Only His Time, Not Potential, Is Limited : Prep football: Newport Harbor receiver spends off-season on the baseball and soccer fields.

For a moment, just imagine the success that Branon Coluccio might achieve if he limited himself to one sport at Newport Harbor High School.

One wonders how many college football scouts would be lining up at his door if the senior wide receiver participated in a year-long weightlifting program that could add 30 pounds to his 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame.

One wonders what major league baseball team would be signing him after the June amateur draft if he had played on a Connie Mack team each summer and worked to improve his hitting skills rather than spending three nights a week in a summer passing league.

Or one wonders if a national soccer team coach would come calling to persuade the center-forward that he should be getting his kicks with a round ball instead of trying to catch a football.

The possibilities are endless, but Coluccio’s time is limited as he continues his third year of participating in three sports at Newport Harbor.

In an age of specialization, Coluccio is a jack of all trades, often changing uniforms and shoes from one day to the next to excel on the athletic fields.

It’s a routine Coluccio has followed since his sophomore season at Newport Harbor, when he decided to try football. He had played baseball and soccer as a youngster, but added a new sport to his portfolio just for the fun of it.

“I would watch my friends playing freshman football, and it looked like so much fun, I decided to give it a shot,” he said. “And it has been fun, the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

Coluccio had never played organized football when he became a member of Newport Harbor’s junior varsity, but the sophomore learned quickly. Midway through the season, he was promoted to the varsity, where he started the final three games.

“I expected to pick it (football) up quicker than I did,” he said. “There’s a lot more technique involved than I ever imagined. You know, keep square, head up, shoulders straight. You had to stay focused all the time.”

Coluccio’s decision to play football only made his schedule more hectic. He often played a football game Friday night and then suited up for a winter soccer club match Saturday night.

“I stopped doing that last year,” he said. “It got kind of crazy. I’d play a football game on Friday night, watch film and do some drills on Saturday and then play soccer that night. The club soccer games had to go.”

But it’s on the soccer field where Coluccio has enjoyed his greatest success at Newport Harbor. Last year, he was the only junior starter on a senior-oriented team that was the co-champion of the Southern Section’s Division 1-A.

Coluccio, a center-forward, was one of a team that tied Corona Centennial, 0-0, in the championship game. He said he had mixed emotions after failing to win the game.

“I felt we dominated the game,” he said. “When it was over, it almost felt like a loss. Everyone was a little down. Our coach said, ‘Cheer up guys, we’re CIF champs.’ Finally, we let our pride go and we were champs.

“Looking back, it was a very gratifying win considering we’re such a small school. But our semifinal win against Corona del Mar was a much bigger win. That was an adrenaline rush beating those guys.”

Still, Coluccio says nothing compares to a victory on the football field. He points to Newport Harbor’s 21-14 victory over Tustin in a key Sea View League game and says, “I’ll remember that win for a long, long time.”

Then, Coluccio begins to wonder about the feeling of winning a football championship. Newport Harbor (7-4) can take its second step toward winning the Division VI championship when it plays host to top-seeded Valencia (11-0) at 7:30 tonight.

“I can only imagine that winning a football title would be 10 times better than winning the soccer championship,” he said. “They’re two totally different sports, but I like playing soccer. It’s been a good middle sport for me. I can relax and just go out and run my hardest in a soccer match.”

In the spring, Coluccio’s interests turn to the baseball diamond, where he has been a two-year starter in center field. The sport comes naturally to Coluccio, whose father, Bob, played four seasons in the major leagues for the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.

Bob Coluccio, now a real estate agent in Newport Beach, was a two-sport star in Centralia, Wash. Bob Coluccio had offers to play college football and baseball, but he decided to play major league baseball, signing with the Brewers.

Coluccio hit 15 home runs for the Brewers in 1973, his rookie season, but never achieved much success after his first season, finishing his career in St. Louis in 1978. He coached his son’s youth teams in Centralia, and then in Newport Beach when the family moved to Southern California five years ago.

Coluccio has a batting cage in his back yard where his father gives private hitting lessons to high school and college players in the area.

“He has probably coached every athlete at Newport Harbor at one time or another in some sport,” Coluccio said. “He was my coach until the seventh grade, and now he’s coaching my brothers’ teams.”

Unfortunately, Coluccio hasn’t found the success in baseball that he has achieved in football and soccer. Although Coluccio hasn’t batted over .300, his coach, Kirk Bates, said the senior is a college prospect.

“Branon has all the tools,” Bates said. “He’s got an arm and good speed, if only he could come on with the bat. He’s never had a good hitting season. I think right now he’s more focused on football.”

Coluccio is uncertain where his future lies.

“Most coaches have told me that if I lifted regularly, I could be 225 pounds and play strong safety for a college football team,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll have some options going into college.

“I have so much fun playing all three sports that I really wouldn’t want to choose just one. But whatever sport I could get a chance to play in college, that would be my choice.”

Coluccio should have no problems qualifying for a college. He has a 3.6 grade-point average at Newport Harbor and scored 1,280 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Coluccio also has some impressive numbers on the football field, where he has caught 43 passes for 488 yards despite Newport Harbor starting quarterback Mike Ofer missing four games with a broken collarbone. But the numbers make Coluccio blush.

“I don’t regard myself as highly successful,” he said. “That’s just the way this team is. We don’t have any stars. We don’t think individually. All that counts is a victory.”