C.J. Gillman has every reason to kick back this spring.

The Columbine catcher has achieved every goal a high school baseball player could reasonably dream of.

He has won a state championship in his No. 1 sport. He also won a state championship in his secondary sport.

Gillman caught for a pitcher who now is in the pros. He has hit home runs from both sides of the plate. And he also has a Division I scholarship secured as he enters his senior season.

Asking his father and coach, Chuck Gillman, how he keeps his son motivated is similar to asking the question: What do you buy for someone who already has everything?

The elder Gillman chuckles at that notion.

"With C.J., I don't see that burnout," he said. "He's been hitting two or three nights a week during the winter. And that's not me telling him to do it."

C.J. Gillman said he knows no other way to approach a season.

"I guess it's just the same thing as every year, man," he said. "It's to go out there and go after that ring, after another state championship."

Gillman has his fair share of knowledge about the subject. He helped the Rebels to the Class 5A baseball title against Mountain Vista last season, earning All-Colorado honors for hitting .377 with four home runs and 26 RBI and playing shutdown defense.

He also caught for fellow All-Colorado selection Evan Anundsen, who was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth round of the 2006 amateur draft.

As the quarterback in a run-dominated offense, Gillman helped Columbine to a 5A football title in the fall.

But that likely was Gillman's last foray on the football field. He has committed to play baseball at Coastal Carolina, a South Carolina school that competes in the Big South Conference.

The aspect of Gillman's game that set him apart to the Chanticleers was his switch-hitting. He first tried it in eighth grade, when he returned to playing with his own age group after he spent time in a league with older players.

"It was going from being able to hit well to being entirely terrible," Gillman said of his initial exploits.

But he stuck to it and now says he's the same hitter from each side.

Gillman says he occasionally will bat right-handed against a right-handed pitcher this season, only to get in repetitions with the dearth of left-handed pitching in high school baseball. But next season, he never will waver from being a straight-up switch-hitter.

"The Coastal Carolina coach (Gary Gilmore) thought he'd be crude from the left side," Chuck Gillman said. "But when C.J. was done, he had to ask which was his natural side."

Gilmore, a former Chanticleer, was a switch-hitter in his day and understands the extra repetitions needed, which C.J. Gillman said was "a big thing for me."

For now, Gillman and his seven teammates who were on the state championship baseball and football rosters have the task of defending the title. Gillman is going to enjoy it.

"Curtis and I were talking and decided we needed to have 20 home runs between us this year," Gillman said, referring to first baseman Curtis Cunningham. "My dad laughed at that, saying, 'You better have 11 and Curtis nine.' "

NOTEBOOK

Grandview catcher Cole Leonida narrowly lost out to his buddy, C.J. Gillman of Columbine, for All-Colorado catcher of the year last season. But Leonida was a winner in the offseason, signing with Georgia Tech after a junior year in which he batted .435 and raked seven home runs for the Wolves.

And because of Leonida's presence and a strong supporting cast that includes Jared Schlehuber, Alex Allbritton and Max Hewitt, the Wolves begin the regular season as the team to beat. Typically, that spot is designated for Cherry Creek, at least in the Centennial League, but the Bruins return zero starters from last season. Marc Johnson's program, though, is so deep that the Bruins, who begin the year ranked No. 9, quickly could evolve into a factor.

• Several Mountain Vista players have taken care of their college commitments as the season nears. Left-handed ace Danny Beck, also an outfielder, signed with Southern California after considering offers from Michigan State, Arizona and New Mexico. Third baseman A.J. Schugel has committed to New Mexico, center fielder Travis Cruz to Trinity University in Texas, and shortstop Zach Higgins, first baseman Evan Haezebrouck and catcher Brandon Davis all will play at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas.

• Monarch is welcoming back senior catcher Ryan Cole, who missed all of last season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left arm. The injury occurred during Cole's junior season of football. "He was in a sling all season, so he wasn't even around," Coyotes coach Carmen Rivas said. "But the injury was to his non-throwing arm, so that's a positive."

• Rocky Mountain is energized as it enters the season fresh off a 41-9 record in Legion A during the summer. The Lobos return five starters, including shortstop-pitcher Andy Burns, who recorded eight homers, 28 RBI, a .932 slugging percentage and a school-record 36 hits as a sophomore last season.

The Lobos also had a new player, senior Garrett Stone, a move in from Ohio. Stone is projected to be a middle-of- the-order bat and also could give the Lobos some innings on the mound.

• It is no secret Columbine is the favorite in the Jefferson County League. But the race to nab one of the league's six playoff berths could be one of the most hotly contested in years, as the league boasts several improved squads.

Arvada West, Dakota Ridge Wheat Ridge, Green Mountain and Pomona each largely were guided by juniors last season and return a standout senior class that contains a marquee player.

For Arvada West, Pomona and Dakota Ridge, that player is a pitcher. Arvada West is led by Lincoln Harmer, Pomona by Kyle Oestereicher and Dakota Ridge will be guided by Eric Baalman, who recently chose to sign with New Mexico over Wichita State.

For Wheat Ridge, that player is Everett Altman, who clubbed eight home runs last season, and for Green Mountain, it's catcher Cory Miller, who drilled seven homers and batted .450.

• Legacy's string of five consecutive postseason appearances came to an abrupt halt last season, when a graduation-ravaged Lightning squad managed only a 3-15 record. But coach Gary Mares believes the setback merely was a blip on the radar and that the Lightning can qualify for the postseason for the sixth time in seven years despite that as many as five sophomores will receive regular playing time.

• Like many schools, Smoky Hill has been hampered by leftover snow from a series of storms this winter. The Buffaloes are part of the Cherry Creek School District, a district that prohibited snow removal in an attempt to help prevent damage to the fields. "Our guys are getting a bit stir-crazy," Coach Keith McElreath recently said. "We start the season in Florida, and we're hoping that's not the first time we get to play outside."

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