Bethel Park’s Calano catches on with baseball
Baseball keeps Nicholas Calano sharp mentally in a way academics can’t.
Calano, who maintains a 4.2 GPA, will take honors classes at Bethel Park High School this fall.
Previously, Calano had been home-schooled. His mother, Jennifer, who possesses a bachelor’s of education degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, provided the instruction as she did for her other children: Sarah Rutman, 35, Katie Teshone, 33, Rebekah Calano, 30, and Thomas, 25.
Calano hopes to become a nuclear engineer.
However, during the summer months, Calano competes for two teams – the Pittsburgh Elite Baseball Academy’s Diamond Dawgs and the Bethel Park Junior Legion Hawks. He plays third base for the Dawgs, who competed in five tournaments this summer, reaching the semifinals in several. He pitched in three different games as the Hawks won the Westmoreland County U16 championship. He started behind the plate in the remainder of his games.
A 15-year-old sophomore, Calano was also the starting catcher for the BP freshman team.
“It gets confusing,” said Calano of the position and equipment changes.
“Catcher is what I do best though.”
Calano said he has always been interested in the game. His father, Thomas, started playing catch with him around age 4 and by eight he was a full-fledged catcher. From T-Ball until now, he has excelled at the position.
“Nick improved on his game tremendously as our starting catcher,” said Jake Svitek, who coached the BP Junior Legion team. “Not only did he minimize the other teams stolen bases with a great glove and strong arm, Nick showed outstanding knowledge of the game calling every game he started in from behind the plate.”
Calano credits the Bethel Baseball Association for his progress. He said once he finished that program, he was recommended for the Junior Legion team, with the expectation he would go on to compete for the Senior American Legion Post 760 club.
“I was happy to have the opportunity to play,” he said.
Calano also was delighted to be back on the diamond after a four-month hiatus from the game because of the coronavirus pandemic.
During the break, Calano set up a tee and net in his back yard so as to practice his hitting and throwing. He participated in team workouts via Zoom meetings and lifted weights.
“It wasn’t too boring. Anything baseball related was fun,” he said. “I just kept with it because I wanted to play the game that I love.”
By the beginning of June, when the state entered the green phase for reopening, Calano attended his first baseball practices. Games started a week or so later.
“At first, we were all so happy to see each other,” Calano said of his teammates. “It was fun to be playing together again.”
Calano believes the Junior Legion team’s victory in the Westmoreland County U16 championship is just the beginning of a run of success for the high school program.
“Our team is gelling,” he said. “We were having fun and really appreciated being out there playing. We all had fun playing together. Now we are looking forward to going to school together.”
The school year at Bethel Park starts virtually with in-person instruction slated to start in October. While Calano admits he would prefer to go school and see his friends, he says online classes are the way to approach the semester.
“It’s smart not to take the risk of possibly exposing so many to COVID,” he said. “I’m a nerd though. The in-person teaching is what I’m going to miss the most.”
Until he has to make a final decision regarding his college choice, Calano won’t have to miss mixing academics with athletics. He said he has seen how many talented AAU players have received scholarships, some to Division I programs, so he would not rule out playing the game in college.
“I have to keep working hard,” he said.