DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Katrina Gaar is all about getting ahead.

In softball, that means the junior catcher for Corona del Mar High needs to call the right pitches, in order to get her team ahead in the count. Personally, it also means she chooses to play for a travel ball team. Gaar plays outfield for the Downey-based Nemesis Elite, and she helped lead that team to a seventh-place finish at the American Softball Assn. 16-and-under Nationals last summer in Sioux City, S.D.

“We actually could have won the whole thing, but our pitcher got a huge blood blister on her hand,” Gaar said.

In her academic life, getting ahead was why Gaar said she enrolled in Orange Coast Middle College High this year. Gaar is no longer enrolled at CdM.

Orange Coast Middle College High, on the OCC campus, allows its 100 students to take both high school classes and college classes for credit. Gaar said it was quite an ordeal to get clearance from the CIF Southern Section to continue playing softball for the Sea Kings, but it was worth it.

“I just love taking college classes, and not having to worry about [advanced-placement] classes and passing the big test,” she said. “Everyone’s super-united there. It’s kind of like a family. You can bounce around from group to group, and no one’s saying anything like, ‘Why are you here?’ It’s just interesting. When I went into it, I didn’t know what to expect, but I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. It’s definitely made me a more responsible person.”

Of course, Coach Laura Mayberry is plenty happy that Gaar is still playing softball for CdM (1-5).

The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week went three for four with a home run, a double and four RBIs in the Sea Kings’ 12-0, season-opening victory over Sage Hill on Feb. 29.

Leading off, Gaar hit the very first pitch thrown to CdM over the right-center field fence, providing a bright start to the Sea Kings’ season.

Mayberry, who was Gaar’s coach two years ago on junior varsity and also last year, said her catcher’s improvement has been evident. Gaar was named the team’s Offensive Player of the Year a year ago, after batting .337. She was also a second-team All-Pacific Coast League selection.

This, after only switching over to a left-handed batting stance just over a year ago.

“Last year she was an offensive force for us, and that had changed dramatically since she was a freshman,” Mayberry said. “She has a great swing, a great eye. This year, she’s gotten even smarter at the plate, but she’s also stronger. She’s not a left-handed hitter who has to slap all the time. She has power from the left side, too. She can slap, and she can hit.”

Gaar, who has been playing softball since she was 6, loves that kind of strategy. It’s the reason why Mayberry said her catcher would make a good coach someday. Last year, Mayberry let Gaar call the game most of the time for Pacific Coast League MVP Michelle Tolfa, the pitcher who’s now at Princeton.

“What’s really great about Katrina is that she’s a real student of the game,” Mayberry said.

Gaar said she is probably a better outfielder, like she plays in travel ball. But the innate leadership responsibility needed in a catcher is something she tries to live up to.

“I’m a person who likes leadership roles, and how I can be in control of the game and involved in every pitch,” she said. “You see everything on the field, so you have to talk to them and communicate with them. I think it’s a good role for me, but I’m definitely a better outfielder. I’ll go wherever the team needs me, and I think a lot of girls this year have that attitude, which is really good.”

With her 5-foot-11 frame, Gaar has played plenty of sports over the years, including when she was on a ski racing team at Mammoth. She has also played basketball, club soccer and football. As a sophomore, she was a backup kicker for the CdM football team.

“Everybody says that I’m a natural athlete,” Gaar said. “It’s just having to choose which one I want to do. I really love the game of football, but I can’t really compete with a guy who’s the same height as me but weighs 185 pounds. Obviously, you can tackle him, but it’s going to be harder to break off the line.”

It has been hard, too, to balance schedules at times this early season. Gaar is taking one of her three college courses at Orange Coast Middle College on Wednesday afternoons, forcing her to miss CdM’s softball practices.

But Gaar, who said she has Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, said she doesn’t mind the packed days.

“It’s hard to balance, but I like to over-plan my schedule,” she said with a laugh. “I like to keep busy.”

So Gaar is busy, but also excited about the Sea Kings’ prospects this season.

“I think we’ll have a pretty good year this year,” she said. “Everybody’s forecasting us to be doomed because Michelle’s gone, but I don’t think that. With our defense now, it’ll definitely be good. I just hope we’ll have a better hitting year as a unit than last year. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how it all pans out ... I’m really excited.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].