Among its many early-season objectives, Washington’s girls’ basketball team simply hoped to learn during the first half of its campaign. There was a lot to adjust to given the plethora of experienced players that graduated from last year’s squad.

The players on the court weren’t the only ones hoping to learn. First-year coach Ralph Biggs had a lot he hoped to gain from his first half dozen games at the helm.

One of the biggest challenges he had to overcome was simply figuring out how to teach.

“I’m learning a lot about myself. I’m learning it’s easier to do than to teach,” said Biggs, who has experience playing in college and professionally in Europe.

“Sometimes on the court, I’m learning the methods of teaching. I was a visual learner. If I could see it, I could do it. Some of my girls are not visual learners. Some of them need more instruction. Some need to know why they’re doing it.”

Getting a feel for coaching and just learning was the primary objective Biggs had laid out. He didn’t have too many explicit expectations for the girls, which has made the season a pretty positive experience thus far.

One of Biggs’ areas for improvement is preparation.

“I assumed a little too much. I assumed they knew something,” he said. “All of my coaching friends and college coaches told me that was my first mistake. Never assume, just do everything from the start. I think that was a good learning experience.”

Being better prepares is a priority for the second half of the season — a sort of New Years resolution. Not only does Biggs want to not assume anything about his team,  he also wants to make sure he’s also aware of what the opposition brings to the table. That will be a key to success in the upcoming conference stretch.

Biggs knows the girls want to win. They’re working during the down time to harness that desire and channel it into productive practices. They may want to win, but they need to figure out how to.

“The main thing I’ve seen from the team is that they play hard and want to win, but we need to learn some things. We have to learn how to win,” Biggs said. “Sometimes people get winning and good basketball mixed up. You have to play good basketball to win, but people want to win and not necessarily play good basketball.

“They have given me great effort. There are new things I’m trying to teach them. There are old habits they had before that I’m trying to work out.”

The girls have made the teaching process considerably easier, though. They believe in what Biggs is coaching. It started with the team’s leaders — whether it’s the more talented or longer tenured girls — and trickles down from there.

“When your more basketball advanced players buy into what you’re doing, it helps,” Biggs said. “The better girls and the two seniors have really bought in and they’re helping me get my point across and teach the younger girls. It’s been a great help for me.”

Physicality is an emphasis during this layoff. Biggs wants the Pam Pack to be able to take on the toughness of any opponent, but also to be able to dish it out.

“(We are) ramping up the competition and getting the girls to play harder against each other,” he said. “(I want them to) push each other and realize that that makes them better when they push each other to a higher level. You can get to a higher level.”

Washington resumes the season with three games in four days. That toughness is necessary for grinding through that kind of stretch. The girls travel to Southwest Edgecombe to open up 2-A Eastern Plains Conference action. They come back home to host Southside on Jan. 6 and then Farmville Central on Jan. 8.