As snow begins to fall, most people have the mentality that it is the season for staying indoors and succumbing to the lethargy that winter brings upon the body. But for PHS athletes, snowfall means conditioning is in the near future.

Especially if you are a basketball player, a male swimmer or a wrestler.

The PHS girls and boys basketball teams began open gyms recently, which brings to mind the questions of who will be playing varsity, how much running will be done at two-a-days and how successful the team will be this basketball season.

The Lady Panther basketball team has one lone senior this year with a lot of young talent on the team after losing four seniors.  Senior point guard Maddy Hanks is the only senior this season.

“I am both excited and disappointed to be the only senior,” Hanks said. “I think it will be a great opportunity to lead, but I will also miss seeing the growth of the other seniors who decided not to play.”

Hanks also said one of the team’s greatest advantages is the familiarity and the fact that the team has been playing together for a long time.

“ I believe that we are familiar and comfortable with each other’s playing styles,” Hanks said, “ I also believe that the new players and younger girls coming up will also be valuable assets to the team.”

The Panther basketball team lost two seniors at the close of the season last year and have five returning seniors this season. Senior Aaron Jacobsen said he thinks the team has many assets, including size and scoring ability, but working together as a team is the most important aspect.

“I think to be successful this season we need to be able to work together as a team, not as individuals, and really click offensively and defensively,” Jacobsen said.

Junior guard Kaelan Groves said he believes that to be successful, the team needs to work together.

“Our team’s biggest advantage is our speed and our height, but if we want to be successful we need to play as a team and we just need to play loose,” Groves said.

The Panther swim team will begin their season Nov. 27. The team has five returning seniors this year. Senior Kacey Creed said there are some changes coming up this season that could impact the success of the team for the better.

“We have a new coach so I feel like we could have a faster and stronger team this year,” Creed said. “We have the same numbers as last year, but I feel like we could be better this year.”

Senior Gavin Asay said dedication is important to the Panthers.

“It’s important for everyone to be committed,” Asay said. “We need to follow the new coach’s practices and work hard.”

The Panther wrestling team has two seniors this year — Brian Brazelton and Stephen Preator.

Junior Cameron Schmidt said that he thinks the team has a lot of young talent and strength in numbers.

“We all need to work as a team and practice as hard as we can to get better and better every week.” Schmidt said.

Added Brazelton: “We have a lot of athletic ability and we were pretty successful last year. I also think one of our greatest assets is the coaching.”