When Courtney Quigg was dating her now-husband Jason, she'd bug him about the amount of time he'd spend as a head basketball coach, drawing up plays and agonizing over practice schedules.

Now she's the one down on the floor with the Quiggs' son, toy train in one hand, pen and paper in another.

"There's definitely been some of me needing to apologize," said Courtney, who is deciding which drill will be the first she runs when her River Forest girls hoops team opens practice with the rest of Indiana today. "There are some things I never understood prior to this about being a head coach. He's saying, 'Now you know what I'm talking about.' I had to apologize about being rough on him in the past."

Though open gyms have been conditioning athletes all summer, girls basketball practice officially begins today along with girls swimming practice. Fans can take their first looks at the girls teams as early as Nov. 9, when the IHSAA says competition can begin.

Courtney is one of 10 new girls basketball coaches starting their first practices in the Region this season, but she's said she already has formed a network within that new-coach circle. Former Ingots teammate Tracie Mezera is a first-year coach at Highland and Kristy Hite, who is a teacher in the River Forest system, is the new coach at Lake Station.

"There are definitely a lot of new faces around," Courtney said, "but it kind of makes me feel good when we go to play other teams that I won't be the only new person out there."

Mezera and the Quiggs already have had basketball powwows, talking strategy, plays and practice scheduling.

This year will be different too for the River Forest boys team, as Jason won't have Courtney to scout as many opponents as she could in the past.

"This season, scouting will be a little more crazy," Courtney Quigg said. "He'll help me out and I'll help him out, but it will be a lot different."

After Courtney was hired in April, she said the competitive level in her house increased exponentially.

Jason won the school's first -- and only -- basketball sectional title in 2001. But after the girls team reached the finals last year and the volleyball team, with three hoops starters, took Wheeler to four games on Saturday night, Courtney is hoping to coach the first girls basketball sectional title.

"I think with these girls that we've got, we can be very competitive in our sectional," Courtney said. "We can be the first girls team at our school to win a sectional. Every time I mention we can win it, my husband says, I'll always have the first one."

This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach her at hillary.smith@nwi.com.

Winter sports

Girls Basketball

First day of practice: Today

First competition: Nov. 9

Sectional games: Feb. 9-13

Girls Swimming

First day of practice: Today

First competition: Nov. 9

Sectional meets: Jan. 4-6

Wrestling

First day of practice: Nov. 2

First competition: Nov. 16

Sectional matches: Jan. 30

Boys Basketball

First day of practice: Nov. 9

First competition: Nov. 23

Sectional games: March 2-6

Boys Swimming

First day of practice: Nov. 9

First competition: Nov. 23

Sectional meets: Feb. 18-20

Girls Gymnastics

First day of practice: Nov. 23

First competition: Dec. 7

Sectional meets: March 6