From the tile to the turf: Drew Keller, perhaps better known for his longtime involvement with the island water polo program, has traded swim trunks for shin guards, replacing Ian McCallum as the Bainbridge High School boys varsity soccer team head coach.

It may seem Keller’s diving straight into the deep end, but those in the know already understand he’s a soccer staple round the Rock.

“In the last few years I kind of made the shift to coaching soccer, starting with the [Bainbridge Island Football Club],” Keller said. “I coach a couple of club teams; I coach high school-age girls at the moment.”

And also the high school varsity boys team, for which he just finalized the roster late last week.

“The varsity squad this year has a ton of quality,” Keller said. “Soccer is a big sport on the island and we were just thrilled to see the amount of talent out here [at tryouts].”

More than 60 hopefuls came out this year, the coach said.

Leading the list of talented returners are co-captains Ian Drury and Isaiah Mass, both seniors and third-year varsity players. They concurred with the new coach’s evaluation of the lineup, saying this “could be the year” the Spartans see success at State.

“Things look good already,” Drury said. “We want to set the pace early and get everyone on board so we can have a good season, try and make it as far into playoffs as we can. Hopefully, make it to State this year. We didn’t quite get there last year, but this could be it.”

“The team’s looking really strong,” Mass agreed. “We’re looking good compared to other teams last year, because they’ve got almost all JV teams coming up to play varsity because all the seniors left. And we have pretty much the same team.”

Among a squad of mostly veteran returners — Mario Vukic, Tyco Libes, Jacob Keasler, Kevin McCann, John Tye Ahearne, Jeston Rusnack, David Nikunen and Andy Becker — both captains expressed respect for the team’s sole sophomore: Dustin Scott.

“He’s quick; really, really quick,” Drury laughed.

And much more, too, added the coach.

“[He’s] a very skillful player,” Keller said. “He’s very fast — shockingly so, really. And, a very skillful player. He’s by no means just a speed man.”

Rounding out the varsity roster are Andy VonBergehy, Eros Rojas, Andy Becker, Jason Weiss and Max Johnson.

Regardless of experience level, Drury said the team’s shared goal is as clear as ever.

“We all want to win,” he said. “We want to be successful enough in the first couple of games, because last year that didn’t really happen at all.”

About the new coach, both captains agreed things had started on the right foot.

“Everyone can already see he’s going to be a good coach,” Mass said. “He seems like he knows what he’s doing already. It’s already looking good.”

The coach himself said he advocates for more player involvement behind the scenes.

“I put a lot on the captains,” he said. “In general, my coaching philosophy is [that] it’s their team, not my team — not the captains, but the players in general.

“I want to facilitate things, put them in place to have the most success, push them, motivate them,” Keller explained. “But, at the end of the day, it’s not my team. I’m not playing; it’s them. Training is my time to dictate things and put them in the best position for success. Game time is their time; that’s when they get to show it.”

The Spartans will first get the chance to “show it” against Kingston at home at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 10. They next play at home again at 6 p.m. Friday, March 16 against Seattle Prep.

Keller said the team is on track, and expects no hurdles to a good initial outing.

“I really believe in controlling the variables you can control: fitness, work ethic,” he said. “You can’t coach size, you can’t coach talent, you can’t control the referees, you can’t control your opponents, but you can control your reactions to those situations and you can control your preparedness.”

That said, this year’s squad’s preparation is shaping up to be more refinement, given the raw material.

“With some of the quality that’s out here, no one needs to teach these guys how to play the game,” Keller said. “It’s putting them in the right combinations, keeping them motivated, keeping the work rate high.

“In the Metro League, any given team could win the league. You have to treat every game like a playoff game.”