CORRECTION: This article incorrectly states that the girls soccer team's Bernie Cardon graduated last year. She is a senior this year. We regret the error.

After a summer off, Ballard High School athletes are ready to take the field for the 2010 fall sports season, which opens Sept. 1 with the boys golf team taking on Issaquah.

This season, a number of teams and athletes are looking to match and improve on the successes of last year, while many others are hoping to continue growing and developing against tough KingCo competition.

Volleyball

The volleyball team will be one to watch this year after finishing the 2009 fall sports season as the only Ballard team with a winning record, going 7-6 in the regular season.

The Beavers made the playoffs but were eliminated after losing their first two matches.

The team will need to find a way to offset the loss of top seniors Lisa Day and Madelyn Voelker and avoid a slump like last year's five-match losing streak that nearly cost it a playoff spot.

Monique Marques was a leader for the Beavers as a sophomore last season, and the team is sure to expect a big contribution from her this year.

The volleyball team competes in the KingCo Jamboree Sept. 7 and opens the regular season Sept. 8 against Inglemoor.

Football

The football team is one of those Ballard teams looking to improve after a 1-8 2009 season – its second one-win season in a row.

Third-year coach John Bowers said the Beavers will be focusing on the running game on both offense and defense.

He said he wants to see the team have a winning season and play its best football late in games.

After being outscored 202-19 against some very tough competition in the first five games of last season, the Beavers showed improvement in their final four contests, where they were outscored 85-59, including a 20-14 victory over Lake Washington.

Ballard lost only a small senior class last year and has a very tight group of talented young players who will grow and mature this season, Bowers said.

He said the team's captains, senior Drew Daley and junior Blake Sechler, have worked hard to set the pace during practice. Junior quarterback Jesse Scott has improved each day, and sophomore running back and linebacker Dominic King has had a very good camp, he said.

The football team faces off against Sammamish at 5 p.m. Sept. 2 at the North East Athletic Complex.

Girls Soccer

After going 4-8-4 in 2009, the girls soccer team found themselves in seventh place – one spot out of the playoffs.

This year, the team will look get over that hump despite the setback of losing leading scorer Sarah Ives (17 goals) and starting goalkeeper Bernie Cardon to graduation.

Sophomore Kat Anesini should help the Beavers accomplish that. In her freshman year, she was the team's second-most prolific scorer with five goals.

The girls soccer team starts its season against Blanchet at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 7 at Ballard High School.

Boys Golf

The boys golf team finished the 2009 season with a 1-7 record. Its only win came against Lake Washington.

Coach Casey McMullin said Ballard has a very strong team this season.

"I'm very optimistic," he said. "As always, I stress the importance of the short game. Never enough practice for that."

Right now, the Beavers have 25 golfers, including seven freshmen. McMullin said he plans on keeping all 25 in order to make them better players regardless of playing time.

The boys golf team takes on Issaquah at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 1 at Jackson Park Golf Club.

Cross Country

Last season, the entire girls cross country team and four members of the boys cross country team, including sophomore Alex Bowns, qualified for the 2009 District Championships.

Bowns placed 11th in the District Championship, qualifying for the State Championship, where he placed 58th.

Girls coach Bruce Drager said his goal is to get the girls team to the State Championship this year.

Six of last year's top seven runners – seniors Natalie White and Hannah Murphy, sophomores Anna Mirenzi, Rachel Livengood and Julia Boone and junior Alyson Fromm – are returning, so the team should be competitive, Drager said.

The cross country team gets running against Eastlake and Woodinville at 4 p.m. Sept. 15 at Beaver Lake Park.

Boys Tennis

In 2009, the boys tennis team went 1-9, with a lone win against Bothell.

The Beavers will look to improve on that under new coach Kevin Todd.

Neal Berg was a bright spot for Ballard last season as he went 8-2 in singles matches during the regular season and advanced to the KingCo quarterfinals.

First up for the boys tennis team is Newport at 3:45 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Newport Tennis Courts.

Girls Swimming

The girls swim team opens its season against Roosevelt at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Ballard Pool.