The King’s Fork High School field hockey team will have a strong senior presence this season.

The field hockey season is officially under way next week. It’ll be the second year under coach Ashley Skinner, who took over last season after coming from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.

Skinner feels good about this season, as she will have seven seniors on the team that will help with their veteran presence.

“We have a very experienced team this year, so that should be very exciting,” Skinner said. “I’m looking forward to all of them helping facilitate the younger players in the program. I just want them all to step up in leadership roles and be there for the players under them.”

From a wins and losses perspective, the Lady Bulldogs didn’t do as well as they hoped last year. However, King’s Fork did make the regional playoffs last season, losing to Great Bridge High School. Skinner feels comfortable with her team in their second year together.

“They were all super welcoming last year as students and as athletes last year,” she said. “I have a deeper level of comfort with them this season, and I think that’s going to help us as a team this year.”

Anaya Godfrey and Isabella Gay return as two of the top players on the team as well as co-captains for this season. Everyone feels good about the team this season.

“I’m feeling confident,” Godfrey said. “I know I am definitely ready to go out there and show who we are and how strong we’ve become in a year, and I know the rest of the team is as well.”

Players know what to expect, and they know how practices go and games go under Skinner, which makes for better situations overall for the team.

“I think they have a better sense of my personality and of my coaching style, and I have a better sense of them as well,” she said. “The comfort is only going to benefit our relationship as a player and coach.”

With the Lady Bulldogs’ schedule, it will be a mixture of everything. There will be teams they may dominate, and there may be games where it may be a fight or extremely difficult. The goal for this season is no matter the team they play, they stick to what King’s Fork does best. They want to finish games hard.

King’s Fork will open the season at home against Indian River High School at 5:15 p.m. Aug. 22.