Athletes from Baldwin, Hana, Maui, Moloka'i, St. Anthony and King Kekaulike high schools have been preparing since July, and the opener at Baldwin can't come soon enough for them.

The Bears, who dominated the girls competition last season, look poised to have another strong year.

"We have seven returning shooters and some new shooters, so it looks pretty good,'' Daphne Sing, who coaches Baldwin alongside her husband, Bill, said to The Maui News. "It's still kind of early and they're still trying to improve on their scores.''

The Baldwin girls, led by Lyndsay Pascual, are fresh off an MIL championship and loaded once again.

Pascual propelled Baldwin to the league team title with a gold-medal score of 487 in the championship meet. She could make her fourth trip to the state tournament this season.

"We feel we really have a strong girls team,'' Sing said. "The boys didn't do as well — they aren't as strong as the girls team, but we try to work with them to get them up to the point where they will be competitive.''

Also joining the girls teams this season will be King Kekaulike, which has four girls competing this year after only fielding a boys team last season.

"We have about 20 kids on the team, which is good because we only had five last year,'' said second-year Na Ali'i coach Richard Wilcox. "We didn't even get notice that we were going to have a team until three days before the season started (last year), but this year we advertised.''

Freshmen comprise nearly half of the King Kekaulike teams, but all five members from last year are back for another round, including MIL eighth-place finisher Brent Takushi.

Maui returns MIL boys champion Dustin Davis, who won with a score of 500 and helped the Sabers take the MIL overall title, but he can expect some competition from the other programs.

St. Anthony enters its second season after finishing third among the boys teams and fourth among the girls in 2006.

"Last year, we had a really good showing, we weren't in the cellar,'' said Trojans coach Mark Redeker. "The hardest part was starting from scratch with no equipment, no place to practice, nothing.''

The Trojans' goal at the beginning of last season was simply to hit the paper. By the end, it was to make sure every shot was inside the two-point ring of the circle.

"(This year), it's every shot inside the seven ring,'' Redeker said. "We're starting off with every kid at or inside the seven ring, so they're starting off much better than last year.''

The Trojans only lost two seniors and they return state qualifier Verona Bravo and senior Alex Redeker as well as a host of sophomores and juniors.

But Redeker is even more excited with how the sport has caught on at the school. The Trojans started with old carpets at practice but will soon have a 20-lane range, at which they hope to host an MIL meet.

"St. Anthony doesn't have a budget for these smaller sports, so the only budget you get is what you can generate,'' said Redeker, whose son, Alex, designed the new range as part of an Eagle Scout project.

"We've done fundraisers, sold used furniture from a hotel, the kids are going to be at the Maui Marathon — this is how we're buying our equipment.''

As the season drew closer, the coaches stressed the importance of simply focusing.

"We tell them it's a mental sport and they need to be able to concentrate — remember the things we told them they need to do before they do each shot and try not to get distracted by outside noises,'' Sing said.

Even more important is helping the athletes understand proper technique and usage while supporting each other.

"It's, one, teaching safe handling and, two, it's the team and individual competition,'' Redeker said. "It's great walking away with first or second place, but it's even better gaining knowledge that will stay with them forever.''