Jacksonville University junior baseball player Bret Catto takes his volunteerism seriously, and recently he was recognized with a statewide collegiate award for his efforts.

Catto, the only student-athlete to be recognized, was one of the recipients of the Excellence in Service Award, presented by the Florida Office of Collegiate Volunteerism. Catto was nominated by the university's director of community service and recommended by the principal at Arlington Elementary school, where he has been instrumental in developing a strong relationship between the school and the Jacksonville athletics department.

"All of our children (at Arlington) respond eagerly to Bret because they know he is sincere," said Arlington principal David R. Pinter. "One of his most notable qualities is his genuine interest in helping children. He has become an advocate for the children at Arlington Elementary by making other Jacksonville University students aware of the needs at our school."

Among his many activities with the elementary school, Catto has tutored second- and third-grade students in math, working with struggling students in groups and one-on-one. He even designed a home-run baseball math game to make math more interesting to the students.

He organized a special event at a Jacksonville basketball game in which 275 Arlington students and their families participated. Students were given a "Say No to Drugs" pamphlet, and those who chose to sign the pledge to avoid drugs were admitted free into the basketball game.

"Working with the kids at Arlington has become infectious -- the more time I spend there, the more I enjoy it and the more I encourage other Jacksonville student-athletes to join me," Catto said. "Most of the kids there come from single-parent homes, and I feel like I can give them the direction and attention that they need (from) a role model."

Catto arranged for Arlington students to attend a Jacksonville baseball game, and he also saw to it that the students were given a copy of "Casey at the Bat" to read and learn about the game. Catto also has worked with the Arlington fifth-grade class in writing essays for National Sportsmanship Day, and he has assisted Ramsey Baker, the Jacksonville sports information director, in setting up a youth workshop on ethics and sportsmanship.

"Bret represents the baseball team, the athletics department and the entire university with dedication and class," said Jacksonville's acting athletics director, Hugh Durham.

This season, Catto has batted .333 with eight RBI, and he's also on the dean's list for his academic work in communications. Last semester, he worked more than 130 community-service hours, played fall baseball and took 19 hours of classes. Catto said that rigorous schedule resulted in his highest semester grade-point average ever.

"The more time I spent with the kids at Arlington, the more structure I needed in my own life to complete all of my class work and play baseball. As I worked with the kids and talked to them about the importance of getting good grades, I realized that I had to improve myself in the classroom. I realized that you can't be a good role model without doing yourself what you are asking others to do."

Catto serves as the baseball team's representative on the campus-wide Student Athletic Advisory Council, and he recently was selected for the Jacksonville athletics department's community service award for 1999-00.

"Bret represents the character we all strive for -- to give back to our community as much as we take," said Jacksonville head baseball coach Terry Alexander. "We have tremendous character on our team, and Bret is a perfect example of that."