasant Valley will have to replace Andrius Harrison-Gaddist (12.5 ppg in 10 games) and Ashton Smith (7.6), newcomers Joel Contreras, Shelby Joyner and James Stewart should provide a boost.

“It comes down to who’s working hard, who’s playing well and who really gives us what we need to give us the best chance to win the game,” said Hahn. “We have a lot of depth this year, which is nice. If we’re playing a team and we want to go big, we can go big; if we want a team with more shooters, then we can put more shooters out there.

“So the lineup is really going to rotate every game depending on what we need.”

After taking their lumps last season, the Bears are ready to set out on a new path this year.

“These guys push each other at practice. Last year, maybe they could sit there and say this is my spot. This year, there is competition for that spot, which drives everybody to work very hard,” said Hahn. “The kids are very healthy competitors ... they want that spot when they’re on the court, and they’re going to work hard for it.”