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Trouble is, he's starting this season with an almost entirely different group because of boys tennis shifting over to the fall now, forcing some veteran soccer players to make a choice between the two.

Just how many go over to tennis remains to be seen, but Baic knows there'll be some.

Once he learns that number, he'll be better prepared to deal with the situation.

Speaking on the eve of pre-season practice, Baic wasn't certain who'd be coming back.

He'd know more when the team gathered for the first day of physical conditioning on Monday, Aug. 13.

It's not like the tennis team isn't dealing with a similiar problem, as some of its veteran players have donned football pads and helmets this fall rather than pick up a racket.

No matter how many veterans, and which ones are coming back, Baic is certain of this -- the Ramblers need to continue getting better if they hope to make a long run in the post-season tournament.

But, there's a good chance of that happening, if the Ramblers are able to realize their potential.

"We have some decent athletes on the team," Baic said on Sunday morning, Aug. 12. "We have a good mix of seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen. We just have to get them all playing together."

Last year, the Ramblers had pretty much the same mixture of upper and lower classmen.

It was just difficult to find the right combination to send on the field. Freshmen and sophomores aren't quite as physically mature as juniors and seniors.

Boyne City doesn't have a junior varsity team, so Baic is often using freshmen and sophomores against juniors and seniors. That frequently leads to mismatches that the Ramblers lose.

"It makes it tough for the young kids, but you do what you have to do," Baic said.

Naturally, most fans notice the performance of the goaltender on defense and forwards on offense, but the real backbone of any team is the midfielders on defense.

Midfield play key for Ramblers Using football analogy, just like a running back needs a good offensive line in front of him opening the holes for him to run through, the forwards on a soccer team aren't going to do much without the midfielders getting them the ball.

That requires accurate and timely passing to take advantage of their speed, and then the forwards need to follow it up by finishing the attack. "Some people might say the running back has the most important position in football, but if he doesn't have the line to block for him, he's not going anywhere," Baic said.

"It's the same way in soccer. If you don't have the defense that can limit the opponent goal shots, it doesn't matter how good your goalie is ... he's going to get scored on.

"And, if you don't have midfielders that can feed the ball at the right time, to the right place to the forwards, they're not going to score. You're not going to out-dribble 11 guys (on the defense).

"So, it really is so much of a team sport. You also need fast defenders that can keep up with the other team's fast forwards. If you have speed, you have a chance to be better. If you don't have it, you better compensate by playing smarter."

The defense's job is to funnel opponent's shots to the goalie, who is expected to make the saves.

When there's a breakdown where the offense can choose wherever it wants to shoot, and move the ball, it signals big time trouble. No goalie is capable of stopping every shot, all the time. Especially in high school.

Boyne City has its starting and backup goalies coming back from last year in junior Mike Fox and senior Ryan Kasper, respectively. Kasper took over in the district tournament when Fox had to sit out, and he's been practicing on his own all summer.

"Kasper performed well (in the district). It'll be a good one-two (combination) where we have more than one goalie capable of playing," Baic said.

The Ramblers' entire lineup could be significantly different than last year, Baic said.

It depends on who comes back out for the team.

Baic is holding practices from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.