SOFTBALL

Head Coach: Shawn Rock

Assistant Coach: Daryl Fernald

JV Coach: Josh Robbins

Roster: Seniors Kylie Myers (catcher), Lyla Levesque (third base), Mallory Smith (outfield/pitcher), Reiyn Leighton-Hart (utility), Alex Parmalee (utility); juniors Margo Tremblay (shortstop), Laura Dutton (outfield); sophomores Mia Letarte (utility), Vylet Robbins (second base), Kaitlin Lane (utility); freshmen Kathryn Peterson (utility), Dylan Libby (outfield), Ava Cole (pitcher), Abbi Nadeau (outfield), Ella Gibbons (first base).

Strengths: More athleticism and speed than in years past. Also, more kids are playing in the offseason on travel teams.

Areas of development: There are quite a few holes at important positions we are filling due to graduations last year — namely pitcher, catcher and center field. Freshman are being expected to fill some of those holes so that will be an adjustment for everyone all over the field.

Emphasis in the preseason: Coach Rock — I want the athletes to always have fun. I’ve also emphasized hitting — it’s an important part of every practice.

Goals: 1. Staying healthy. I want every athlete to have an open line of communication between them and the coaches and trainers regarding their health and fitness to play; 2. Productive at bats. When we are able to practice outside, we will work on having our pitchers provide live at bats; 3. Aggressive base running. We will work on situations in practice so everyone is aware of those expectations.

Looking forward to building a culture of winning which raises the expectations and performances from the players, which leads to more spectators coming to support the program.

Home Game: The Lakers host Freeport on Wednesday, April 24 at 4 p.m.

GIRLS’ TENNIS

Head Coach: Jenny Dunn

Roster: Seniors Kasey Johnson, Ava Smith, Rianna Reynolds, Susie Butler, Jenna Jordan, Kylie Cohoon, Ushana Kumari; juniors Audrey Philbrook, Madison Eddy, Madelyn McDougall, Sylvie Gronlund; sophomores Isabell Leary, Kathleen Peterson; freshmen Lilly Hartnett, Emily Maguire, Emily Novicki, Emjae Wilcher, Kahlil Hurd.

Strengths of the Team: Coach Dunn — Our biggest strength this year is our experience and leadership. We have five returning seniors who have worked hard in the offseason to improve their game. This match experience will be a good example for our newer players.

Areas needing Work: We have a lot of brand-new players this year who just need to learn to play. Unfortunately, with weather conditions to start the year, we haven’t had any consistent practices. Getting these girls hitting more consistently will improve their basic skills.

What has been your emphasis in preseason: Consistency, we don’t always need to win the point in a fancy, fun way, but if we can outlast our opponents then we stand a chance.

List three main goals, and what will it take to achieve them? 1. Consistency in matches — this comes with consistent practice and hitting rallies; 2. Competition within the team — players challenging each other for spots on a daily basis; 3. Have fun!

Finally, what do you look forward to seeing this season? This season, I really am looking forward to watching our seniors finish out their high school sports career with constant improving and challenging themselves every day. This is the most amount of returning varsity players that I have coached, so I am looking forward to see their progress in matches and to grow from last year.

Home Match: Tuesday, April 23, 4 p.m. against York. Matches are played at Camp Skylemar in Naples.

BASEBALL

Head Coach: Andrew Stacy

Assistant Coaches: Chris Small and Shane Waters

Roster: Seniors Michael Clarke (outfield), Evan Duprey (second base, pitcher); juniors Titus Benton (first base, pitcher), Caleb Coombs (outfield), Brock Gibbons (outfield, pitcher), Caiden Hall (catcher, outfield, pitcher), Brady Martin (outfield), Noah Peterson (outfield, pitcher), Adam Quincy (outfield, pitcher), Landon Ross (infield); sophomores Jaiden Meehan (catcher), Matthew Plummer (outfield), Jacoby True (shortstop, pitcher); freshmen Dylan Blair (shortstop, second base, pitcher), Shane Plummer (third base, shortstop), Braydan Wilson (first base, third base, pitcher).

