Will Croker says his Fortitudo-backed Bournemouth side will leave no stone unturned in their preparations for the new National Two South campaign.
Last season, the Lions roared to the South West Premier title with 25 wins in their 26 matches to win promotion.
Tougher tests are expected in the fourth tier of English rugby, with Croker and his coaching team sticking with the formula which brought success.
He said: “Pre-season is shaping up nicely for us and we have had the first couple of weeks under our belts and the players are back into it.
“What is nice is because the game plan is not changing much we are focussing a lot on individual skill sets and trying to make the players as good as they can be.
“We will stick to the formula which worked so well for us in the main with a few tweaks here and there.
“But now our focus is on trying to make sure each one of the players are at their optimum capacity.”
Unlike some teams in their new division, Croker does not have huge sums of money with which to recruit vastly.
Instead the challenge for him and his coaches is to improve what he already has at his disposal - and he says he is enjoying that test.
Croker added: “We do not have a huge budget with which to go out and get lots of new players in so our focus as coaches - and actually one of the most enjoyable part of the jobs as coaches - is to try and make players better.
“It is not just about trying to create winning teams, it is about player improvement and trying to make player pathways and trying to identify areas in which we can help with that.
“This year, we are focussing a lot more on them with the way we have set up pre-season.
“All of the players are being player profiled through James Croker, who has taken on that role and is working alongside Mike Pope with strength and conditioning and the physios if they are injured.
“When the players are injured or need any rehab or if it is the rugby side of it with any technical input, then they will come to the likes of me or Jon Sanchez
“This year in another change we have really incorporated the work of Doctor Stewart Cotterill.
“He is the head of school at AECC University and is a world-renowned sports psychologist.
“We hope he is going to be able to work with the players not just as individuals, but also in terms of leadership groups, the coaching group and trying to make sure we are not leaving any stone unturned.”