The gymnastics team and the boys swim team kick off the 2009-2010 Ballard High School winter sports season today. Wrestling and boys and girls basketball get underway next week. No matter how the teams fared last year, they are all looking to compete this winter.

The boys basketball team is starting the season off with the highest expectations of any team, coming off its first-ever KingCo playoff trip last season.

"This is the first time we bring back a team with playoff experience," fifth-year coach Billy Rodgers said. "That's something that is important."

He said the playoff experience has given the team a winning attitude and experience in pressure situations.

One of the biggest concerns for the boys basketball team this year is replacing departed senior Eric Taylor, who was voted to the All-KingCo team last season.

Rodgers he is hoping contributions from three of his players will be able to fill the hole left by Taylor. Getting solid play from John Barnes, an All-KingCo honorable mention last season, will be key.

The team is going to take a while to show its full potential because the players haven't been together as long as last year's team, Rodgers said. He said he hopes to the team will improve every game and be firing on all cylinders by January and February.

Rodgers said the goal is to get back to the playoffs and compete for a championship.

"Now that we've been there, we can see the opportunities and the possibilities that lie ahead."

The girls basketball team is coming at this season from nearly the opposite direction.

The team finished last in KingCo with a 3-17 record, one year after making the playoffs, and first-year head coach Derek Fulwiler is out.

C.J. Sealey is taking over as the girls head coach. She last coached at Skyline from 1995 to 1997. Before that, she coached at Inglemoor for seven years, and prior to that she was at Newport.

"I've been around KingCo a long time," Sealey said. "I know what to expect. They are always competitive."

She said the team should work well together. They have eight juniors and two seniors and have been playing together all summer.

Sealey said she wants to see the team focus on defense and fundamentals. She also hopes to get a strong season out of senior Alexandria Lawrence, a KingCo All-Star last season.

"It's a whole new year," Sealey said. "We're not going to bring last year with us. We are going to start from the ground up."

Like last year, the wrestling team is hoping to make up for inexperience with enthusiasm under second-year head coaches Domingo Gomez and Luke Hagler.

"We've got a pretty decent group of young guys," Hagler said. "But, we are pretty young."

Hagler said if the young players can develop their skills this season, the team should be much more competitive in the conference than it was last year.

Taylor Anderson and Matt Kelly should be impact wrestlers for the team this year, he said.

The boys swim team has a lot of new faces as well. The coaching staff of Leo Jaeger and Carlos Palacian is attempting to make up for that with a rigorous training schedule.

The team is working out on land three mornings per week as well as the regular in-water practices, Jaeger said.

Jaeger said even though many of their athletes have not swam before, they are eager to learn.

The hard training needs to pay off for the swim team quickly, as they face three of the top teams in the state in the first few weeks, Jaeger said.

The first boys swim meet is at 3:30 p.m. today at the Ballard Pool against Inglemoor.

Last season, girls gymnastics coach Stephanie Gundel was named KingCo 4A gymnastics coach of the year.

Junior Taylor Stern placed 10th all-around at the state gymnastics championship last year, and Gundel said she should do well again this year.

She said this season's goal is to qualify to the District I/II meet as a team. The top three teams from the KingCo meet qualify, and last year the team finished fourth.

The key to accomplishing that goal is to be consistent throughout the season and increase the difficulty of the routines, Gundel said.

The gymnastics team gets started at 7 p.m. today at Roosevelt High School against Mercer Island.

Check back at www.ballardnewstribune.com the day after every meet, match and game for complete coverage.