A physical therapist is looking to heal what ails the Boothbay Region High School baseball team.

Former University of Maine at Farmington first baseman Josh Garneau, 25, is preparing for his first year as a varsity baseball coach. Garneau began putting seven pitchers and three catchers through preseason training exercises between March 23-27.

On March 30, nine more players joined the squad inside the high school gymnasium in preparation for the 2015 season. Garneau, who works at St. Andrews Urgent Care Center, is anxious to resume participating in baseball.

“I love baseball, and the three years in grad school was the first time I wasn’t able to participate,” Garneau said. “So I’m really looking forward to getting back into it.”

Garneau pitched at South Portland High School. He played both first and third base in college. In 2009, he was named to North Atlantic Conference All-Tournament team. In 2011, Garneau earned NAC All-Conference honors.

As a first-year coach, it won’t be an easy task to turn around a team that posted a 0-16 record last year.

“The team hasn’t been real successful in the past few seasons,” Garneau said. “So what I want to do is keep it interesting.”

Garneau is looking to bring what he learned on the collegiate level to his players. Garneau believes it’s important to stay focused on the game so players anticipate the next play.

“In college, we focused on being mentally prepared,” he said. “It’s hard especially when your team struggles to (remain focused). I want to stress the importance of the game’s mental part. My goal is for the players to be 100 percent involved on each play.”

Boothbay Region has a road April 18 preseason game scheduled against Freeport. BRHS opens the regular season on April 24 hosting Wiscasset.