As high school basketball season finally begins today in Western New York, fans are undoubtedly preparing to brave the cold and make their way down to their favorite school’s gym to cheer on the same faces that have become so familiar in their communities.

In Dunkirk and Fredonia, however, this season will be a different story.

Heading into the 2018-19 season, all four varsity programs between Dunkirk and Fredonia will have new coaches for the boys and girls basketball programs.

The Dunkirk Marauders were first to announce their coaching changes, when over the summer, Dunkirk Athletic Director Mike Sarratori named Ken Ricker as the new girls coach and Luke Gullo as the new boys coach.

Ricker, a former Jamestown High School varsity coach who most recently coached the Jamestown Elite AAU program, inherits a team returning all five starters from a year ago, all returning as juniors this season. Former coach Darnell Baldwin took the Lady Marauders all the way to Buffalo State for the Class B1 sectional championship game, before falling to Fredonia, 72-37, on March 4. Now, Ricker hopes to take the Dunkirk girls to the next level.

Meanwhile, Luke Gullo, the brother of Fredonia varsity baseball coach Vince Gullo, takes over the Dunkirk boys program with the assistance of his close friend — who just so happens to have his own Fredonia ties — in Joe Pucciarelli. Inheriting a team with a lot of new faces after the departure of all five senior starters from a year ago, Gullo hopes to make his mark in his first year at the helm of Dunkirk.

The next big announcement in the Chautauqua County high school basketball scene was that Fredonia coach Greg Lauer made the decision to step back from his coaching seat of 10 years to focus on his duties as Fredonia’s athletic director. In his place this season is Nick Bertrando, Lauer’s assistant coach and head coach of the junior varsity program during the entirety of Lauer’s tenure as varsity head coach.

Bertrando — though finally in the spotlight at Fredonia — was quick to deflect the spotlight to his players, saying he could care less about the attention he receives, choosing rather to focus on the success of his team. As the junior varsity coach for a decade, Bertrando has had the opportunity to coach each of his current players before they hit the varsity stage. Now, the Hillbillies are ready to make some noise in a division with plenty of turnover at the varsity level.

The final coaching announcement of the four programs to be made was Carol Zirkle’s decision to step down from the Fredonia varsity girls basketball head coaching seat after four sectional titles over a 17 year stretch as head coach. Following a sectional title last season, Zirkle made the decision that she wanted to spend more of her free time away from coaching to pursue other passions in life that she was not able to devote time to as a varsity head coach.

Mark Putney, the brother of Chautauqua Lake varsity boys basketball coach Mike Putney, was an assistant on Lauer’s staff for the Fredonia varsity boys last year. He also has a long history as an official, along with coaching other sports, including Little League baseball, at the youth level. Putney said he was “very blessed to have the opportunity” to lead the defending Class B sectional champions.

The Lady ‘Billies bring back starting point guard Kazlin Beers — a three-sport varsity starter — along with a roster with plenty of varsity experience in multiple sports, as well. Grace Mroczka (softball, swimming), Sydney Bigelow (softball, volleyball), Nagely Vazquez (volleyball), Ella Gould (soccer), Maddy Marsh (softball, volleyball) and Kelly Gullo (softball, soccer) all made the varsity squad this year for Fredonia, providing plenty of big-game experience to Putney and the Fredonia girls basketball program to make up for some of what was lost from last year’s team.

Both the Dunkirk and Fredonia programs find themselves diving into a position of transition, with new varsity coaching staffs leading each varsity basketball team this season. Now it’s time to see how quickly each team will adjust as the new season starts today.

Twitter: @bradencarmen