The coming of a new spring: green grass, warm summer nights and baseball - and for the Kalispell Lakers, a new season under the sun - that is, if the sun ever shows up.
"We hope that our team can play up to the potential that we have," said assistant coach Ryan Hanson. "Last season gave us hope. Now we're in a rebuilding year. We have a great group of young players."
Last year, the Lakers finished the season two games under .500, at 26-28-3, and failed to make the state playoffs. In legion baseball, only the best team in the conference earns a trip to the state playoffs. Also in legion play, a local team is made up of two teams - the AA team which competes at the state level and the A team which prepares the younger players.
"Last year was disappointing," said third baseman junior Clay Chambliss. "The team had hard times. But the A team progressed and we're confident on this AA season."
Shipman feels last year's team was talented, but lacked mental discipline.
"The biggest area we need to work on is mental toughness," said Shipman. "Last year we had a team batting average of .313 . Our team ERA was about 4.26, but we need work on being more consistent."
The Lakers lost five starters from last year's team. The loss gives chances to players from last year's A team.
"(Junior) Eric Federhov coming up from JV is looking to have a great year," said Laker's head coach Randy Shipman. "(Junior) Pat Clarie, (Senior) Curran Johnson, Clay Chambliss and (junior) Jason Johns will also do well from the JV team. We're looking for the JV players to help us."
The Lakers are lead by a veteran infield of third baseman senior Eric Ogren, shortstop junior Ryan Wardinsky, second baseman junior Brett Morton, senior Ryan Sullivan behind the plate and senior Justin Bolog at first.
The Laker's starting rotation will be lead by Bolog and Wardinsky, Shipman said.
"The number three, four and five spots in the rotation are up for grabs, too. We definitely need to fill some holes. If we do that, we should be successful."
Despite a talented team in 1996, the Lakers team atmosphere was one of the problems during the season.
"The team chemistry was wrong," said Morton. "There were no specific problems, but I think this year will be better."
Bolog agreed.
"I think this year we have a lot of great players who want to play and want to win," said Bolog. "We learned a lot last year, but we didn't end up where we wanted to."
The Lakers lost six starters from the AA team last year. Because of that, the rebuilding of this season is as important for future seasons as it is for this year.
"We want to have an all-around good year," said Sullivan. "We need to use it as a building block because we're going to have a young team. If we accomplish a lot, we can fill a few leadership roles."
The Lakers start outdoor practice on March 29 and have their first game against the Great Falls Electric on April 26. The following day, the Lakers travel to Mission Valley to play the Missoula teams. But going into a rebuilding year, the Lakers AA lineup is far from established.
"Nothing is set in stone yet," said Hanson. "Returners will be pushed by the guys from the A team, even on the infield. We want to field the most competitive team we have."
Said Shipman: "We need a lot of kids to take charge and become role models. the coaching staff isn't going to allow interuptions. We'll have our nose to the grindstone and get our kids ready for college ball. I'm hoping for this year to be a turning point for the Laker program. "