With the sudden resignation of baseball coach Jon Foss after the 2008 season, Reed baseball players were left without their normal summer schedule.

Players went their different directions, but this year they're all back together with a whole new team - the Sparks Legends.

First-year Raiders coach Nick Royle is excited about the opportunity to keep working with his players in order to prepare for next spring and get back to the playoffs after the Blue and Gold missed the postseason for the first time in over 20 years.

"We are looking forward to playing baseball in the summer," Royle said. "This is a time to see what our younger guys are able to do and what some of the junior varsity players are capable of doing as well."

Although this past spring was Royle's first varsity head coaching position, he has plenty of experience setting up a summer program. He did it four years for the Wooster-based Sierra Sundevils.

Surprising to some, summer programs pretty much complete their schedules before the high school season starts. Coaches all get together one night and figure out their schedules.

Reed's team will get in about 35 games this summer, including a potential run through the Joe DiMaggio State Tournament, which starts on July 8. Napa, Calif. hosts the World Series a week later.

Royle said the team won't practice on the non-game days to give the kids a chance to enjoy summer break.

Teams have been playing summer games since the final week of May, pretty much right after the state tournament ended the high school season.

The Legends will not only play local teams like the Spanish Springs Bandits and Reno schools, but they will also travel to Truckee and Susanville.

The biggest challenge a summer baseball program has is players' other commitments such as family trips, summer jobs and fall sports workouts.

However, Reed football coach Ernie Howren had a good understanding with the prior baseball coaching staff and it has been the same with Royle.

"We have about nine or ten kids who are playing football and baseball," Royle said. "The football coaches have been supportive with summer baseball. The players are informed that if there is a baseball game in the afternoon, then they need to participate in summer football in the morning and vice versa. It works out great."