Calvary Chapel Is Comfortable Leaving Many Things to Chance : Baseball: King, a catcher, has been instrumental in helping Eagles advance to the Division V title game.

When you’re a 5-foot-8, 140-pound catcher, you have to be tough, mentally, physically and spiritually. Chance King has nothing to worry about.

King, 18, is a first-team All-Olympic League selection and tri-captain of the Calvary Chapel team playing in the Division V Southern Section championship game at 7:30 tonight against Long Beach St. Anthony at Blair Field.

“He’s a great kid with a great heart,” Calvary Chapel Coach Joe Walters said. “He’s worked so hard, both in practice and on his own, lifting weights and working on his fundamentals.”

Wanting to be the catcher was an idea that came early to King, when he was 12 and standing in center field for his Little League team.

“I was so bored out there,” King said with a smile. “Nobody ever hit me the ball. I wanted to be where the action was. What better place than catcher?”

When King made the Calvary Chapel varsity team as a freshman, his size made it tough to gain the respect most catchers get from their teammates.

“It was real weird,” King said. “Coming straight from Little League to varsity baseball and catching varsity pitchers, I was a little overwhelmed. I learned at that point that you can’t rely on God-given talent alone. You have to keep getting better, and the only way to do that is through hard work.”

According to Walters, King follows up what he says. “When Chance started here, he was small and a little shaky, but he has gotten better and better each season. That’s a tribute to his hard work ethic.”

King, along with daily practices, spends countless hours each week lifting weights, hitting in the batting cages and participating in numerous defensive drills in the bullpen.

The extra work has not affected his schoolwork as King has a 4.1 grade-point average and plans to major in mathematics. He’s still undecided on a college.

King credits Walters and his parents for his work ethic. “They all have told me that if God has given you talent in anything, you can’t be satisfied with that,” King said. “You have to strive to be better.”

King is the team’s tri-captain with Joe Jones and Alex Oakland. “The three of us sat down at the beginning of the season and we each decided to take our jobs very seriously,” King said. “We didn’t, however, want to stand above our teammates, and I don’t think we have.”

Last year, Calvary Chapel lost in the Division V title game, 6-2, to Sierra Madre Maranatha--which the Eagles defeated, 7-4, in the second round of the playoffs this season--and King said last year’s setback will help him prepare for this year’s title game.

“I was a little nervous last year because I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “But now that I’ve been there, I will be ready and I will be able to help out the younger players.”

King continues his hard work during the off-season. “I play in summer and winter leagues. I think that has helped me out the most. The extra games gave me the experience I needed to become a better defensive catcher.”

Despite his success, King is not satisfied. “I could have worked harder and been a better player,” he said, “but I guess I did OK.

“It’s been fun. It will feel funny playing in my last practice and my last game here at Calvary Chapel. I just hope we have a big lead in the championship game so I can enjoy my final at-bat.”