Strengths of the Team: Coach Stacy — Our youth got a year older, and we added some more solid players in the freshman class. The returning players worked hard in the off season and you can see they are more comfortable in how they approach things. The young guys are quite talented and fit right into what we are looking for. They like showing up every day and putting in a good day’s effort to prepare for the next. We should have a decent pitching staff once everyone gets healthy and stretched out. Our lineup should be solid, but we still have some youth so we will see how they adjust to the varsity game.

Areas needing Work: Having everything come together and be consistent. We know we’ve got a competitive group, now it’s just a matter of our pitchers throwing strikes, our fielders making the average plays, taking good swings, etc. I think once we start playing games we can see what areas we will need to tighten up the most, and my guess is it’ll probably be game situations and being able to execute in those big moments against the top teams in Class B.

What has been your emphasis in preseason? Process, process, process and focus on what you can control. The weather has been tough for everyone, but it serves very little purpose worrying about it. We show up, work hard, grow in areas and skills, and be prepared to adjust on the go. Also, realizing there are steps a team takes each year, how many they go up and where they lead is always the question. Right now, we are building the first step, and we will see how we progress from inside to a full 2 to 3 games a week schedule.

List three main goals, and what will it take to achieve them? 1. Get better every day, week, and game. This will take our players showing up every day. This will also take all of our players and coaches being prepared if we fail to show up the next day with a positive attitude and ready to make those adjustments necessary to be successful and ENJOY a group of 20-plus other guys who just want to play baseball; 2. Lineup consistency — Let’s find which guys work in the best spots when each guy is pitching, and let’s find the lineup that has the best combination of bat control, speed, smarts and power; 3. Compete — If we go out for each game and do what we can, with what we have, and leave it out there after 7 innings, that is a great season. Any coach will tell you they want to win, it’s why we play the game, but at the end of the day W’s will take care of themselves if you take care of the things above.

Finally, what do you look forward to seeing this season? Competing. I really am looking forward to seeing this group a year older, and what the addition of the youth sprinkled in will do. So far, these guys really do show up, give me their best, and want to be students of the game. Also, can I just add not seeing snow for a few months... it needs to be said.

Home Games: Monday, April 22, 4 p.m. against Traip Academy, and Wednesday, April 24, 4 p.m. against Freeport. If the Lakers’ diamond is unplayable, games are shifted to Bridgton Academy’s field.

BOYS’ LACROSSE

Head Coach: George Lawson

Assistant Coaches: Don White, Ryan Vogel

Roster: Seniors Gabe Lunt (goalie), Seth Merritt (defense); juniors Sethlen Lester (midfield), Brayden Lamontagne (midfield), Sean Murphy (defense), Chris Caron (defense), Ray Tucker (attack), Kale Jingst (midfield), Bob Hale (midfield), Sean Noble (defense), Marcus Vance (goalie); sophomores Gavin McClellan (midfield), Nico Russo (midfield), Brody Patenaude (attack), Nickolas Crawford (attack), Michael Record (defense); freshmen Avery Klein (midfield), Sullivan Webster (midfield), Gabriel Vargas (midfield), Owen Dorsey (defense), Colby Cain (midfield), Reid Plummer (attack), Richard Theriault (midfield), Coby Day (midfield), Deegan Pelletier (defense).

Strengths of the Team: Coach Lawson — Our 25-person team is young with only two seniors, some brand new players, some second-year players (a core of defenders) and a great group of nine freshmen. What we have is good attitudes and a desire to learn and improve. We have a strong defense with a senior goalie, Gabe Lunt, senior defender Seth Merritt, and junior defenders Sean Murphy, Chris Caron and Kale Jingst, who is also a face-off specialist. We have some promising players coming up. With a 14-game regular season schedule and pre-season scrimmages, the boys are getting game time.

