Finishing with a Flourish

Kevin Seto Overcame Personal Issues to Enjoy a Stellar Senior Year at Palisades

High school was not all golden goals and game-winning home runs for Kevin Seto. He had his share of adversity to overcome on the way to last week’s graduation at Palisades High. Yet when all was said and done he ended up a stronger person and an inspiration to his teammates. “Kevin was a huge difference-maker for us,” said Geoff Schwartz, a teammate on the Dolphins’ varsity baseball team. “No way do we go to the [upper division] playoffs without his hitting. It seemed like whenever we needed a big hit he got it for us.” Seto excelled in sports long before his freshman year at Palisades. He was an All-Star in both AYSO and PPBA, but after playing varsity soccer and JV baseball as a ninth- and 10th-grader his life took a turn for the worse. Seto got burned out from sports and his grades began to drop. He had to leave Pali, was placed in a seven-week wilderness program and later was sent to a boarding school in Massachusetts for adolescents dealing with substance abuse and depression. “The lesson that can be learned from what my son went through is that there is hope for kids who have problems,” said Kevin’s mother, Marla. “Many kids here in the Palisades are in a lot of pain and getting into trouble. We don’t know what the future holds for Kevin but the help that he received in the wilderness program and the boarding school has served him well. We are very proud of the work he’s done and thrilled that his return to Pali has been so successful.” Spending the majority of his junior year on the East Coast was scary at first, but in the end it was just what Seto needed to reverse the pull of peer pressure. “That was the biggest learning experience of my life,” Seto said of his 16 months away from his family’s home in the El Medio bluffs. “I was dealing with some pretty big issues. The most important thing I learned is how to have fun in good ways, not destructive ways.” With the support of his family and friends, Seto re-enrolled at Pali for his senior year and wasted no time making his mark both in the classroom and on the field. Playing center midfield, Seto finished second on the varsity soccer team in scoring with four goals and four assists, led Pali’s late-season charge to the playoffs and earned the “most improved” award from coaches John Lissauer and Dave Williams. “Kevin is a great kid and I’m real proud of him,” said Lissauer, also an economics and government teacher at Pali. “He came back two or three weeks into the fall semester and told me he wanted to play soccer. I said okay but he had to earn his spot on the team. He went 110 percent at every practice and every game, worked his way into the starting lineup and was one of our best players.” When the soccer season ended, Seto jumped right into baseball. Despite not having played an organized game in two years, he impressed his teammates and coaches with his self-confidence and ability–especially when he stepped into the batter’s box. “We honestly didn’t know what to expect out of him,” Pali Coach Kelly Loftus said of Seto. “We liked the fact that he could pitch and he throws left-handed because we didn’t have any lefties on our staff. He was surprisingly good with the glove and we had absolutely no idea he would have the kind of season he did at the plate. That was a pleasant surprise.” Playing mostly in the outfield but helping out in the infield when called upon, Seto made just three errors in 23 games. He led the team in batting average (.460), hits (29), runs scored (24) and doubles (6) and was given a standing ovation by his teammates when named the Offensive Most Valuable Player at Pali’s end-of-the-year awards banquet. A week later, Seto became the only Dolphin player named to the All-City team. Seto gives much of the credit for his success at the plate to his brother Brandon, who was a senior on the last Pali baseball team to reach the City’s upper division playoffs in 1998. “Growing up, I always looked up to my brother. He gave me a lot of advice, like how to shorten my swing and get my hands quicker through the zone.” With a diploma in hand, the future is bright for Seto, who follows in the footsteps of Brandon (a graduate of Emory University who is now in dental school at UCLA) and sister Emily, a standout softball and soccer player at Pali who is now in her fourth year at Tulane. “I’ve been accepted to Redlands University, so I might go there,” Seto said. “But I’ve been in contact with the baseball coach [Rich Hill] at the University of San Diego and I’m hoping I can play down there.” Wherever he chooses to go next, Seto is well-equipped to handle the curve balls life will throw his way. “To see Kevin come back to Pali and graduate with his class is extremely gratifying,” Lissauer said. “That’s the way it should be.”