GIRLS' SOCCER: `MOM'S' IN CONTROL HART MIDFIELDER NAKAMARU TAKES CHARGE.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

Starting a family is in the future for Kim Nakamaru, but the Hart High senior midfielder is assuming a parental role for the Indians' girls' soccer team.

Nakamaru has earned the nickname ``Team Mom'' for her contributions: she helps offer stability to youthful Hart, which has four freshman starters.

``Kim yells like a mom and is like a true mother,'' junior fullback Julie Hauserman said. ``You never take it personally when you are playing. You can't work as a team without communication.''

Her aggressive playing style invokes another label, ``Piranha,'' from Hart coach Juan Arias. He said Nakamaru, a second-team All-Foothill League selection last season, is relentless in her pursuit of the ball and opponents.

``It's like somebody biting you and you try to get rid of them and you can't,'' Arias said.

Being in the water is second nature to the 5-foot-3 Nakamaru, a four-year member of Hart's swim team and six-time Foothill League champion. Last season, she won league titles in the 100 and 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay and qualified for the Southern Section Division II finals.

Nakamaru swims in the morning and works out with the soccer team in the afternoon. She concedes that participating in both sports instead of specializing might have hindered her development, but she has no regrets.

``It always crosses my mind what I could do if I did one or the other,'' Nakamaru said. ``I hear it from both coaches, but I can't. I like the aspects of both sports. Swimming is an individual sport and you get what you put into it. I like the camaraderie of the soccer team.''

Her endurance was evident this summer when Nakamaru won her age division of the San Clemente Ocean Festival Biathlon, a competition that consisted of a mile ocean swim and 5K run.

In between soccer and swimming, Nakamaru finds time for academics. Nakamaru, who would like to attend USC, Stanford, Princeton, Cal or UC San Diego and major in biomedical engineering, has a 4.67 grade-point average and scored 1,450 on the Scholastic Assessment Test.

She is the president of Hart's National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America chapters. She also finds time to coach a youth swim team and referee AYSO soccer games.

``It allows me to see the game from a different perspective and I hope seeing a girl referee can give the girls something to look up to,'' Nakamaru said.

Nakamaru has been thrust into a similar role on the Hart soccer team. It's been a humbling experience for her, a third-year player who saw the Indians' streak of Foothill League titles come to an end last season at seven.

This season, Hart, which is 7-6 heading into Friday's Foothill League opener against Burroughs of Burbank, will be an underdog to defending league champion Valencia.

Nakamaru turned it up a notch on the opening day of the Hart tournament with three goals in two pool-play matches, including twice in a 4-0 victory over Camarillo. Her contributions in past seasons were mainly in the middle of the field on teams with high-profile scorers.

``I was more of a supporting player and we could rest on tradition,'' Nakamaru said. ``Now, I have to be a leader. It's been a building process. It hurts to lose, but we have to make the best of what we have. Our goal is to go out there and win league, but before we do that, we can't worry about it if we do the best we can. That's all we can ask for.''

NAKAMARU FILE

Name: Kim Nakamaru

School: Hart High

Sport: Soccer, Swimming

Year: Senior

Notable: Nakamaru excels in soccer and swimming. A six-time Foothill League swimming champion, she earned all-league second-team honors in soccer last season.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Senior midfielder Kim Nakamaru of Hart High is in a good position to direct the Indians' offense.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

NAKAMARU FILE (see text)