Angelica Zimmerman is coming into the season with her sights set on steady improvement.

The first-year Pleasant Valley girls basketball coach is eager to grow with her players as they work together in helping the program achieve progress in more areas than just wins and losses.

“We had summer open workouts and fall open workouts, so I’ve been able to get to know them as much as possible,” said Zimmerman. “And that’s been the main focus all summer and in the fall is them getting to know me, me getting to know them as a basketball player, but also just as a person.”

The bond that Zimmerman has created with her players is something that has strengthened their relationship and helped both sides build trust quickly.

“We’ve set our team culture and our team goals for the season, and we’re starting with small goals first,” said the coach. “So we want to build little by little, get better each and every day, but really just make sure we’re getting in the gym every single day and working hard and leaving everything on the floor.

“They’re honestly just a great group as people and as players, and they want to learn. And I think that’s what stood out the most is they’re willing to do the work. They’re willing to be taught. So it’s been a really fun experience so far. So I’m excited for the future of the team.”

Senior Brooke Green is the team’s leading returning scorer after averaging 5.5 points per game last season. Fellow seniors Kayla Boyne, Annalisa Lanigan and Alexia Polazzo, along with junior Juliana Soucy, sophomores Lily Hower, Ella Rothrock, Rylan Knapp, Nevaeh Allie and Camilla Lamberty and freshman Payton Shillady, will be counted on to play crucial roles in the team’s success this season and going forward.

“I do have leaders across ninth through 12th graders,” said Zimmerman. “I really am also leaning all my seniors to lead. They have a lot of knowledge. They have the experience, but they also have caught on very quickly in the defense that we’re looking to do as well.

“I love defense; the team already knows that that has got to be our thing. I’m looking to get up the court fast in transition; a lot of fast-break points. But they know that that doesn’t happen without good defense, so that is the main focus and main priority going into the season.”

Zimmerman is a decorated athlete. She was played basketball at Notre Dame East Stroudsburg, and was part of the first state tournament team there, and then played soccer and basketball at DeSales University.

“I had two knee injuries for basketball in college, but that’s also what sparked my love for coaching,” Zimmerman said. “Being sidelined and being able to have a different perspective of it and being able to watch it, really did help my passion and love for it.

“I went on to coach two years at Whitehall at the freshman level, but stepped away to go back to school for sports psychology.”

Zimmerman carries a well-rounded approach into her first year as the Bears’ head coach, one she hopes will lead to continued growth and development throughout the season.

“There’s already been a ton of growth from the summer workouts to now, so I am really pleased with what they’ve been able to do in a short amount of time,” she said. “So I’m looking for them to grow. Of course, we always want to qualify for districts, but in order to get there we have to be able to hit smaller goals first.

“So being able to start with winning five games first, and then winning eight games, and then building up from there. So that is my expectation, is how can we in increments set those goals and accomplish those goals.”