The tiger tennis, baseball, track and field teams have their sights set to make school history this year as they prepare for the upcoming spring season.

The varsity baseball team was defeated by Lufkin last year in the bi-district round. Head baseball coach Miguel Carlos said external factors affected the team’s ability to play.

“We had a bad taste in our mouths at the end of last year,” Carlos said. “It was an unfortunate circumstance with kiddos that didn’t have the right mind set from a mental standpoint and we didn’t have that team feel. We found a lot of things that needed correction, but I think we’ve learned and matured. I think this year the kids understand that it doesn’t matter how many great players are on the team if we can’t play together, which is one thing the coaching staff stresses.”

Schools in UIL region 13-5A have produced several professional baseball players, like 2003 MLB World Series Most Valuable Player Josh Beckett, who played for Spring High School before graduating in 1999. According to Carlos, this season’s pitching section rivals those of such schools.

“Our goal is the district championship and being as hot as we can in the playoffs,” Carlos said. “We play in the hardest district in the state, with the likes of Spring, Klein and Klein Oak. They’re phenomenal teams, it’s a dogfight every time we play them. Our ultimate goal is the state championship, but we have to take it a rung at a time to hopefully be there come June.”

Senior Greg Sullivan said he hopes to advance to regionals and break the school’s record for the fastest mile-run this year.

“I’ve been training hard during the off-season,” Sullivan said. “I’ve got a good shot at breaking the record if I keep at it, so we’ll see what happens. During the middle of the season I’m planning on training at between 10,000 and 13,000 feet in Colorado when I should be getting to peak, it’ll be pretty awesome. The air is thinner at high altitudes and it’s much harder to breath, which makes work-outs much more intense. Trying to sprint is almost impossible, not to mention running in snow.”

The tennis team welcomed a new head coach last year and senior Saifuddin Merli said the team is now more unified.

“Everyone came together more as a team than last year,” Merli said. “Everyone is more committed to working hard. Before, everyone lounged around like tennis is a casual sport but coach Foster felt it out, now we’ve got a really strong team of people committed to practicing. We had a very good fall season and hopefully everyone reaches regionals.”