UPWARDLY MOBILE
By Brian Metzler
At first glance, Josh Rodriguez-Irons looks, acts and talks like a typical teenager.
A freshman at Cajon High School in San Bernardino, Calif., he’s a handsome, well-mannered kid, smart beyond his years and busy as a bee. But look closer and you get the idea he’s an overachiever, blessed with both the natural talent and ambition that will take him places in life. In addition to being a good student and a midfielder on his high school soccer team, he’s also an accomplished violinist and a budding triathlete.
“Yeah, I guess I am pretty busy sometimes,” the precocious 16-year-old says. “Some of my friends wonder how I have time to do anything else, but I still try to find time to go to movies and hang out.”
Josh’s hard work and dedication has paid off. He was chosen to be one of the youngest members of the San Bernardino School District’s Honor Orchestra, and he’s been a top age-group finisher in almost every one of his triathlons and running races.
He relishes his busy schedule and his many challenging endeavors, partially because he knows he might not have had any opportunities had he continued on the wayward path on which his past life was likely to lead. Simply put, Josh came from a broken home in a bad part of town in which drug abuse was a problem. The situation became so bad hew as eventually put into foster care at a very young age.
At about the same time, an elementary school teacher in Josh’s school had asked good friend and triathlon legend Cherie Gruenfeld to speak to a group of students about the importance of goal setting. Gruenfeld, a 13-time Ironman age-group winner (including nine in Kona), jumped at the chance. After her rousing discussion, she found that a lot of kids were hungry to achieve but didn’t have the wherewithal —for sports, academics or anything else.
42 USA TRIATHLON SPRING 2011
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