FOUNTAIN VALLEY – Rays of warm sunshine beat down on Fountain Valley’s football practice field as Jacob and Abraham Rodriguez performed defensive drills. One at a time, the team’s starting cornerbacks swiftly back-pedaled and locked intensely on incoming passes until each target was firmly secured in their grasp.
The scene, on the surface, could have been from any football field in Orange County. But because of the twin’s journey the past 16 months, there are no longer drills that can be diminished as simply routine or tedious. They’ve experienced too much not to appreciate the chance to be on the field with their teammates.
“I don’t want to lose my second family, which is the football team,” Jacob said.
Jacob and Abraham know the sting of being separated. Last year, their family, which features 16 children, lost its home to financial struggles and separated for six months.
The ordeal brought waves of uncertainty and fear for the family, including the possibility that the seniors would have to leave Fountain Valley and the football team.
But buoyed by the assistance of friends, family and a fast-acting, Catholic sister, the brothers didn’t lose either of their families. And in the end, they emerged from the challenge with more than they had before.
FAMILY MATTERS
Growing up in a large family, Jacob and Abraham shared many things at their single-story home in Garden Grove. They shared a room with multiple siblings and often their belongings.
And like many young siblings, sharing sometimes was challenging. But playing in the home’s large backyard was easy. The family enjoyed sports and the backyard supported the twins’ pursuits of soccer, football and basketball.
“When people came over, they were like, ‘Oh, my God, your (backyard) is so big it could be a park,’” Abraham said. “We had so much fun in that backyard.”
But near the end of their sophomore year at Fountain Valley, the family’s financial struggles became too much. Their father, Jesse, had been unemployed for a few years and the family couldn’t make its house payments.
“No one ever plans for that,” Abraham said, “especially with a big family.”
At about the same time, Jacob gathered his teammates after a passing tournament and told them he might not be back because of the situation.
“Since that was the last time we were going to see each other for a while, I wanted to tell them before it was too late,” he said.
The family separated into three locations. Jacob moved in with teammate and safety, Sean St. Clair, during the summer of 2013. Abraham joined them that fall.
Other family members moved in with an uncle while others lived with friends from St. Barbara Catholic Church in Santa Ana. Fortunately for the family, their uncle, Aaron De Lorea, and their friends from church, Gaby and Joe Gonzalez, each lived in the same apartment complex.
While some of the family was near each other and everyone gathered on Sundays, they weren’t as united as before.
“We weren’t like the usual family,” Abraham said. “There were times when we missed each other.”
The twins especially missed their youngest sibling, Anastacia, now 2. They always felt protective of her but struggled when she didn’t recognize them during visits.
“(It was) heart-breaking,” Jacob said.
SAVING GRACE
News of the family’s plight began to spread and in the fall, the family received a compassionate reception at St. Barbara. One of the twins’ sisters, Esther, 15, shared the family’s story on a confirmation retreat where the students were asked about their biggest fears.
“It brought tears to most of us,” said Kris Tran, a youth minister.
Led by Sister Grace Le, the church community soon mobilized.
The church held a three-day bake sale of banana bread after masses to raise money for the family. Kevin Vo, a La Quinta junior and confirmation student, spearheaded an effort that produced about 200 loaves a day and raised just over $2,000. More than 50 confirmation students participated.
Le, meanwhile, searched for a home, first on Craigslist, and later in a Vietnamese magazine. The latter produced a promising lead on a nearby house in Garden Grove and Le reached an agreement with the owner.
The money from the bake sale paid for the family’s first month of rent.
“There’s so much need here,” Le said. “I hope more people (become) aware and open their hearts to needs here, next door.”
Le and St. Barbara had more surprises waiting for the Rodriguez family when they moved into their new house just before last Christmas. They decorated the home with a Christmas tree and left presents.
For Jacob and Abraham, reuniting as a family was the best present.
“We’re very thankful (to St. Barbara),” said the boys’ oldest brother, Jesse, a former all-league football player at Bolsa Grande. “That’s God’s hands over the family.”
UNEXPECTED GIFTS
Jacob and Abraham shared their story in more depth with football teammates this past summer during a team bonding exercise.
The boys, affectionately nicknamed “J-Rod” and “A-Rod”, were initially embarrassed but have since discovered the positives born from their family’s experience.
While separated from their family, the twins became more appreciative of their siblings. During their Sunday visits, the boys embraced the smiles from their brothers and sisters and the sight of the youngest ones running to greet them.
The motivation to share belongings now comes easier. Same goes for helping their mother, Rosalina, with child care duties.
The twins said the experience also has shaped them as players for Fountain Valley (4-1), which opens the Sunset League against Los Alamitos on Thursday.
Abraham said he used to a bit selfish but thinks more about teammates.
“I put myself in other people’s shoes now and then help them out with their struggles,” he said. “We like to think more about the team now than just ourselves.”
As Jacob and Abraham learned from the examples of their church and team, caring for others can make a difference.
“When you’re that young, you don’t often learn (from losses),” Fountain Valley coach Ray Fenton said. “For them to come out it as better people tells you about their character and the character of their family.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
