Player of the Week : Call Has Enjoyed a Winning Career at Capistrano Valley

Nathan Call of Capistrano Valley High School is accustomed to winning.

He was a freshman on the Cougar varsity that was 26-3. As a sophomore, he started at guard next to his brother, Burt, and Capistrano Valley finished 24-4. Last season, he started at point guard, and the Cougars were 23-6.

This season the Cougars were 27-3, and their win over Rio Mesa Friday in a CIF Southern Section 4-A quarterfinal was Call’s 100th victory as a varsity player. Capo Valley was upset by Simi Valley, 97-69, Tuesday night.

Winning 100 games in high school career is quite an accomplishment. Not only does a player have to be skilled enough to make the varsity as a freshman, but his team has to be good enough to average 25 wins a season.

Mater Dei’s Jim Dwyer (113 victories) is the only other Orange County player in recent history to have enjoyed so many wins.

Call, who has signed a letter of intent to attend Brigham Young University, scored 13 points and had 10 assists and 6 steals in Friday’s victory. Against Eisenhower last Tuesday, he scored a season-high 27 points and had 13 assists and 5 steals as the Cougars beat the Eagles, 86-52.

On the season, he averages 13 points, 10 assists and 6 steals per game.

For his performances, he has been named The Times’ Player of the Week.

Capistrano Valley Coach Mark Thornton doesn’t get bogged down in statistics when describing Call.

“It’s the wins behind your name that count,” he said. “He has made me a good coach, not the other way around.

“Nathan is normally never wrong with his decisions on the court, and he calls defenses a lot of the time. He can tell when we have a team by the jugular.”

Call almost echoes Thornton’s theory.

“Most of my goals are team oriented,” he said. “The only real way to judge a point guard is if his team wins. All I can really do is help us win. There’s probably a lot of other great point guards out there, but they just have the other good players around them like I do. You just can’t compare point guards.”

Nathan Call

Capistrano High School

Position: Point guard

Height, Class: 6-0, Sr.

Last Week: Scored 40 points, had 23 assists, and 11 steals.

Season: Is averaging 13 points, 9 assists and 5 steals a game.