San Jose Sting

 Caitlin Breen is a Junior at Burlingame High School where she plays and excels in 3 sports Volleyball, Basketball and Softball while maintaining a 4.667 GPA.. Caitlin has received many academic honors including being a  CJSF/CSF member for 6 years, Honor Roll throughout High School, Scholar of the Year, Spanish Student of the Year, GATE Student, Xerox Award for Innovation and Technology nominee, NYLSC attendee, American Mathematics Competition nominee. The Student Sports Class of 2009 Top Prospect and San Mateo All County First Team Softball player helped lead the Sting 16U team to a 17th place finish at last Summers ASA Nationals and now plays for Sting 18Gold Head Coach Bob Perales.

Q- Are you looking forward to the end of the highschool year so you can relax? Does it get hectic, this pace?
A- Yes, it gets hectic trying to find time to complete all of the homework, especially for AP classes, while playing 1 or 2 sports at a time as well. This year I have definitely gotten used to getting a lot less sleep than I have in the past!

Q- What's more tiring academics or athletics?
A- To me academics is more tiring because on top of the 6+ hours I spend at school everyday I have at least 5 hours of homework most nights. And somehow, no matter how tired I might be, I always have enough energy to play sports!

Q- When do you relax, do you have time when you don't do anything? When is it Caitlins time?
A- I have little free time this year with 6 classes, 4 of them being AP, but I find time to relax and hang out with friends on the weekends, unless we have tournaments. I try to stay ahead with homework, etc. so I will have more free time during the weekends to have fun outside of school and sports.

Q- You want to get into the medical field, what appeals to you about that field?
A- I have wanted to be a pediatric cardiologist since 3rd grade. I have just always been interested in medicine and rather than shy away from blood, I love dissecting things. I’m also in AP Bio this year and I really like everything that we are learning about. I want to be a cardiologist because I want to save and change lives. I think that helping others is the most important occupation a person can have; and how better to help someone than by saving their life via heart surgery or diagnosing and curing an ailment to prevent something tragic from occurring.

Q- What's a typical day for you? from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed?
A- I normally wake up at 7 and school starts at 8. I have 6 classes and my schedule is: AP Bio, Pre-Calculus, AP English, AP Spanish, AP US history, and ceramics. I don’t have a 7th period so I get started on my homework before I have sports. After school I have practice or a game, right now for softball, and I practice until around 5:30 or 6. Most days I come home and do some homework and then eat dinner at about 7. Once I am finished with dinner, I do more homework, basically until the time I go to bed which varies. Most days the only “break” I have time for is to shower. I try to get to bed before 11, but more often than not, I have way too much homework for that to be possible.

Q - What's your toughest class?
A- My entire schedule is tough this year, but my hardest class is AP Biology. The textbook is huge and the course is meant to be taken by college students who have much more time in class than we do in high school, so we are given massive amounts of homework every night!


Q- Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
A- My parents and my grandpa have been the biggest influences in my life. My parents have also taught me to work hard, have fun, be humble and kind, and to do my best, but they have never pushed me to do anything. I attribute my success in academics and sports to their non-forceful, but supportive guidance. My grandpa is another big influence in my life because he has always been there for me and never misses an opportunity to come and support me in my many endeavors. He is always positive, no matter what adversity he faces and he inspires me to be the same.

Q- Biggest Sting highlight?
A- Last year at nationals, I made all three plays in the 8th inning during international tie breaker and we won the game 1-0 against the So-Cal Wicked. I made the put-out on a well-placed bunt, made a diving catch and held the runner at third, and made a pick while doing the splits on a throw in the dirt. It was a huge adrenaline rush after realizing that we had won and were going to continue in the winner’s bracket.

Q- What has it meant playing for the Sting?
A- Although the games and practices themselves are outstanding, the aspect of Sting that stands out to me the most is the camaraderie. This will be my fourth year playing for the Sting and I have made so many close friends along the way. I love how we can be so serious and play with such maturity and poise on the field, but the minute the games end we can all hang out and just have a good time. When you play for the Sting, not only are you becoming a part of a great softball organization, but you are also joining a new family.

Q- What advice do you have for the younger Sting players?
A- To have fun playing softball and try to enjoy every moment you spend with your teammates because we really are lucky to be out on the field playing with some of our best friends. Also, try your hardest in school because later in life, most of us will be doing something other than softball. Lastly, dream big; no goal is unattainable if you put your whole heart into it and work hard to achieve it.

DID YOU KNOW?

Caitlin is a terrific saxophone player