Losing to eventual champion Castle Park in the first round of last year’s Division III CIF playoffs was a tough shot to take for the Mission Bay High School boys’ soccer team. “I felt we should have actually beat the team that won it. We lost in PKs [penalty kicks],” said 13-year coach Joe Panian. “[This year,] our goals are to progress, stay competitive and make the playoffs.” With the overwhelming majority of last year’s squad gone, Panian inherited a lot of players from the JV squad and brand new players, some without organized soccer experience. In the weeks following tryouts, Panian took a systematic approach to coaching his young players. He went over tactical play, followed by defensive shape and organization, and then set plays. “We are starting all from scratch, which could work as a disadvantage,” Panian said. “I hope we gel early on and not late in the season.” Panian plans to lean on junior Andres Salas to provide leadership to the young team, along with senior Eliot Alcocer and junior Felipe Lizaola. With a blank canvas, Panian plans to teach his players technical, possession-oriented play. “We are a young team, but I’ve found a lot of time the hunger at the early ages can compensate to a degree for them being younger physically,” Panian said. “So basically, we are going to try and use it and mold it into our system. We also need to be a collective team, because we don’t have the superstars we had in the previous year.” The team’s passion is something Panian can build on. “We have solid, technical players that know the game and love the game, they have a passion for it,” he said. “I think this year it’s going to be tough because we are so young, but they bring a passion to the team and their technique is good.” Where passion is present, physicality isn’t. “It’s a big leap from JV to varsity,” Panian said. “Speed of play and the physicality are what they are having a bit of a hard time with. There’s a core of five guys who have made the jump. We are a small-type team and we want to make up for size with precision passing and possession. “We are in a very tough league. It’s one of the toughest, if not the toughest with Cathedral, La Jolla and UC. So it’s very tough to play fast, physical and talented players.” Mission Bay’s next home game is against Canyon Crest Academy on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. The Bucs begin Western League play Jan. 18.