John Richey is in his first year as Free State High’s boys tennis coach, but he certainly isn’t new to the players on the Firebirds’ varsity roster.

Richey works as a tennis instructor at First Serve and has been training the team’s top players since he began there last year – making his transition to head coach this season even smoother.

“We know a little more of what to expect from each other,” Richey said. “We can really continue what we’ve done with them throughout the year.”

Richey said he was hoping that familiarity would lead to a successful season. Leading the way for the Firebirds will be sophomore and No. 1 singles player Michael Swank. Swank finished eighth at the Class 6A state tournament as a freshman.

According to Richey, the Nos. 2 and 3 singles spots are up for grabs, but they likely are between Blaine Kaehr and Charlie Moffett, who were on the varsity team last season.

The remaining three singles positions likely will be between Dravid Joseph, Kevin Frantz and Adam Casady.

“With this group of guys, our goal would be to compete for a state championship as a team,” Richey said.

At Lawrence High, head coach Steve Hudson returns for his second year with a Lions team that he is familiar with. In fact, five of his top six players were on the varsity squad in 2007.

That includes No. 1 singles player Taylor Seratte, No. 2 John McGrew, No. 3 Ryan Abbott, No. 4 Thomas Zheng and No. 5 David Nieto. The only player who wasn’t on varsity last season will be No. 6 singles player Michael Sang.

“I’m optimistic about this year because our guys know what it takes to succeed,” Hudson said. “They’re not so wide-eyed and overwhelmed at the competition like they were at times last year.”

Hudson said getting someone to state is the team’s biggest goal this season.

Since beginning practices on Feb. 25, the Lions have emphasized mental toughness, physical fitness, consistency and confidence in strokes, according to Hudson.

For Seabury Academy, simply having an all-boys tennis team makes this season unique. This will be the first year the Seahawks haven’t fielded a strictly co-ed squad, and first-year head coach Scott Elwell said he was looking forward to the opportunity of leading the first all-boys team in school history.

“This year, I’ve talked to the team about improving individually,” said Elwell of the nine players that make up the team.

Elwell anticipates relying on three players to carry much of the load: Bill Butler, David Lawrence and Bill Gibbs. While many of the players are new to the sport, those three should provide needed experience.

Elwell said he has tried to keep the Seahawks’ goals realistic this season.

“It’s important for the kids to realize that if we go out and worry about winning and losing, it could be a long season,” he said. “We need to go out and focus more on getting better every match. If we can do that, then the wins and losses will take care of itself.”