Army of One

LA JOYA - No doubt about it, Clara Navarro is Army strong.

The La Joya catcher proved her mettle for four years, never missing a game despite playing one of the most grueling positions. She capped her career by leading the Lady Coyotes to back-to-back regional semifinals, firmly entrenching herself as The Monitor's 2008 All-Valley Most Valuable Player along the way.

"She was the backbone of our team, day in and day out," La Joya coach Carlos Rodriguez said. "I know people see her play on Tuesdays and Fridays, or Saturday tournaments, but you've got to be around this kid everyday to understand how important she was to this team."

Army Black Knights coach Jim Flowers saw it, signing Navarro to play with the Division I team in April. On June 28, she'll head to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and then begin the transformation from civilian to soldier with basic training in early July.

"They say (basic training's) run, run, run," Navarro said. "I'm like, ‘How much running am I going to do there?' and then I hear it's at most three miles a day. So I'm running and I'm lifting and doing all these things to get ready to go."

First, however, she'll take a 10-day tour of Alaska as a graduation present from her grandmother. Then it will be all business all the time for the next four years. The life of a cadet is highly structured from the time they rise at 5:30 a.m. until lights out at 10:30 p.m.

"It'll be a unique challenge for her but I believe she's prepared for such a challenge," Rodriguez said. "She's just a mentally strong kid. Any task at hand, she gives full effort and is committed to whatever she wants to accomplish."

The best evidence of that commitment is her place on the TABC Class 5A All-State team for the second straight season. She's the only Rio Grande Valley player of any class selected the past two years. She was a first-team All-Valley player in 2007.

Navarro helped La Joya clinch its fourth straight district championship this season, hitting .472 with 50 runs scored and 51 hits. She also was one of the most difficult catchers to steal on, a fact that was instrumental in her going D-I.

"I just tried to do my best and just keep all of us up and try to be a role model for everybody else, even if they didn't want one," Navarro said. "I tried to show them that even if it's hard you can do it."

Jason McDaniel covers high school softball for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442.