Success in Athletics Comes Naturally for El Toro Receiver Haley : Football: A competitive family prepared Chargers’ tight end for sports--and tonight’s Division III semifinal game.

Bo Haley, the youngest of three boys in a competitive family, was destined to become a good athlete.

Haley’s father, Jim, played basketball and baseball at Colorado College and later coached his three sons’ Little League teams. He recently began a business building indoor batting cages.

Haley’s oldest brother, Tom, was a starting right guard on El Toro’s 1982 Central Conference championship team.

And Haley’s mother, Linda, is an active member of the Lake Forest Club tennis team.

“Bo is the most athletic kid in the family,” Linda said. “It seemed whatever sport he played, it came naturally to him. His older brothers were always playing with him . . . throwing balls to him. He never collected baseball cards, he was always too busy playing.”

Haley began playing soccer as a youngster and took up baseball in the third grade. He added football to his busy schedule in the seventh grade at Serrano Intermediate School and has blossomed into a two-time all-league tight end at El Toro High.

Tonight, Haley will attempt to become the second member of his family to reach a Southern Section championship game when El Toro meets Mission Viejo at 7:30 in the Division III semifinals at Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

Haley has been instrumental in El Toro’s playoff success. He caught a school-record 86-yard touchdown reception in a 43-8 victory over Gahr in the first round, finishing with four receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

He scored another touchdown on an end-around play in a 28-14 victory over Villa Park in the quarterfinals. Haley has caught 24 passes for 495 yards and has scored nine touchdowns on the season.

Despite his football success, Haley’s first love remains baseball. He was a starting left fielder as a sophomore when the Chargers advanced to the Southern Section’s 2-A division championship game. He batted .263 and was looking forward to a big junior season.

But Haley slumped to .190 as a junior although he did show signs of power with nine doubles. And the senior is confident his future will be filled with fly balls rather than fly patterns.

“I’d rather play baseball,” Haley said. “I enjoy baseball more than football; it’s more fun. Football practice can be hell. Sometimes, the toughest part about practice is just thinking about it in sixth period.

“I love playing the games on Friday night, but practice isn’t much fun. Baseball is fun, whether you’re practicing or playing. My dream is to play professional baseball, but I would rather play college baseball than sign if I was drafted out of high school.”

But first there’s the rematch with Mission Viejo. El Toro defeated Mission Viejo, 21-14, in their first meeting this season. Haley’s role was primarily blocking for running backs Jerome Oakman and Danny Maestas.

“I’m all right at blocking, but I think I catch the ball a lot better than I block,” Haley said. “Mission was the best defensive team we’ve played. I know they’ll come ready to beat us, but we’re excited to be playing them again.

“Our defense played awfully well the last time we played them. It might have been our best defensive game of the year.”

El Toro’s victory over Mission Viejo set up a showdown with Capistrano Valley for the South Coast League title. The game matched two undefeated teams battling for the No. 1 ranking in the county.

Capistrano Valley won the game, 22-21, when El Toro missed four field goal attempts and had a touchdown called back.

“We had all the opportunities to score and we didn’t,” Haley said. “Everyone was in shock afterward. We’re looking forward to playing them again, but we know we have to beat Mission first.

“Everyone says it’s tough to beat a good team twice, but we’re looking forward to the challenge. We have to beat Mission to get the second shot at Capo.”

Haley caught five passes for 47 yards in the one-point loss to Capistrano Valley. El Toro Coach Bob Johnson said Haley’s ability to catch the ball in a crowd separates him from most tight ends.

“Bo has been consistently good for two years,” Johnson said. “He run-blocks extremely well and is very talented. He’s very popular with his teammates and the coaching staff. A very unselfish kid who at 6-2 and 195 pounds, runs extremely well for his size.”