Publication Date: Friday, October 14, 2005
Getting his kicks
Getting his kicks
(October 14, 2005) Sacred Heart Prep senior two-sport standout Cory Hatton is playing both in the same season
by Keith Peters
It was just another typical day in Cory Hatton's busy life. He and his teammates on the Sacred Heart Prep boys' soccer team had just beaten Harker in an important Private Schools Athletic League match and now all were getting ready to attend the Gators' homecoming football game in less than two hours.
While his teammates changed into their street clothes, Hatton put on his football uniform.
There are two-sport athletes, and then there is Cory Hatton.
Hatton, a senior, is living a unique life these days. He practices soccer every day and plays at least two matches a week as a starting midfielder for the Gators. In his spare time, of which there is very little, Hatton races to football practice after soccer. On football game days, Hatton is the team's placekicker.
Hatton may be the Bay Area's only varsity athlete starting in two sports in the same season. For sure, he's the only one doing it in two different sections - the football team plays in the North Coast Section while soccer is in the Central Coast Section.
Moreover, Hatton may raise the bar on the uniqueness ladder in the postseason should the football team join the soccer team in the playoffs. And, should both squads happen to win league titles, Hatton's two-sport status becomes even more unique.
"I think he's an asset to both programs," said Anthony Thomas, Sacred Heart's athletic director. "We don't pigeon-hole our athletes with one sport. We want them to do multiple sports. I just didn't envision it happening in the same season."
Hatton's two sports collided on Oct. 1 when SHP hosted Harker in soccer at 11 a.m. and Harker in football at 2 p.m. On this particular day, Hatton was playing his second soccer match in less than 24 hours. When that ended, Hatton scored seven points on PATs in a 49-0 football romp. He also used his strong right leg to boot six kickoffs in the end zone.
And then, finally, he rested.
"It was definitely the most tired I'd been in a long time," Hatton said. "It was a long weekend."
Fortunately for Hatton, there are no more football/soccer conflicts this season. The only potential soccer match on a Saturday would be the Nov. 5 Central Coast Section Division III finals, where Sacred Heart is the defending champion. The football team has a bye that day.
Thus, all Hatton has to worry about the remainder of the year is running to and from practices and squeezing in his homework. Just getting to this point, however, has taken a lot of work, too.
"It was kind of a long summer, with the resistance I got," Hatton said. "The coaches were supportive. But the Athletic Department thought it was unfair if I played (football) over someone else, since I wasn't at practice every day.
Thomas first believed there were too many potential negatives with Hatton playing two sports in the same season.
"It's rare and we usually don't allow it to happen," he said. "There was a lot of talk in the department on how to handle it."
Added SHP assistant AD Dawn Hemm: "It opened up a can of worms."
There had, however, been similar situations in the past. When Thomas was at Urban in San Francisco, he had a boy playing baseball and running track in the spring. And even SHP had Liz Rizzo playing softball and running track nearly two decades ago.
Thomas let football coach Pete Lavorato and soccer coach Juan Camahort discuss the situation and the two agreed on sharing Hatton.
"The experiment," Thomas said, "almost ended that first (football) game."
In Sacred Heart Prep's season-opening victory over a good El Camino team, Hatton attempted to make a tackle on the second-half kickoff and suffered a dislocated left shoulder. He missed the next two football games - wins over Menlo and Mills - because of soccer matches.
"Soccer is his No. 1 priority," Thomas said.
Hatton returned for the Harker game, with one stipulation - he was no longer allowed to make tackles.
"Coach Lavorato said if I needed to, I could run to the sidelines (after kicking off)," said Hatton, who seemed embarrassed by such a notion. To remove that scenario, Hatton simply boots his kickoffs into the end zone.
"That way I don't have to worry about the ballcarrier getting through," Hatton said.
This whole kicking thing started out as a lark for Hatton, who'd show up at football practice (after soccer, of course) last year and hang out with his good friend and quarterback Pat Coffey, who doubled as the team's kicker in 2004.
"I came out to kick field goals after practice," Hatton said. "It started out as a joke, but he (Coffey) got serious about it."
Coffey saw potential in Hatton and the experiment was on. Hatton even ran distances on the track team last spring in order to strengthen his legs. When fall arrived, Hatton became a unique two-sport athlete.
In previous years, athletes have left soccer for football or vice versa. Sacred Heart Prep is still trying to move soccer to the winter, so that its athletes won't have to choose.
Until that happens, it's either choose between sports or become another Cory Hatton.
"It's definitely a more hectic senior season than I expected," said Hatton, who has helped the soccer team fashion a first-place mark of 8-1-1 in the PSAL (10-4-1 overall) and been a factor in the Gators' 3-3 football campaign, which continues Saturday with a Bay Football League game at California School for the Deaf.
The Gators have two more home football games, Oct. 29 and Nov. 12. After that, SHP's season may continue in the NCS Class A playoffs.
Between now and then, Hatton has a few goals remaining. One of them is helping his soccer teammates win a seventh CCS title. The other is helping the football team win the inaugural BFL crown.
Most certainly, Cory Hatton will make time for both.
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