ArchivesA set of Nogales siblings shines in sports. From oldest, who garnered one of the few division II basketball scholarships by Nogales High School students in recent years, to the youngest, who plays volleyball a grade above her level in middle school, the Suarez family covers the sports, from basketball to volleyball, including football, softball, soccer and even cheerleading.
 Karina Suarez leaps to tip the ball during a match at Desert Shadows Middle School Sept. 9. |
The brothers and sisters don’t all fit the same mold, said the father. “They’re all different, the way they perform. Rodolfo is the one with the most fire. Anything he does, he’s very intense about the way he does it.”
They’re all very athletic, Suarez said. “We’re very proud of them. We’re proud of the way they do very good in school, and Juan is a good example for the younger ones. They’re very good academically.
“You have to have good grades, or you don’t keep your scholarship,” Suarez said. “That’s what he’s been preaching the whole time to his younger brother and sisters.”
Karina Suarez plays both volleyball and basketball at Desert Shadows Middle School. Currently in the 7th grade, Karina plays volleyball for the “A” team, comprised mostly of 8th graders. “At the ‘A’ level, a 6th or 7th grader can make it if they have the skill to play,” Desert Shadows volleyball coach Jo Ross said.
This is Karina’s first year playing volleyball, she said.
Karina is a setter for the Diamondbacks. That’s important, as the team concentrates on getting three hits, Ross said. The Desert Shadows volleyball team won the Desert Plains League championship this season. The Lady Diamondbacks came from the No. 2 spot to beat an undefeated Apache Middle School (Lady Coyotes, Sierra Vista). DSMS was defending champion.
Karina was a cheerleader in 6th grade, and is going out for sports in 7th grade.
“She’s a very good cheerleader, but we snagged her,” Ross said. Academically, Karina is solid, Ross said. “She’s never ineligible, she’s always eligible to play. She does well.”
Additionally, Karina plays soccer with Premier Soccer Club, with games in Tucson every week, Juan Suarez Sr. said. Soccer is Karina’s favorite sport, she said. “I’ve been playing it since I was really little.”
Karina started in AYSO and moved to Premier Soccer Club because they play all year around and she had friends in the club, she said. Karina recently traveled to Phoenix to try out for Olympic Development Program soccer. “She made the team. They’re going to have another tryout in November,” Norma Suarez, Karina’s mother, said. “It’s really a good program.”
In addition to soccer, volleyball and basketball, Karina won a couple of first places in individual cheerleading and plans to try out for softball and pursue gymnastics, she said.
Norma Suarez, the daughter, played volleyball at Desert Shadows the last two years, also on the “A” team, Ross said. “She was good. I’m pretty sure she played with me all three years. She improved a lot from 8th grade. When I went to see her playing varsity - she’s awesome.”
Norma is one of only three freshmen at Nogales High School to make the varsity volleyball team this season. She is also a setter. She had five assists, one block, two kills, two digs and one save against Pueblo recently.
Norma is enjoying playing on the varsity, she said. “It feels really good, because I know when I’m a senior I’ll have a lot of experience playing, and I’ll be better.”
Both Norma and her sister Karina are a little above average in athletics, Norma Suarez, the girls’ mother, said. “They’re doing really good.”
There’s a lot of fire in Norma, as well, Suarez said. “We call her ‘Little Fofo.’ She looks like him a little, and they’re both very intense on the court.”
Norma also played volleyball, basketball, soccer and softball in middle school, said the mom. “She also played tennis when she was in sixth grade. She did pretty good. She got all these awards.”
Norma said she’d choose soccer for winter sports in high school. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was four years old,” said the youngster.
Norma diverges from her brothers in the basketball-soccer choice.
“I ruined the family sport,” she said.
That divergence doesn’t keep her from participating in family activities. “Sometimes we go outside and play together whatever we can, basketball, volleyball, soccer, whatever it is,” she said. “We go on the trampoline and help my little sister with her cheerleading “ stuff like that. We help each other out.”
It’s a close family. Norma said, “We’re pretty close. My parents are at every single game, whether it’s home or away. They’re always there. They always take us to our games. My dad always takes my brothers to basketball tournaments and my mom and sister are always there with them.”
“They’re very supportive. They always tell me to do well in school. Grades are the number one thing, then sports.” Norma said. Norma Suarez carries a 3.3 GPA, she said.
Norma is already planning for college, she said. “I want to go to college. I want to play in college “ whatever it is, soccer, volleyball.”
Norma looks up to brother Juan. “I think he’ll do really good at Western New Mexico. He helps us sometimes. He comes down almost every weekend. We’re a really close family and we miss him.”
Norma is a success on the varsity team, said coach Dan Moran. “You know what, she’s doing real well. Like all the other freshmen, she’s got a natural instinct in going for the ball. She knows where it is. She sets, she hits, she serves and she’s playing all the way around (the rotation) all the time.”
Norma brings versatility to the varsity team, Moran said. “She’s just an all-around person. Right now, she’s doing weak-side hitting. She’s one of the few weak-side hitters we have. When she gets to the front row, she’ll set. When she’s in the back, she’s our receiver. She’s doing it all. She has good spirit, good attitude, is coachable “ again, she’s an all-around athlete and the girls love her.”
