October 17, 2019
12:57 PM MDT
Player Insider: Gabriel Enriquez
My name is Gabriel, I am 14 years old, and I grew up in San Diego, California. I come from a family of six, I am the second child and have been raised in Mexican culture. August 1st was one of the most important days of my life. I made a big decision on starting a new chapter at the Barça Residency Academy in Arizona. This is a closer step in helping me achieve my dream of becoming a professional soccer player. Having an opportunity to be part of the Barça Family is awesome as well as having new friends, with a good school, and a great soccer club and more.
I was raised by two people, which is my dad Porfirio and my mom Viviana. The one that also helps me and supports me is my sister Briana, she goes to school at San Diego State University. Then I have two younger brothers Diego and Pablo. I can’t forget my dog Canelo, he is like my son and makes me happy every time I’m with him. My family has always supported me in everything. I would not be here if it weren’t for them. They have always wanted what is best for me and my way of thanking them for all of their hard work is by showing them the responsible person I am becoming and by giving my best in school and soccer.
It has been such an amazing experience here at Barça Residency Academy because I feel like I am growing and becoming more independent. I feel very grateful for this opportunity because I know many kids dream to experience this. I am very passionate about soccer and I feel that here at Barça I will be able to grow and improve as a player. In the first months here, I have learned a lot like adjusting to the schedule of school, practicing, and doing my own chores. I have also had the opportunity to get to know my coaches, teammates, and the staff here. I have learned a lot from my coach Daniel because his way of teaching is different than my old coaches. I also got to meet a lot of new people. Everyone on the team is nice to me and they make me feel comfortable knowing I can count on them with school or soccer.
School has been a little tough because it’s difficult to adjust from middle school to high school and now in high school, everything is more serious and important for college. I still feel very thankful to be living at Barça Residency Academy and being trained by top coaches who played in different parts of the world. I would not receive an opportunity like this anywhere else which is why I will continue to give my best and work hard for Barça. I appreciate that Barça is going to support me and open more opportunities to me, one of them will hopefully be to become professional. Overall Barça feels like a safe home with people who will always support me and I feel very grateful for this opportunity.
