Lauren Guillen kept a busy schedule during the high school scholastic season, playing soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter and softball in the spring for Secaucus High School.
“It was tough,” said Guillen, who earned Hudson Reporter All-Area honors as a slick hitting and fielding centerfielder for the Patriots’ softball squad in the spring. “I kept busy.”
Guillen was able to maintain the hectic slate at Secaucus High, while also keeping a commitment to one of the state’s top softball programs, the Jersey Intensity, based in Farmingdale in Monmouth County.
The Jersey Intensity, run by Kevin O’Donnell and coached by Brian Conover, play and practice all year round.
“There were times I would have to go to softball right after a soccer game or practice,” Guillen said. “I would change my clothes in the car to get there on time. I would go to my high school sport, do my homework, change in the car and go to softball.”
Guillen commuted to and from practices at least twice during the week and on weekends. She continued the frantic pace through the basketball season and then into the spring.
But Guillen was willing to sacrifice everything to play for the Intensity.
“It was recommended to me,” Guillen said. “They knew I was a good athlete and that I wanted to get to the next level.”
Guillen’s dream is to play Division I college softball and making an impact with a program like the Intensity would only enhance the chances of fulfilling that dream.
“It’s definitely a different level of softball,” Guillen said. “I played for the Intensity last summer and I noticed the big change coming into this high school season. I had a lot more confidence in myself. I could hit the ball better. I had more stamina. I was prepared.”
Guillen played centerfield and was the leadoff hitter for the Patriots and enjoyed her best season to date.
“It was a good year for me,” said Guillen, who will enter her senior year at Secaucus in the fall. “I knew I was a better player. I was able to get on base, score some runs, help my team win.”
Now, since the summer has begun, Guillen has been a frequent flyer and consistent traveler. She played with the Intensity at the ESPN Sun Classic at the ESPN Zone in Orlando, Florida in June, then went to a regional tournament in Pennsbury, Pennsylvania and just returned this week from another national tourney, the Louisville Slugger Independence Day tourney in Boulder, Colorado.
“The team did really well,” Guillen said. “We won five games while we were out there.”
Guillen also did very well in Colorado, collecting three doubles, seven hits and her first-ever out-of-the-park home run.
“It was definitely one of my best performances,” Guillen said. “It was definitely good for me, because this was one of the top tournaments. There were a lot of top-notch coaches watching and I hope I was able to get their attention. It was a thrill to finally hit one over the fence.”
The traveling action doesn’t stop any time soon for Guillen. This weekend, she’s back on the road to Pennsylvania for another tournament, then South Carolina and finally Georgia for other tournaments.
“I’ve been very busy,” Guillen said. “But I love it. It’s been a great experience for me. I definitely want to get a college scholarship and I think this is going to help me achieve that.”
Guillen wants to eventually major in special education and she’s already taking college courses already as part of Secaucus’ Future Teachers Academy.
Needless to say, this is a young lady whose star is on the rise. Guillen wanted to give credit to all of her coaches, but especially personal hitting coach Jay Cook, the former Montclair State assistant who has returned to high school softball in the past year. Cook spends a lot of his time working with aspiring softball players, like Guillen.
Chances are we’ll be reading a lot more about Guillen in the months to come…
The District 7 Little League 11-and-12-year-old All-Star Tournament is well underway and already two squads, West New York American and North Bergen South, have emerged as the tourney favorites.
Both teams have each won their first three games in pool play. The two undefeated squads are slated to face each other this weekend at Lincoln Park Little League inside Lincoln Park in Jersey City, with the winner moving on to the championship round at Jackie Robinson Little League July 12 and 13.
Secaucus, Lincoln Park and Hoboken are still battling back in the losers’ bracket, with a chance to take on either of the undefeated powers in the days to come before the final round.
West New York American has won the last three District 7 titles and is shooting for a “four-peat.”
In any case, it’s a credit to the hard work of District 7 Coordinator Carmine Conti, Jr., who has to juggle all the different age brackets in both baseball and softball. He does a fantastic job keeping the entire District 7 in line…
EXTRA INNINGS focuses on the best stories that come from local baseball and softball leagues throughout the area, from Little League action through travel leagues.
If you have any noteworthy information to contribute to the EXTRA INNINGS, feel free to contact Jim Hague by phone at (201) 303-5792, by general mail at 1400 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, or via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com.
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Please include a telephone contact name and number, in order to secure further information for a possible story. Also, if you have a picture to be used with the story, that would be a great help….–Jim Hague.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.