With the season about to begin, the De Soto High School girls’ and boys’ basketball teams are sharing one gym for the last time.

When the construction started last year, it was estimated that the second gym would be open by basketball season of this year, and now that estimation is becoming a reality.

Along with the new gym, the new addition will eventually include a new wrestling, weight, cardio and a multi-purpose room.

“I am really excited to play in the new gym and to make other schools jealous,” said sophomore varsity player Megan Bonar.

Having the new gym will help the practices for both girls and boys to flow more smoothly and allow for the teams to practice right after school.

It will also help splitting up between varsity and JV teams and gives more flexibility to schedule games and practices for every DHS team.

Boys’ basketball head coach Matt Rice said that he hopes that the new gym will help develop basketball in the community, and during the summer there will be more space to work on team development.

Tryouts for the girls and boys teams started on Nov. 12. Both teams have two and a half weeks to prepare for the upcoming Hays Tournament.

Even though the teams have not been finalized, there are some goals that the coaches hope to achieve this season. Both squads hope to grow together as a team and improve during the season.

“I want us to play unselfish, team basketball … a great defensive team. I hope that we are competitive in all of our games. If we finish with a winning record, it will be the first time in a long while that we have had three winning seasons in a row,” Rice said.