BURNOUT: : Joe ‘Prep’ Athlete Has Everything Going for Him--Right? Not Always. He’s Often a Victim of His Own Talent and Faces Undo Pressures : A Three-Sport Athlete : For Some, Like Armstrong, It’s Still Fun

Picture the tight spiral of a football when it is properly released, the passer’s hand turned inward.

Now think of a basketball and the backspin applied to a 20-footer which allows the ball to sink through the net as softly as a tissue drops in a wastebasket.

Finally, imagine the raised seams of a baseball as a twist of the pitcher’s wrist sends it dipping under a swinging bat.

There are experts on the nuances of each of these balls, but rarely is there a person who is the master of all three.

One of these athletes competes in the Valley area. His name is Armstrong. What else could it be?

Steve Armstrong is a senior at Agoura High. This fall, he led Agoura to a 14-0 football season and the Desert-Mountain Conference championship. In the title game against Yucaipa, he hit Jim Friedl with a 27-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left to tie the game. On the next play, he won it by kicking the point after touchdown.

Armstrong shared congratulations after the kick, then got some sleep. He had little time for anything else.

The following Monday evening he donned a blue and gold Agoura basketball uniform, completing the transition from football hero to basketball star in a 70-hour span.

In the spring, Armstrong is again the guy with the strong arm. All-Frontier League in baseball as a junior last season--as he was in football and basketball--he will again shoulder the bulk of the pitching chores for the team.

It didn’t take long for Armstrong to show top form on the basketball floor. He has led the Chargers in scoring twice in their last three games.

The 6-1, 185-pounder will be looked to on the court for the same answers he provided in football--great plays in clutch situations. If Armstrong, on a dead run to his left, can hit Friedl at the goal line on a fourth-down-and-17 play to win a football title, let’s give him the basketball with the game on the line.

You can almost hear Agoura basketball Coach Bob LaBelle’s mind working.

“When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, we would like to see Steve with the ball,” LaBelle said. “He shined in his first game back and it’s clear to everyone that he is our leader.”

Another basketball coach who is exercising quite a bit of patience is Bob Johnson at Granada Hills. Johnson, who is a counselor during school hours, is putting his psychology training to work on the court.

Granada Hill’s best player, All-City forward Desmond Cerceo, didn’t suit up for the team’s first six games.

Cerceo was the quarterback on the Highlanders’ football team. He finished the season with a flourish by completing 22 of 34 passes for three touchdowns in a playoff loss to Gardena.

But, unlike Armstrong, Cerceo yearned for a break before beginning basketball.

“I would wake up in the morning and feel a pressure in my head,” Cerceo said. “All the guys on the football team were going home at two o’clock, and I was supposed to stay and practice basketball.”

In mid-December, Cerceo was expected for a North Hollywood Tournament game against Simi Valley, but he didn’t show up.

Said Cerceo: “I let some people down. I know that. I’m getting my enthusiasm back. I won’t miss any more games. You want to know the real reason I missed that game? I worked that day and got caught in traffic on my way to North Hollywood.”

Johnson exhibited patience with Cerceo, allowing him to remain on the roster while sorting out his thoughts. That process took quite a while because Cerceo found few people who understood his problems.

Said Cerceo: “I can talk about this to friends, but I wonder if they really understand. Some want me to get out there and play, others want me to take a rest. My football buddies are the ones who want me to play because they like to go to the games and get rowdy . . . Sometimes there is a loneliness.”

Armstrong cannot easily relate to Cerceo’s situation, although he once almost dropped basketball.

“I was having trouble in one class, a honors math class,” Armstrong said. “I didn’t quit, though, and I managed a B in the class. If I went to a game, I would want to be out there. I don’t expect any time off, so it’s no big deal.”

Cerceo willingly admits his fall from perfection, while Armstrong may not know anything but success. But Armstrong, when pressed, will speak of the feelings Cerceo so readily admits.

“I think I know how he (Cerceo) must feel,” Armstrong said. “If (football player) Donnie Rea hadn’t gone out for basketball it would have been lonely. I wonder sometimes what is really expected of me.

“I don’t consider it a burden, though, just a challenge. And besides, it’s all too much fun to pass up.”