"[The baseball team] had a rough start, but we are getting better," junior right fielder Taylor Hopkins said.

Coach Scott Einfalt became the new assistant coach this year, and the players agree that he knows the game and what he's talking about. "I've played all through my youth, and up through my freshman year in college," Einfalt said.

"I would call [coaching at Gunn] a delight for me," he said. "I find it extremely challenging but also very rewarding." The team lost a number of players to college last year; it is steadily re-building.

According to senior first baseman Kyle Einfalt, this is a recovery year for the team. His father has coached him before but he admitted, "it's kind of weird having him as coach [at Gunn]." The father-son coaching relationship typically involves the coach putting more pressure on the son.

As a baseball player and father, coach Einfalt knows Kyle best and knows his potential. "I was involved with a team when Kyle was in Pony Baseball and they didn't have much, but they experienced a wave and rode it all the way and made it to the top," he said.

According to the team, coach Einfalt has been doing a great job as well. "He's good since the main coach isn't always there because he has to work some days," Hopkins said. "Coach Einfalt comes in and he helps a lot."

The key to the team is teamwork, helping one another to put out its best. "We are pretty much all good friends so there is good chemistry," Hopkins said. The team knows that by helping each other out, they can look past losses and continue to push forward. "We lost to Westmont 11-2, but it was good that we lost by that much, because our team needs to know that we can't always win and we have to work extremely hard to compete in such a difficult league," Einfalt said.

Los Altos was another extremely tough opponent, and also a Central Coast Section (CCS) champion just last year. The game was difficult but in coach Einfalt's, eyes, "It was by far our best performance. This team was a CCS winner last year and the fact that our boys ran right beside them and put up a fight is incredible to me."

The spirit they have on the field helps the team work towards their ultimate goal. "We hope to make it to CCS," Hopkins said. "We know we are the underdog team, but that is our goal, and we definitely want to beat Palo Alto High School."

"This is really a neat pool of athletes, a lot of good chemistry," coach Einfalt said, commenting on the potential of the diverse players. With a goal to compete and the strength to push through a tough schedule, the team is still knows it won't win all of its games. Coach Einfalt is very proud of the players and optimistic about the season. "I like karma, I like mojo and if you got it, a lot of amazing things can happen."