Chris Deutsch came into training camp with his players this season with an unusual goal.

He wasn’t thinking about Colonial League or District 11 championships, and wasn’t even thinking about how good his team might be - even though they could be very good.

Instead, his goal was just to have his team play as many games as possible. With the coronavirus erupting in the colder months, Deutsch’s goal may be as lofty as winning any championship.

“This season is different,” said Deutsch, who also serves as the school’s assistant athletic director. “We’re just going to focus on playing as many games as possible for these girls, and we’re not focusing on what championships we can win. Heck, we don’t even know if there will even be playoffs.

“We’re not even focusing on who we play. It’s just a matter of scheduling as many games as possible against any team that we can play, whether they’re a big school or a small school.”

Deutsch and other coaches know that the season could be delayed or shutdown at any moment because of the pandemic. Teams may have to cancel games, and the schedule will likely be a day-by-day endeavor, but Deutsch and athletic director Jason Zimmerman are determined to not have their players lose much of the season.

While the focus at this point might not be solely about piling up victories, the Tigers return three starters who can help them do that.

Kailyn Jones, Paige Sevrain and Ali Lister - who Deutsch believes is one of the best defensive players in the area - give Northwestern a great nucleus to build around. Add to that players like Caitlyn Miller and Tess Ledeboer, who have both played well during the opening weeks of preseason practice, and it’s rather apparent Deutsch has a pretty good team.

“Tess Ledeboer has been really good in camp,” said Deutsch. “She does all of the little things that make us better. She can be physical on the court, she grabs rebounds, and plays hard. Miller has really been good too, and they’re both really working hard.”

As with every other team, summer and early fall workouts were limited because of restrictions made necessary by the virus. Deutsch also had several girls come in late because their fall sports season went deep into districts.

While the lack of added time in the gym might have slowed some of the younger players development, Deutsch believes the more experienced players are fine and just needed to shake off some of the rust from not playing.

Deutsch also sees a positive out of the reduced playing time.

“I think sometimes that playing and working out so much wears kids down, and can lead to some injuries. I think maybe there should be a week or two where we just have no sports and let kids rest a little,” he said.

One difference in Northwestern this season will be how deep into the bench Deutsch goes. Normally, the Tigers use a rotation of seven or eight players, but Deutsch plans on using as many as 10 players per game, mainly because of the new rule that all players must wear masks even while they’re playing.

“We have enough players so that we can go deeper,” Deutsch said. “The girls do get more tired [wearing masks], and we’ve had to take more breaks during practice.

“Using more players though also adds to the competition, because girls know they have a shot at playing and they tend to work a little harder.”