POULSBO — Last year, the Lady Vikings basketball team traveled to Oak Harbor High School to play Coach Dan Weedin’s alma matter — but the Vikes were unable to come up with a win against the state-bound team.

This year, Weedin said he anticipates things will be different.

“I’m really anxious to play them,” Weedin said. “I love the energy, the heart of our team. I’m excited to see how we stack up (against Oak Harbor).”

And the Oak Harbor game is just the tip of the iceberg, he said.

“I’m cautiously optimistic — no, very optimistic about our chances this season,” the coach said.

The team is coming off a productive summer, beating South Kitsap in the finals of a tournament at Whitworth College in Spokane and picking up two wins in an Oregon tournament. NK has been training for the past two weeks to get ready for their upcoming season, which starts today in a jamboree-style tournament at King’s West.

The goal of the winter season, Weedin said, is simple.

“Play more than 20 games,” he said. “That means whether we’re first or fourth, we’re in the playoffs.

The team’s depth and quickness will be the strengths to get them there, Weedin commented.

“We’re more aggressive on defense. We can do more man-to-man coverage. We’re going to press the whole game,” he said, noting that depth would be a strength for the Lady Vikings this season as well. “We have four sophomores that are very good. I’m very happy with that depth — our sophomores will contribute and we’ll stay fresher.”

Unfortunately, dribbling basketballs, palm-smacking passes and swishes from shots are not the only sounds coming out of practice at the renovated North Kitsap High School gym this year. A lot of hacking and coughing often interrupts Coach Weedin’s lessons on the court.

“We’re not banged up,” Weedin said. “We’re ‘sicked’ up. They’re all recovering from illnesses. But I’d rather have that now, than in season.”

The new gym has helped the team stay healthy — at least physically. Playing on hardwood floors — not the rubber surface the team was accustomed to — has saved players early on from shin splints and knee soreness.

Strategy will come on both ends of the court, Weedin remarked.

“We have a good outside-inside game,” he said. “Good outside shooters, and good pressure down low — a balanced offense.”

“We’re going to cut down on turnovers,” Weedin added. “Our biggest bugaboo of the last few seasons.”

On defense, the team will play a full-court press that utilizes its quickness.

“We’re going to emphasize defensive pressure all 84 feet,” Weedin said.

Getting to the playoffs will take hard work — but ultimately a win versus an established team.

“We have a great opportunity,” he added. “But we’re going to have to beat somebody good and bounce them (out of the playoffs) — something that has alluded us the last few years.”