One season ago, head coach Kevin Kringe approached his initial season with the Lady Wreckers with optimism and a strong attitude. A year later, the second-year coach is a little more relaxed because he not only is a year older and a year wiser, but most importantly, he is a year more comfortable with the program at Weatherly High School.

"With this year being my second year here at Weatherly, I got the opportunity to work with them all summer," Kringe said. "So the girls have improved a lot since May of last year. We might not be where we need to be, but I've seen the team make some decent strides up to this point, which is nice."In terms of personnel, the Lady Wreckers lost six seniors to graduation, but hope to overcome that deficit with the younger girls' experience from a year ago, along with a solid group of freshmen ready to make the jump to the next level."Last year, I really didn't know what I had. I didn't necessarily know my strengths and weaknesses, so now, this year, I can kind of work with them and improve as much as we can," Kringe added.The biggest challenge for this year's team is going to be filling the void of Tea Heister, last season's point guard and floor general. Having that experienced offensive leader out on the floor took some of the pressure off Kringe, which this year should be handled by any of a group of players.Also graduated from last year are Kelly Parker and Sami Hartz, two players whose presence was felt on both ends of the floor."We'll definitely miss Tea's toughness out there on the floor, Kelly Parker could score for us, and Sami Hartz was our biggest big girl that we had," the coach recalled.As for the replacements for those missing pieces, Kringe looks to Shelby Berger, a shooting guard that will contribute immediately. "She's going to fill it up from the three-point line, she's quick, she'll be on the ball on our press, because of her speed out there."Lexi Hartz will also be counted on to produce for the Wreckers, as she is "our 'jack of all trades,' that can play inside, outside, can be our point guard, play on the wing," according to Kringe. "She's quite versatile for us, which is great.""Jackie Gillott played some JV and varsity for us last year, and she can change the pace for us, and she is really sort of an undersized forward. As a senior, she knows a lot and we can run stuff around her."Rounding out the remainder of players that will see playing time, Kringe named Morgan Gower (fundamentally-sound, according to coach), Christina Caravella, who will be looked to for her shooting abilities, along with four solid freshmen that will need to contribute right away."We're looking to (Emily) Zoscin, Lindsey Hoffman, Megan Peifer and Abby Hernandez, four freshmen that will need to step in, adapt to the varsity level and the speed of the game, because we will need them in order to be successful," Kringe concluded.The up-tempo style of play will return to the floor for this year's squad, as a man press, a zone press and half-court trapping will all be staples. Fast breaks and much running will highlight the offensive end, as well. "Without a big girl to really build an inside game around, we are going to have to run and we'll be up in your face, aggressive defensively, and hopefully force the issue," Kringe said. "It should be pretty exciting and I'm looking forward to it."With that type of game, the Wreckers will need to utilize their depth, substitute frequently and stay healthy. Kringe seems optimistic about his chances with this approach."We're going to need to learn how to win on this level," he admitted. "Last year, I don't think we had enough 'horses' to compete, whereas this year, we do have that big number of players that we will be able to battle a little bit more than last year."