OCVarsity Voice: Easy to rediscover love at the local high school

Pick a high school game, any game and go to it.

That's not an order, just a strong suggestion from someone who recently rekindled an old romance at a high school baseball game.

Actually, the romance is with the game itself. (Did you think otherwise?)

Pick an afternoon or an evening to head over to the local high school to check out what is going on over there, other than a lot of text messaging. Check out a baseball or softball game, a track meet or a lacrosse ... do they call it a match? Check out whatever is going on, because it will be worth your time and effort.

If you're a parent, you'll probably appreciate the lack of a parking lot hassle, the free seat and the likelihood of cheap food (that doesn't mean it's bad for you, just that a soda will cost a buck not five.) Then sit back and take in the sites and sounds.

At a baseball game, listen for the crunch-crunch-crunch the cleats make on the infield dirt, and the ping of the aluminum bat, and the whap! sound a catcher's glove makes when it catches a fastball. It's enough to warm a heart grown cold for a game dragged into the muck and mire by professional athletes.

It's the same enjoyable experience over at the softball diamond or inside the gym for a volleyball match. At this level, every game matters to the athletes involved, and you can tell by the effort they put into the games.

There are some amazing athletes growing and maturing right here in Orange County, perhaps just around the corner from where you live.

If you need some suggestions, here are five athletes in the county that I would recommend you go see in action:

1. Mater Dei's Aaron Northcraft (baseball): There are some great pitchers in the county, and Northcraft is one of them, but he really stands out because of his high-leg kick. The 6-foot-4 junior must be a nightmare for batters.

2. Beckman's Jasmin Harrell (softball): Like Northcraft, she's one of the county's great pitchers, but her style sets her apart. On a typical day she dominates the game.

3. St. Margaret's Hunter Steffien (lacrosse): He's done it all for his school this year, starring on the championship-winning football team and being all-league in basketball. Now he's helping the Tartans challenge for the Trinity title in lacrosse.

4. Santa Ana's Ramiro Velasco (baseball): The leaderboards on OCVarsity.com show him hitting in the .700 range, which seems highly improbable until you hear from those who have seem him in action. He's big (6-2, 230 pounds) but agile and quick enough to have started at safety for the Saints in football. And now he's hitting pitchers just as hard.

5. Woodbridge's Christine Babcock (track): There are many great track and field athletes, but this senior is a two-time state champion in the 1,600 meters. She might be a future Olympian; she is definitely one of the best to ever step on a track in Orange County.

Contact the writer: bpatterson@ocregister.com