Pocatello head coach Vinnie Benavidez is burning a motto into his players’ brains before the 2013 season even begins — “tradition never graduates.”

    These words have never been more accurate for the 4A defending state champion Indians as they must replace six seniors from last year’s title team. As tough as it will be to do just that, the road to a repeat for Benavidez is well within reach as Pocatello boasts plenty of experience and skill on its roster.

    “A lot of them know how hard it is to do what we did,” Benavidez said. “We lost a lot of good kids, but we think we have a lot of good ones. A majority of the kids I coach this year put in the work in the offseason.”

    The Indians hope the mix of returning players, new blood, and loads of talent come together like it did in 2012 when the team played its best ball when it mattered most — the end of the season.

    “Are we going to have our growing pains early, sure. But I’m really excited,” Benavidez said. “Everything we’re teaching them, they’re applying. It’s definitely different than last year. Most of those guys were three-year starters. This year we have to step back a little bit.”

    Junior Andy Burtenshaw, a key part of Pocatello’s run through the 2012 state tournament, sees plenty of potential in this year’s squad. Even if it has a different look.

    “I’m excited and ready to play,” he said. “We definitely don’t have what we had last year, but we have to work hard and if we do that, we can get anywhere.”

    This season Pocatello has four seniors on the roster, but two of them didn’t play in 2012. Bodie Cooper and Josh Holmes are joined by first-time varsity players Daehan Jang and Andre Aguinaga.

    The Indians will rely heavily on Cooper, who is expected to be one of Idaho’s top pitchers. He tossed a no-hitter in last year’s state tournament semifinal against Middleton.

    “He’s one of the better kids in the state,” Benavidez said. “It’s going to be a matter of how he handles that. He knows a lot about the game, it’s like having an extra coach out there. He’s under a lot of pressure, and he just needs to go out there and play. He’s hungry to win it again. He knows what it’s like.”

    Cooper understands what is expected of him and how difficult it is to live up to it, but he’s not letting the pressure get to him.

    “I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s kind of second nature to just hop up the mound, throw strikes and let the defense work,” he said. “That’s how it was in the no-hitter game.”

    The rest of the Indians feed off Cooper’s pitching performances, much like they did last year when the now-graduated Kade Teter was the ace.

    “When he throws well, everybody is in a good mood,” Holmes said of Cooper. “He’s always been really good.”

    The Indians expect significant contributions from Cooper, Chase Teter, Burtenshaw, Jang as well as Justin and Jerred Stiffler.

    “We’ll have Chase stepping up,” Cooper said. “He knows all about it. Burtenshaw will step up big and the two Stiffs will be good as well because they’ve all been around a long time. I think they were up since they were freshman. They know what it takes and how hard they should be working.”

    Even with all the youth, Benavidez says his players are learning quickly and soaking up baseball knowledge like blue and red-clad sponges.

    “We can’t get mad at them about anything yet. They’re working their butts off,” he said.

    “They know what it takes and they’ve seen how we work hard and how we play,” Teter said. “These next few weeks are definitely going to be a learning experience. But we’ll catch on and we’ll learn what we have to. It’ll be fun.”

    Cooper expects Pocatello to be back in contention when all is said and done because the gelling necessary for a winning team is already in motion.

    “We’re all real tight. I’ve played with a bunch of these guys for a long time,” he said. “They’re a great bunch of guys, so we should do pretty dang good. We should be right there.”

    Fans can get their first look at the Indians today as Poky, Highland, Hillcrest and American Falls come together for a jamboree at Halliwell Park beginning at 11 a.m.

    Pocatello opens its season Thursday when it hosts Hillcrest at 4 p.m., also at Halliwell Park.