Grade 10 student Ruka Enomoto is an international student from Japan. Back in Japan Enomoto loved basketball and has been playing for about seven years. No matter where he is in the world, nothing will stop him from playing the game he loves.
Enomoto is a guard for the junior boys’ basketball team. He has only been attending Riverside for the past six months so his English is not very good. It is a big challenge to play a sport not knowing how to speak the language. However this obstacle wasn’t going to stop him from playing.
Riverside competed at the Guilford Junior Boys basketball tournament a few weeks ago. At that tournament Enomoto was a standout player and earned himself an all-star award for his fantastic play. Enomoto is forced to communicate through his play and ability on the court as he cannot verbally communicate with his teammates or coaches. It is a big difficulty to overcome for his coaches Mr. Brian Barazzuol and Mr. Arun Angl, as they cannot get their full point across when coaching him. “It has been great coaching Ruka this year, the way he has been able to get along with everyone it has been great to see,” said Angl. “Hopefully he has picked up a few more friends along the way which he wouldn’t normally. He has been a great addition to our basketball team here and I’m excited to have him for the next few years.” Although there is difficulty the team have found ways to overcome this obstacle and Enomoto is helping his team succeed as a result.
Enomoto is going to be attending Riverside for the next three years and he is planning on playing basketball for Riverside all of those years. Ruka Enomoto is a great example of courage and doing what you love no matter the circumstances.
