He Pools Talents for Double the Success

It’s 5:45 on a Monday afternoon, and Leandro Dottavio of Van Nuys Grant is doing his Superman routine, except he has no phone booth in which to change.

He has just won the 100-meter backstroke in a swim meet against Canoga Park. Now he’s abandoning his black Speedo jammers and putting on pants, cleats and a jersey. He grabs his bag and jogs across the street from the L.A. Valley College pool to the Grant baseball field so he can join the last 30 minutes of baseball practice.

“I don’t even dry off,” he said.

Welcome to the hectic life of a 17-year-old senior who has insisted on competing in two sports simultaneously for the fourth consecutive year. He was an All-City Section catcher last season after batting .488 and finished fifth at the City swim finals in the backstroke.

He rises at 5 a.m. every weekday for swim practice. He has swim meets on Mondays, baseball games on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All the while, he has maintained a 3.95 grade-point average and was accepted to UCLA for his academics.

“It’s been crazy,” he said. “[People] told me to stop baseball because I’d be a better swimmer. [People] told me to stop swimming because I’d be a better baseball player. I think I should finish what I started.”

He has participated in both sports since he was young and didn’t want to let down teammates at any level. He has discovered that swimming has helped his baseball skills.

“It helps me recuperate after I pitch and gives me strength and flexibility,” he said. “Instead of lifting weights, I swim. It helps me maintain the speed aspect of my swing.”

This season, Dottavio is batting .542 (13 for 24). When he misses time at baseball practice because of swimming, he makes up for it by heading to the batting cage at night.

“He’s big and strong and has extremely quick hands,” baseball coach Devin Ellison said. “There are a lot of people trying to do two sports, but to be successful, it takes a special person.”

At 6 feet 3 and 215 pounds, Dottavio makes a big splash when he dives into a pool. He competes in the butterfly, backstroke and two relay events. As a baseball player, he has been switched to pitcher and first base this season in a bid to help the team prosper.

He has come to accept the usual teasing from friends who don’t understand his commitment to two sports.

His swim teammates greet him by saying, “Where’s your Louisville slugger?”

His baseball teammates ask, “When are you going to shave your legs?”

Dottavio has developed different personalities for each sport. In baseball, he’s more boisterous. In swimming, he’s more reserved. “I have to be polite around the ladies,” he said.

One important facet of Dottavio’s life is staying free of drugs and alcohol.

In an essay for an English class, he wrote, “I believe having a chance at a great future is more important than having a little fun at the moment. I pride myself on doing what’s right, which sometimes isn’t the most popular decision....When people see how my attitude is one of doing the right thing, they often change their ways.”

Dottavio is a leader and feels strongly about setting a good example.

“There’s always temptations,” he said, “but I try to think of my future. I have to concentrate on a goal, and drugs and alcohol are only going to be an obstacle to reaching that.”

Dottavio hopes to make UCLA’s baseball team as a walk-on next season. Since UCLA has no men’s swim team, his Speedos are headed for the closet. Or are they?

“I’d like to keep swimming as a training device for baseball,” he said. “I’ve found it successful.”

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.