This is the first year (senior year) for Rodolfo to play football, Suarez said. “He’s doing pretty good right now. He’s really excited about the upcoming playoffs. Then, he’s got a lot, looking forward to basketball. I think they’re going to be a pretty solid team this year.”
Rodolfo began playing football because he had friends on the varsity squad, head coach Vince Villanucci said. “We talked this summer about him playing football. He hasn’t played at the high school. He’s a basketball player, but he’s real good friends with five or six of the football players. He worked out all summer with the football team and he’s helping out on the football team.”
Rodolfo plays defensive back for the Apaches. “He was working a little at receiver, but mainly at corner right now for us. He’s had a couple of interceptions. I think he’s enjoying himself,” Villanucci said. “He really goes after the ball when it’s in the air. It’s hard to beat him on a pass route.”
Basketball is Rodolfo’s favorite sport, he said, but he’s focusing on football during football season. While his older brother did not play football, there is friendly competition in basketball, ever since they were little, Rodolfo said. “We’ve been competing to see who can be better “ all our lives. It motivates me even more to get to a higher level. When I see him lay over there, it’s just more motivation for me.”
Is Juan a mentor? “He’s not really a mentor, but he’s shown me pretty much everything I know about basketball. He helped me out my whole life. In my high school career, he’s helped me the most “ he and my dad,” Rodolfo said.
Parental support is important to Rodolfo. “They show me a lot of love. Every game “ they’re there. They support me a lot. They take me to camps, tournaments, anything. They take me everywhere. They show me a lot of support.”
Togetherness is a family watchword, Rodolfo said. “They’re really close to me. We always go out together “ Sunday, the weekends “ we always try to go out together. When my brother comes down from New Mexico, we always try to get together.”
That family support extends to discipline, Rodolfo said. “They’ve always been very strict about me taking care of my body. Right now I am what I am because of them. Taking care of my body, school, all of that.”
But the older brother is always first “ first to set the example, first to make varsity and first to head to college. Juan Suarez signed a letter of intent for a Division II college “ Western New Mexico University in Silver City, N.M., a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference ” last April.
Juan graduated from NHS in 2008 and received the school’s Senior Athlete of the Year award for winter sports. He was named to First Team All-Conference and Honor Roll in his senior year at NHS. Juan was the 10th best scorer in Southern Arizona while at Nogales, with a 15.9 points-per-game average. The team posted a 22-7 record and he chipped in with eight assists and three steals per game, while shooting 41 percent from the floor.
Nogales High varsity basketball coach Ricardo “Bambi” De La Riva recommended Juan to the coach at WNMU. “I talked with him and told him what a good kid Juan was. I told him he would be a great asset to their program due to the fact he has a great work ethic,” De La Riva said.
Coincidentally, Juan shows up first on the WNMU Mustang’s roster at 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds. While first on the list, Juan is also the shortest member of the Mustangs, which range from 6-1 to 6-5.
Juan played point guard for the Apaches, and is on the Mustang’s 14-man roster as guard. Juan will likely not start, but will back up Devin Stewart (Senior, Santa Rita High School), Mustang head coach Mark Coleman said. “We’ve only been practicing for a week, so we’ll need to see how Juan fits in as time goes on.”
Coleman picked Juan for the team because of his speed. “I thought his quickness “ Juan is very good with the ball. I think he makes good decisions and has a fast breakout on offense,” Coleman said.
The Mustang’s schedule begins Nov. 6 with an exhibition game against New Mexico State University.
Going back to 2006, Juan and Rodolfo competed against each other in the Dani Sanchez-Ley basketball scholarship tournament. Juan’s team, the NHS High Rollers took first, and Rodolfo’s team, the Ballers, second.
The family plays together. Juan and Rodolfo challenge each other with pick-up basketball, Suarez said. “It’s a lot of fun. We’re extremely proud of the four of them. We think they’re on the right track to do good things.”
Dad, Juan Suarez Sr., played high school and college basketball and is part owner of the Mexican semi-pro team, Fureza Guinda, from Nogales, Sonora. “I played in Pima two years, then in California. I played for coach Gregg Popovich, who coaches the (NBA’s San Antonio) Spurs. Then I went on to play in Mexico, in the pro leagues.”
Mom, Norma, also was athletic, Suarez said. “She played volleyball too, at the high-school level.”
The whole family goes to watch Guinda play when they’re at home in Nogales, Sonora, Suarez said. “That’s a whole different level. If they continue to play as they are, they might be able to play at that level one day.”
As a family, Suarez said he and Norma emphasize academics. “We believe in staying together as a family, and growing as a family. Most of all, we respect one another. That’s the way me and my wife were raised, and that’s what we try to pass along.”
Juan and Rodolfo are extremely competitive, Suarez said. The siblings are one year apart. “They’re very competitive with each other. In our back yard, we have a basketball court. I’ve seen them go one-on-one against each other and it looks like they’re playing for the NBA championship. It gets to the point where I have to go inside and leave them alone. I can’t pick and choose.
“Rodolfo is always trying to match Juan, and be better than him. Juan is like ‘No! You’re the younger one.’ I like to watch them, but I watch from the inside.”
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