Now in his third season as head coach at Pella High School, Jerod Garland faces something he hasn’t had to deal with much in his previous two seasons – an inexperienced team. With six players – five of which were starters – graduated from last year’s team, Garland’s team features a much different look for this season.

That said, he tells KNIA/KRLS Sports he’s really looking forward to the journey with a group of seniors and juniors that are simply fun to be around.

“You just enjoy the kids. Especially the group we have this year – it’s going to be fun. We’ll have ups and downs; and we’ll have some really exciting wins and some crushing losses – just like every year – but these girls are going to be really fun to walk with on this journey,” said Garland.

“Just the kind of girls that we have really makes it fun. [They’re] very coachable, listen very well and this group will run through a wall for us. It’s going to be fun to go on this journey with them.”

The Lady Dutch went 19-4 last season, and open their schedule Tuesday night on the road at Ballard.