This year’s Bow boys basketball team may look more like other schools’ junior varsity squads, with several freshmen and sophomores slated to receive significant playing time – and possibly start.

Despite the youthful vibe of a group featuring only two seniors, head coach Chris Gaudreau said his team will remain competitive.

“We’re probably going to have some growing pains early on. We’re probably going to have some inexperience, but we have a really good group. They have a lot of energy, and there’s a lot of talent there. They’re just young,” said Gaudreau.

The Falcons enter the 2008- 09 season hoping to improve on last season’s 10-8 record. They were eliminated in the first round of the Class I tournament, yet Gaudreau believes significant improvement is possible in his fifth season as Bow’s head coach, despite some stiff competition within Class I.

Sophomore guard Connor Hill, who spent his freshman season as sixth man on the varsity team, is likely to move into the starting lineup. Sophomore Ryan Hill should see an increased number of minutes this season, splitting time at forward and guard.

“There’s a lot of young kids we’re going to have playing large roles for us this year,” said Gaudreau. Last season, Bow was on both ends of close battles, including a thrilling, buzzer-beating, 39-38 win against Merrimack Valley last February and a tightly contested 67-61 loss against Monadnock Regional that same month.

“I really think that we’re going to remain competitive and stay in some close games,” said Gaudreau. “When you’re in those close games, the difference between a five-win team and a 12-win team is whether you are able to close those close games or not.

“You go in with the attitude that if we can just keep it close until the fourth quarter, that’s all I can ask for. But once you get into that position, every competitive person in the world wants to win,” he added. “I hate moral victories, but they do exist. They can be good learning tools, but if you have too many, they get tiring pretty quick.”

Junior forward Tom Poitras and senior guard Michael Finnegan share team captaincy. Poitras led the team with 16 points in a tournament loss to Hollis-Brookline last March. He averaged more than 10 points per game in 2007-08.

Because Bow’s nucleus is so young, many of its players can develop the chemistry needed to move the Falcons back to the top tier of Class I, where they spent much of this decade.

“Next year, we’re talking about only losing two players, so you would hope that we’re setting the stage for something pretty good,” said the coach, who identified road dates in January against Pelham and Kearsarge as two of the toughest games on the schedule.

The Falcons opened the year on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at home against the Lebanon Raiders.