By Derrick Smith

Throughout the span of an athlete’s career, they can experience a lot of moments that are special or important. And for some, they may actually be a part of the moment. That is the case for Ringwood’s Jose Rojas who had a memorable moment on the basketball court. 

“I hit a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter of one of our games,” he recalled. “The moment wasn’t too crazy, but I do remember exactly how it happened. One of my teammates, Jaxon, was passing it in and I just stood in the corner knowing he was going to give it to me. I was not hitting any shots that game, but he still had trust in me to take that shot. That really stood with me ever since. Trust in your teammates is another key element to winning and I also learned that day that shooters shoot.”

Rojas is a junior at Ringwood High School. Along with basketball, he also plays football and is a member of the marching band. Working hard to get better, no matter what he is competing at, is really important to Jose. He says that keeping himself motivated has been a key to his success.
“Knowing that I can be better makes me want to be better and that’s what I use to motivate myself,” he said. “I have never really been the star when it comes to sports, nor do I have the urge to be the star, but I want to prove to people that someone like me can do great things in sports. Seeing growth not only in me, but in other people, inspires me to want to be better. Moments I see growth is when I do things when nobody is around. Whether it be dribbling or shooting, it’s essential to put in extra work if you want to be good. Sometimes it’s hard, but if you want to get better you have to work while no one else is. I still have to work on that.”

Along with sports and band, Jose is also involved with the academic team, BETA club, vice president of the Future Farmers of America, president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and he is a youth leader for Elevate Youth in Meno. He is also in Upward Bound and the National Honor Society.