We Won!

What da ya know?  We won a game.  And with that, we matched last year's win total.  I believed it was possible but the girls?  Yeah...not so much.  But I had a feeling even though I have the usual coach nerves about how a team will perform.
I coach girls' varsity basketball at a small high school in Colorado.  It's my first year coaching girls, and my first varsity job.  How did I get into this?  I was available and I'm cheap.  Actually, I love coaching basketball and the opportunity fell into my lap.  How could I say no?  My friends don't know what to think - yet - but they are quite supportive.  And they have sent me way too much advice on how to relate to teenaged girls - some of whom don't know anything about teenaged girls. When I was a teenager, I didn't know anything about them.  And I still don't.  To me, they are basketball players first, girls second.  And that is probably the best and most respectful way to manage this.  And frankly, that is all I know to do.
But given that it's a small school, their lives are pulled in many different directions.  So, even during basketball season, I have to compete with other activities for their time.  But I can appreciate the challenge of that.  And that is the way it goes.
Anyway, my expectations of the team have gone up.  Practices will be more intense because they have more belief in what we're doing.  The focus of the girls will be better.  And the buzz around the team will increase a little.  All of these are good things.