After Hurricane Maria, student-athlete finds second home at Trinity Lutheran

November 16, 2018

A year ago at this time, Luis Enrique “Ricky” Colon Castro was in Puerto Rico helping his family recover from Hurricane Maria and pondering his future.

One of the options on the table was to move to Seymour.

Colon said at first, he was scared about making a move to Indiana, but after talking it over with his family, he decided it was the best choice.

“After the hurricane, I came up here,” he said. “My family talked about it, and I came here because we were not having school there. We didn’t have electricity.”

Colon came to Trinity Lutheran High School in November 2017.

“I came to Trinity to finish my 11th grade,” Colon said. “I was going to go back home after 11th grade, but I really liked the school, so that is why I’m here doing my 12th grade here. My family is in Puerto Rico. I’m staying with my second cousin here. Now, they are my guardians.”

Colon played recreational soccer in his hometown before joining the Cougars this fall.

“I always wanted to play on a team,” Colon said. “When I played in Puerto Rico, it was more for fun. Here, it was more organized, and I really wanted to have the experience, so I thought it was a good opportunity for me.”

He played striker for the Cougars this fall and scored eight goals.

“I had some assists to Trent (Shoemaker) and A.J. (Goecker),” Colon said. “I really enjoyed every single game. I made a lot of friends. I met a lot of people. For me, that was important because I really enjoyed playing soccer.

“You always have to have your eyes open. When your teammates pass the ball, you are the one that has to control the ball and get the goal. I played better than I thought I was going to play. I had some skills, but I was just playing for fun. When I came here, I saw how they played, and I got better at every practice. That really helped me. I’m glad I decided to play with them.”

He said he enjoyed his teammates.

“They were very friendly. They were always supporting you,” Colon said. “ I enjoyed every practice. This team was more like a family. I felt like they were my brothers, so we enjoyed what we were doing. It was a good experience.”

Colon is a manager for Trinity’s girls basketball team this winter. He was manager for the softball team last spring and plans to do that again this spring and also be part of the track and field team.

Colon said he will practice different events in track and then decide which ones he is better at.

He said he enjoys attending TLHS.

“The teachers have always been supporting me and making sure I am OK,” Colon said. “That makes me feel a lot more comfortable. They made me feel comfortable to ask them any questions, and the counselor, Mrs. (Lori) Moses, has helped me a lot with college. It feels like a family because it’s a small school, and everybody knows each other. It was easier for me to adapt when I came from Puerto Rico, and I didn’t know a lot of English. When I came here, I felt better because there were not a lot of people. Everybody has been nice.”

He said the school he attended back home was a fine arts school and was a little bigger than Trinity. At Trinity, he is in the culture club, choir and in the musical. He plans to study films or cinematography in college.

“I’ve always liked the arts, acting, theater, videos and films,” Colon said.

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Colon file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Luis Enrique Colon Castro

High school: Trinity Lutheran

Parents: Enrique Colon, Ivelisse Castro

Sibling: Enelisse

Sports: Soccer, one year; track and field, one year; softball manager, two years; girls basketball manager, one year

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