The sports landscape this spring at Ballard High School is going to look very different from 2008. Four teams have new head coaches and one senior took it upon herself to found girls lacrosse at Ballard.

Senior Krista Nelson decided to form a lacrosse team at the school for her senior project because the project is supposed to be something the student is passionate about, she said.

Along with a few other Ballard students, Nelson played high school lacrosse at Roosevelt until this season.

Nelson said there seemed to be a lot of interest at the school, and 25 girls showed up for the first team meeting.

Coach Lise Martin has 14 years of playing experience and more than seven years of coaching experience. Ballard is the fourth brand new team she has been involved in founding.

Martin said she is not surprised there was such a showing of interest at Ballard because lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport in the counry.

There is a lot of experience and work ethic on the team, and being new can help the team, she said.

"Being a brand new team brings a refreshing outlook to the team," she said. "There is a high level of enthusiasm and pride for the sport and the high school."

The girls tennis team has a new head coach in Charles Brenner. This is the first high school coaching gig for Brenner, who previously gave tennis lessons at a Virginia resort.

Casey McMullin is the new girls golf coach for Ballard. He coached the boys team this past fall and helped out with the girls team last year.

The golf team has one senior and six juniors on the roster, so they should have experience and do well this season and next, McMullin said.

Current Seattle Community College boys basketball coach Kyle Gray is the new girls fastpitch softball coach and John Lamm is the new coach of the boys baseball team.

Gary Hunter and Bruce Drager are returning to coach boys soccer and track and field respectively.