Free Spirit Roams at Saddleback : Sea View League: Luis Estrella’s speed makes him an outstanding outfielder, but sometimes he runs off at the mouth.

No one questions the effort Luis Estrella exerts in his various athletic roles for Saddleback High, but he is the first to admit he goes too far at times.

It’s a case of unquestioned effort, questionable judgment. Estrella, a standout football, basketball and baseball player, has occasionally argued vehemently with his coaches.

“I say a lot of things I don’t mean,” Estrella said. “It’s just in the heat of the moment. It’s not something I do on purpose.”

Said Jerry Witte, Saddleback football coach: “Luis is a free spirit. He has his idea of things and sometimes they don’t agree with what the coaches want. Sometimes that causes a bit of a problem.”

Estrella recognizes the problem and says he is trying to tone down his natural aggressiveness. He hopes to earn a baseball scholarship to a Division I college and eventually play professionally, and he knows that sort of behavior won’t be tolerated.

There’s no question that Estrella, who won’t turn 18 until October, is talented. He was a first-team, All-Sea View League defensive back in football last fall and a first-team all-league outfielder in baseball as a junior last season. He was also the second-leading scorer on the Roadrunners’ basketball team, averaging 15 points per game during the regular season.

And he approaches each of his sports with an aggressive abandon.

“A lot of coaches tell me that I lose focus by going too fast,” Estrella said. “I’m a very hyper person and I end up trying to do too much.”

Much is expected of Estrella on the baseball field, which suits him just fine because baseball is his favorite sport. As one of only two returning starters, Estrella will be counted on to lead the Roadrunners. He batted .333 last season and was the Roadrunners’ No. 3 pitcher. This season, he will have to be one the main men on the mound.

“If I excel at pitching, it’s because I’ve outsmarted the batters,” Estrella said. “I can’t blow it past them.”

Estrella got some valuable pitching experience last summer playing for a Tustin team of 15- and 16-year-olds that won the Colt League World Series in Indiana. Estrella won his first 14 decisions before losing the final game of the summer in the bronze-medal game of the Junior Olympic Super Series in Georgia.

The team had advanced to the Super Series after a 14-1 victory over Mid-Michigan in the Colt championship game, during which Estrella hit a three-run home run.

Estrella also shines in the outfield. His speed allows him to get to most anything hit, and his arm is also strong, Saddleback Coach Bob Mangram said.

“He will make plays that will be phenomenal and then he’ll make some bonehead plays because he’s trying to make a great one,” he said. “That’s the way he is. He’s aggressive.”

Mangram said a number of local colleges, including UC Irvine and UCLA, have shown interest in Estrella, who has a 3.2 grade-point average and already has been accepted into the engineering school at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.