READING, `RITING - AND ROUND TRIPPERS.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer

Rebecca Guardado, determined to be ``a pro softball pitcher and get a scholarship,'' had a disturbing revelation: She wasn't evolving as quickly as her teammates.

And she knew just what to do about it: Get professional help - at 9 years old.

Such is the new world of youth softball and baseball, in which parents of tots even younger than Guardado are paying a growing number of private instructors to provide the tools they'll need to keep pace with the best players and possibly realize their dreams.

The days when private lessons were a luxury are gone. Today, they're a necessity.

``It's like piano lessons: If you don't do it, you're falling behind,'' said Sean Thompson, owner of the West Coast school in Canyon Country.

There are plenty of places to turn for help.

In the early 1980s, Dennis Ford began giving private lessons to girls who wanted to master their softball pitching technique. Now, eight or nine of his former students, including his daughter, are giving lessons.

Twelve years ago, Nez Balelo opened West Coast, a baseball school in Agoura Hills. Today, there are nine West Coast schools from Santa Clarita to El Segundo. In other words, they're everywhere.

``You want to improve,'' said Bruce Beck, former Agoura baseball coach. ``That goes hand in glove with getting a scholarship and getting to the next level.

``I think people think that's the route.''

The schools

Most baseball schools are owned and operated by former professional players (not necessarily major-leaguers) who love the game, want to stay in it and help young players maximize their skills.

Ron Russell, who runs The Yard in Canyon Country, was a minor-league utility player in the Houston Astros organization.

``If I can still play, I would,'' he said, ``but no one wants a 36-year-old utility player who probably can't hit the ball out of the yard if I tried. I have three boys. I'm going to be in the game for a while. It's my passion.''

However, the services offered and type of sites vary.

Most schools offer instruction on a specific skill, such as hitting or pitching. Some have pitching mounds or batting machines. Others offer visualization classes or videotape sessions or have video libraries of major-leaguers.

Most are run out of people's homes, and others are at batting cages, youth-baseball fields and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, most softball instruction is one on one and emphasizes pitching.

Yet all schools spread a version of the same message: They can not only make you better, they can help you reach the level to which you aspire.

``To learn to throw a rise ball, it takes three years,'' Ford said. ``With an instructor, it's half the time.''

However, there's a catch: You pay plenty, up to $150 per hour. And that doesn't guarantee anything.

``We're here to instruct you and give you the best tools,'' Thompson said. ``Your work ethic will get you to a higher level. This drives me crazy: Kids come in and we give them stuff to do (on their own) and they don't.''

The students

Major-leaguers - such as Brad Fullmer, Gabe Kapler, Adam Kennedy and Robert Fick - use the schools to remain sharp in the winter. Kapler, a Taft High graduate, said he has worked out at West Coast since he was 13 years old.

However, most schools cater to serious-minded local players who aspire to be the next Alex Rodriguez or Lisa Fernandez. And parents who want to give their children every advantage possible - whether or not such a dream is realistic - apparently are willing to pay for it.

``There's so much money in pro sports,'' said Doug Latta, who owns the Ball Yard in Chatsworth. ``They've got to give it a shot.''

Baseball schools also become an option when the parent can't teach the child anymore.

``They get sick and tired of hearing parents tell them, 'Do this','' said Paula Farinacci, whose son, Paul, took lessons. ``When a professional tells them, it makes a huge difference. The schools are a great buffer.''

Rick Ellis sees that. He saw a significant difference during son Patrick's first pitching lesson at the Ball Yard.

``I can see what he's doing wrong, but I can't get him over the hump,'' Ellis said. ``(The instructor) can correct it. He's shown (Patrick) some things right off the bat. We'll see what happens.''

Many of Ventura County's top baseball players passed through West Coast.

Former Thousand Oaks second baseman Adam Leavitt enjoyed similar success: His batting average jumped nearly 200 points and he led his team in home runs his senior year.

Leavitt got the idea for lessons after an abysmal Area Code Games tryout his sophomore year.

``I see all these kids around me, bigger and better,'' Leavitt said. ``I wanted to play at that level. So I took (in) the summer programs and did lessons.''

What the critics say

Since lessons aren't cheap, a question parents must ask themselves is this: Are they spending the child's college tuition on athletic instruction?

Ernie Prado, the stepfather of Rebecca Guardado, expects to shell out the equivalent of four years of tuition by the time his stepdaughter has taken lessons for 10 years.

Yet he believes it's a good investment because ``she's socializing. She's not sitting home playing Nintendo. She's learning how to be athletic.''

Beck wonders how many parents have the impression that lessons will make their son a major-leaguer or their daughter a UCLA-caliber softball player? It's not necessarily so, he says.

``Does my son takes golf lessons? Yes,'' Beck said. ``Does that make him a better golfer? No. It's if he goes out and applies what he learns.''

Also, experts suggest that parents keep lessons in perspective, especially with small children. After all, the most important benefit of sports is fun.

``Some get carried away with it,'' said Hart High baseball coach Jim Ozella. ``They think by getting lessons, they're creating the next big college prospect or the next big professional prospect.

``You've got to be careful. That could burn the kid out. It's a fine line how much is too much.''

Not going away

Latta called these schools a fledgling industry, which means it's still growing.

Valentine plans to open a school in September if he finds an appropriate site. He has been giving private lessons to friends and their children in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas since 1995, and the word of mouth has been extremely positive.

``Here in our valley, we've got six (high) schools with 3,000 (students) each,'' Valentine said, ``and how many athletes are you gonna have?''

However, Valentine acknowledges that such proliferation isn't necessarily positive. On one hand, it keeps youths off the streets. On the other, many parents are spending a fortune even though their children don't have the natural ability to earn a scholarship or play professionally.

Still, many instructors, players and parents believe it's the way to go.

``A college scholarship is at the back of their minds,'' Ford said, ``but if they even hope to compete, they need lessons.''

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Photo:

(color) Preston Muendel, 14, gets batting instruction from Doug Latta at The Ballyard.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer