With fresh new players and a year under her belt, Cedar Park Christian girls basketball coach Sara Land is ready to start this season.

Land has 22 years of experience playing basketball. Nine years ago, her sister was playing for Cedar Park and told her they needed a new coach. For three years, Land coached the girls team at Cedar Park, then moved on to coach at Bothell High for five years.

Last year was her first year back at Cedar Park.

“It was a transition year for the girls. The seniors had been used to one coach for three years, and then a new coach came in. Everything was new for them,” Land said.

Senior and captain Stephanie Lammers remarks on the new team this year, and how more than 75 percent of the girls are freshman: “It’s cool that we can all come on the common ground that we play basketball and be united.”

Land loves the game because “girls have a chance to play a sport just as aggressive and fun as the boys.”

Land’s goals for this year are pretty high for such a new team. The team only has three returning players, but Land is still hoping to make fourth in league in order to move on to districts.

This year, with the addition of so many new players, Land has completely changed the offensive strategy. “We’re a lot more athletic this year, so we can run more drills.”

Land says the girls choose their own pregame ritual, but every game the team makes sure she and her husband, assistant coach Jeff, are dressed up. Most importantly, the girls check that she is wearing her high heels. “All the girls wait for my heel to stomp during the game.”

The girls listen to music to get pumped up before games. During practice they found what might be their next pregame song, says Lammers. “All the girls bust out dancing to ‘Ain’t No Mountain.’”

Land constructed her team with girls “that are willing to be taught new things and try new things.”

This year holds promise for the girls team, as it sets out for a new season of triumphs.