It's a work in progress for the Capital City High School soccer Cavaliers.
It is the first year, after all.
"We're still learning their personalities and the way they interact with each other and with coaches," Capital City coach Travis Cairer said as the Cavaliers prepare for Friday night's program opener against Southern Boone. "I think I have the benefit of working with young people in the past and that's really helping us get things started in the right way.
"First, it's character and developing the person, then the player will emerge. With character, they will have work ethic and the desire to play for each other and that is a big step."
The Cavaliers feature a roster of 23 players for their inaugural season.
"We had anywhere from 15-18 during the summer, but we had some that showed some interest right when practice started," Cairier said. "Getting those extra kids will be beneficial, it gives us the opportunity to do more things."
Cairer said the team has started with a great attitude.
"Some of them aren't in the positions where they are used to playing," Cairer said. "They're not getting down about that, it's just a little confusion sometimes. But some of them have embraced where they're at with us.
"We're still trying to work through things. But we've had some kids surprise us with what they've brought to the team."
Cairer had been a coach at Sedalia Sacred Heart before stepping away to start the Sedalia United Soccer Academy in recent years.
"Getting back into coaching had always been in the back of my mind," Cairer said. "The only reason I left Sacred Heart was we were getting kids that needed help with the fundamentals of the game, things they probably should have already known when they got to high school.
"I've always had a passion for it and this job came up at the right time for me and my family."
With just freshmen and sophomores this season, the Cavaliers will be a little undersized against varsity competition.
"If you would compare us to a lot of JV teams, I think we have a lot of depth and size," Cairer said. "We have a quality group of kids, but trying to play a varsity schedule, we may not have the depth they have.
"You can't let size fool you, we've got a decent amount of speed for our age and we can use that. We have faith that good things will happen."
Cairer is looking for the Cavaliers to finish the regular season around the .500 mark. Capital City is in a Class 3 district along with Helias, Warrensburg and Harrisonville.
"If the ball would roll our way a little bit, we'd love to play in a district championship," he said. "We know we're in Year One, but that would be a great accomplishment down the road."
The Cavaliers started practicing this week on their field at the school. Friday night's game against Southern Boone is scheduled to be played at the 179 Soccer Park.