A new season means turnover for Mexico girls tennis.

The Lady Bulldogs have several girls playing tennis for the first time, so they are taking time this summer to teach the basics. Mexico started its summer work with a three-day camp July 11-13 at the Fairgrounds Park tennis courts.

Head coach Kim Costley was there before the camp began at 9 a.m. each day, leading drills for her returning players and the new players. She said Mexico graduated five girls from the 11-4 team last season and will have holes to fill prior to the start of this season on Aug. 29 when the Lady Bulldogs host Boonville.

“With the new girls, we’re just working on teaching them the basics and getting them ready,” Costley said. “They will only have 14 practices before their first match. It’s super important that we get them going now because the season is only 60 days. It’s really fast.”

Oftentimes on July 11, Costley would stand close to a girl while she gave them balls to hit but took brief moments for instruction. She used her hands to guide her players into a proper swing path of the racket and to ensure they had solid mechanics.

“It’s easier to move their hand and arm sometimes just so they get a good feel or you can touch their racket and help them follow through,” Costley said. “Most people haven’t played tennis and when they come out here, the nice thing is they don’t have any bad habits. So you’re teaching them from scratch, and they’re very willing to listen because they don’t have any knowledge yet.”

Mexico has four new players, which is in the typical range of 3-8, and much less than the 12 novices from last season. The Lady Bulldogs had their top five girls from the previous season available last year, which will not be the case this season.

Mexico will have open courts to give the girls some additional work before the fall season begins with practices Aug. 8.