The Bainbridge Spartans will field a talented, but largely untested, group of gymnasts this season.

Untested only in the sense that, though many of the gymnasts aren’t new to gymnastics — they’ve been involved in club gymnastics for years — competing at the high school level is something entirely different, said Spartan Coach Cindy Guy.

“We have a very young squad,” she said.

“It’s been really challenging because a lot of them are club gymnasts, where their requirements are different than high school. They have lots of talent, and lots of skills, but their requirements are so much different for high school,” Guy explained.

“So taking the club routines and making them high school ready is the key to practice.”

Practices started Nov. 9, and the coaching squad — which includes assistant coaches Bryan Garoutte and Cheyne Clark — was intensely preparing the team for its first meet against Ballard, Chief Sealth and Holy Names.

While there are six varsity returners this season, there are also 12 freshman on the team.

“It’s been almost overwhelming because we have such a young squad. It’s a very talented group, but it’s just been kind of crazy,” the coach laughed.

Still, Guy said she saw much improvement just over the span of the week before the team’s first meet.

“It sounds like we’re really getting there. They’ve really improved. I watched the floor routines [the previous week] and there were huge gaps, even though they’re great tumblers and dancers.

“And then I watched the floor routines today and everybody has improved, every day,” she said.

Practice on bars and vault has been going pretty well, she added.

“We’re just trying to get them competitive, so they can throw some routines,” Guy said.

Team captains this year are Willa Jones Irwin, a junior, and Emma Chee, a sophomore.

There are no seniors on the squad, and the roster includes juniors Maria Flynn, Micaela Hogger, Claire Laughton and Elizabeth Rolfes; sophomores Tsion Hotchkiss and Alathea Pippinger; and freshmen Briana Bruyere, Ashleigh Cate, Kylie Daniel, Kaela Ellis, Tate Goff, Anna Jacobi, Sarah Jung, Karena Klinkenberg, Paige Montgomery, Laura Murphy, Remi Rosencrans and Siqi Talley.

While the team lost perennial state 3A competitors Sarah Rice, Miller Shor and Juliana Hinckley to graduation, Chee went to state last year, as well, and Guy noted that she’s coming back as an improved competitor.

New Spartans such as Ashleigh Cate will bring a lot of talent to the team, and Guy added that fellow freshman Siqi Talley is a “very talented, beautiful dancer” and Briana Bruyere “has a lot of composure, I would say, and she’s got a lot of skills.”

“It’s going to be a nice, strong team. There’s talent there. And they’re doing very well,” said Guy, a 36-year coaching institution at Bainbridge High and a Kitsap Sports Hall-of-Famer.

“They’re hard workers. We’re looking forward to seeing how they compete,” she said.

Guy said the season was going to have a “really hard opening” against Ballard and Holy Names on the road at Ballard High, but the schedule was a bit in flux at the start of the season.

Interestingly enough, the Spartans won’t compete against Roosevelt this year.

Still, Guy said her team was not focusing on one meet or the next. Instead, it’s the constant improvement throughout the season that’s key.

“I told the kids, it’s kind of like a rough draft. We’re just getting our essay completed by the end of the season.

“But we need to get out there, work on some stuff and see how we do.”