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The teams are in place, and the rosters are expanding. Now all First Baptist Academy needs are the victories.

After getting its program up and running last year, First Baptist starts its second season in the Florida High School Athletic Association today when the Lions' volleyball team plays at Seacrest.

The fourth- through 12th-grade academy, part of First Baptist Church of Naples, jumped into athletics last season with four fall sports – volleyball, cross country, golf and soccer. While those teams played mostly junior varsity schedules last year, the program now jumps to the varsity level this fall.

While the Lions claimed a few victories in their inaugural seasons, they often struggled as first-year programs do. Now in its sophomore season, First Baptist is trying to reduce its lumps while doling out a few of its own.

“We're trying to develop as an athletic program,” athletic director Billy Sparacio said. “We're trying to become more competitive. We're looking to get better and improve in each and every program.”

With a year of playing already under their belts, Lions coaches are enthusiastic about this season. A lot of that has to do with an increase in enrollment. First Baptist now has 80 students in its high school for its teams to draw from, including its first-ever senior class.

The Lions relied heavily on middle schoolers last season, but Sparacio said this year's teams should have more high school athletes. This year's freshman class is the largest in the academy's three years, which Sparacio said boosted athletic participation.

Though First Baptist is a full FHSAA member, it plays as an independent and does not compete in a district.

“Being an independent gives us freedom to play other schools in the state we wouldn't otherwise see,” said Shaliece Hall, first-year coach of the Lions volleyball team. “Public schools can be locked down to just their district and their class.”

Volleyball might be the most popular sport at First Baptist. Hall has 16 players on her high school roster and said the Lions' middle school has three teams.

The First Baptist volleyball team, which will be co-coached by Hall and Tom Jones, will play a split schedule of varsity and junior varsity matches. Tonight's contest and others against fellow small private schools – like Evangelical Christian, Canterbury and Sarasota Christian – will be varsity.

The Lions' cross country team, on the other hand, will run mostly in junior varsity meets. Coach Rob Kantner's top runners from last year transferred to public schools, leaving First Baptist with a majority of middle-schoolers to fill the team.

Because runners can advance individually to the FHSAA state meet, First Baptist is able to compete in the postseason. The Lions also are eligible for the tennis tournament in the spring.

Kantner said, however, that this year's cross country team probably won't run in the postseason, instead sticking to six local multi-team meets.

“Our goal this year is to build a strong middle school program,” Kantner said. “I want (the middle-school runners) to get encouraged and see them grow into high school.”

First Baptist's co-ed golf team also had a large contingent of middle schoolers on the team. Like other private schools with lower grades, the younger athletes are allowed play up and compete against high schoolers.

Though Sparacio's ambition remains big -- the former Barro Collier football coach still has plans in the works to start a First Baptist football team -- he realizes the Lions must grow one step at a time. The program's groundwork was laid a year ago, and this year it's continuing to go up.

Now comes the hard part -- patiently waiting for athletes to develop.

“We would love to be in a district, but I think that's something for us to shoot for next year,” Sparacio said. “We want to compete well this year and get better as student-athletes. Of course, we'd love to grow into a school that can be competitive in a district.”