Kennedy’s Bourne Drops Football to Shoot for Baseball Scholarship

Kristine Quance and David Bourne hope to attend the same college in the fall of 1993, both on athletic scholarships.

Quance, arguably the highest regarded female high school swimmer in the country, undoubtedly will have her choice of any school in the nation after she graduates from Granada Hills High.

The same cannot be said for Bourne, although he is one of the top catchers in the Southland.

“She can go to any school,” Bourne said. “My choices are more limited.”

Bourne hopes to improve his options by concentrating on baseball. The starting tight end at Kennedy last season, Bourne will not play football for the Golden Cougars this fall.

“It’s quite a loss for our team,” Kennedy football Coach Bob Francola said. “We’ve been spending the entire off-season adjusting to it. David is a fine athlete and he played well for us last season. He did what he felt was best for him and I respect that decision.”

Bourne, who batted .320 last spring for Kennedy, hopes the increased time on the diamond will help him boost his average to .400.

In the meantime, he works his baseball schedule around Quance’s twice-daily swimming practices.

Some of the dates start at 11 in the morning, but the 2-year-old relationship is worth it, particularly for Quance.

“It helps because we go out a lot and it gives me almost a normal social life,” she said.

Bourne admits that dating a world-class athlete “is hard for your ego to take.”

“And I’m still struggling with terms and times,” he said. “I asked which is faster, the backstroke or the breaststroke, and Kristine and her mom bit my head off.”