Ronaldo Enriquez

Nineteen-year-old Ronaldo Enriquez is soft-spoken, polite, and stands at an even 6 feet, a height which was key to his early involvement in basketball. The athlete first began playing in sixth grade, when he stood at 5 feet, 9 inches and towered above his peers. Friends first persuaded him to go out on the court and pick up a ball, and in seventh grade, he joined the Gil Basketball Academy, a nonprofit that provides opportunities for kids in East Salinas to train and compete.

Enriquez continued with the sport throughout high school, playing small forward and power forward, and was the team captain during his junior and senior years. Enriquez graduated from Alisal High School in June, and entered CSU Monterey Bay this fall as a liberal studies major. He began coaching younger kids in the academy when he was in high school, an experience that motivated him to study education.

Enriquez is the youngest of his siblings, and cites this as one of the reasons he hopes to work with kids. While he always had older siblings to help guide him throughout childhood, he says he wanted a younger sibling to mentor. He sees a way to provide that leadership and guidance to the kids he coaches and teaches.

While an injury his junior year of high school prevented him from playing basketball at CSUMB this year as a freshman, he hopes the rest will prepare him to play again next year. He’s planning on coaching for Alisal Union School District this year, furthering his experience working with kids.

Weekly: What or who inspired you to pursue teaching and coaching?

Enriquez: Jose Gil and Eva Silva, the founders of [Gil Basketball Academy]. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. They have opened many doors for me, and because of them I’ve met so many people who I see as role models. That really inspired me. I got motivated to be like them, to do something big for the community and make a change like they have done. I wanted to choose something that I could help people and motivate them to do good.

Also, my mother. She raised me and my siblings as a single mother. She always set a great example for us and always worked hard. She’s my Wonder Woman.

Do you think pro-athletes are good role models for kids?

I think most of them are good role models. For example, [Lakers basketball player] LeBron [James] is a really good role model for kids, he gives back to his community. I think that’s really important.

Who’s your basketball idol?

Kawhi Leonard. I really love how he plays because he’s a leader but he’s always quiet. He makes really amazing baskets and doesn’t say anything, he just hustles back on defense. He’s a quiet guy but a fun guy.

How did playing a team sport impact your experience in school?

I was really shy at first, a really quiet guy. At first, we played ball, but I never talked on the team. In high school I really became more of a leader; I was always trying to motivate my teammates.

It also helped me with time management, because if I didn’t do well in school I couldn’t play.

How did you get injured your junior year of high school?

I got hurt the first game of the season my junior year and I didn’t know how bad it was. I thought it was an ankle sprain so I treated it as a sprain. I kept playing like that and it was downhill from there. Summer came and I never took a break because I didn’t know I had to. I got into senior year and got an MRI at the beginning of the year because it still hurt when I was running or stretching and they told me that I had two torn ligaments in my left ankle and my left ankle bone was cracked. I had to do rehab for a few months but I didn’t think it was helping so I stopped. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play at the level I was playing at before, I was quite unsure when the season started. I decided to play three or four games into preseason. I rushed it in, I was anxious to play.

What has been a rewarding experience working with kids?

I was working with a kid who came recently from Guatemala and he didn’t know the numbers, he couldn’t recognize 1 through 5. Recently, I’ve been working with him and I’ve tried to make it more of a game, make it fun so he could memorize the numbers. We played Uno and now he can recognize the numbers faster. We’re still working on 6 through 10. I feel proud that I was able to help him out, but it was his work.