Areas needing Work: Thanks to the generosity of Bridgton Academy, we have been able to use the Ice Hockey Rink, and some time on their turf field so far this season. We are glad to finally be able to practice on our home field at the high school. This will give us a chance to work on our plays and the basics, passing, ground balls, communication and field spacing. These are always needed regardless of experience.

What has been your emphasis in preseason? Our emphasis has been on those basics, passing, catching, ground balls, etc., warming up as a team, and speed work.

List three main goals, and what will it take to achieve them: We want to see all the new and younger players develop and grow in skill, knowledge and lacrosse IQ. We have as many JV games as we can schedule plus the Ted Hellier Laxfest in South Portland at the end of the season. We want these boys to play!

Our second goal is to groom our defense into an aggressive, ball carrier attacking machine. They have the athleticism to pull this off.

Finally, all lacrosse offense starts with a clear. We need to master the clearing game in order to let our offense do their work.

Finally, what do you look forward to seeing this season? We look forward to seeing the stick skills and Lax IQ grow as a team, and the younger guys get as much experience as they possibly can. A lot of the development has to be self-motivated, passing, catching working on moves outside of practice. That is how lacrosse has always been. Now that we can get onto our own field, let the games begin!

Home Game: Friday, April 19, 1 p.m. against Noble/Sanford.

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

Head Coach: Emma Brown

Assistant Coach: Rachel Shanks

Roster: Seniors Emma Aker (attack), Emma Nadeau (defense), Ashley Pelletier (midfield), Emily Reardon (attack), Hanna Siebert (defense), Mia Milliken (attack), Fatoon Hile (attack, defense), Ines Mosquera (attack, defense); juniors Delaina Grover (defense), Marissa Harlow (midfield), Ella Martin (defense), Averie Smith (midfield), Bella Smith (midfield), Jordan Blanton (goalie); sophomore Nicole Watson (goalie); freshmen Ella Barrows (attack), Erinn Green (midfield), Grace Gaumont (attack), Nica Walter (attack, defense), Ashley Watson (attack, defense), Abigail Travis (defense, midfield), Madison Olsen (midfield), Jolene Mei (attack, defense), Sophia Harkins (attack), Brooke Randall (attack, defense), Helena Sheldrick (defense), Phoebe Acosta-Afthim (attack).

Strengths of the Team: Coach Brown — I think this team is extremely positive and tight knit. They are constantly encouraging each other on and off the field. They accept new teammates with open arms and constantly build each other up.

Areas needing Work: We are a very young team, so we are working on getting every player ready for play at the high school level. Over half of our team are freshmen or new to the sport, so we are working towards building our team chemistry.

What has been your emphasis in preseason? Consistency and continuity. If we build our ability to be continuously consistent, our team will be successful together.

List three main goals, and what will it take to achieve them? 1.Take more shots on goal. Our team will have to build their stick work and confidence in the 8 meter. They will need to utilize offensive motions and help each other to get open while we have the ball 2. Beat our opponents in ground balls. We will have to hustle to every ground ball. Our mentality every time the ball is on the ground is that it is an equal chance at possession; 3. Empty the tank. This is my favorite phrase in the sports world. At the end of every game, each player should be able to walk off the field knowing that every ounce of fight and hustle was left of the field. During each game, they should be fighting for every ground ball, goal, assist, and save.

Finally, what do you look forward to seeing this season? I look forward to seeing this team grow together and become more confident in the game of lacrosse. Since we are a young team, there is so much growth already happening and I can’t wait to see their success and growth as a team this season.

Home Game: Tuesday, April 23, against Maranacook at 4 p.m. and Thursday, April 25, against Yarmouth at 4:30 p.m.

Editor’s Note: Some head coaches were unavailable to submit preview articles for this edition. The hope is they will provide information for next week’s paper.