Elijah Fonotia has dreams of playing in the NBA but to get there he needs to make his mark in the United States.
Rotorua teenager Elijah Fonotia,16, is one giant leap closer to his dreams of playing professional basketball, having been accepted into a prestigious high school in America.
Since the age of 11, Elijah has been focused on basketball and going to the NBA. The biggest barrier was getting him to the United States, something the family never thought was a possibility for him at this age.
However, all of Elijah’s dedication and hard work has paid off, as he found out he has been accepted to complete his last year of high school at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland.
Standing at 195cm, the Year 12 student is a formidable athletic guard on the court.
Elijah says when he found out the news last Thursday morning he couldn’t believe it.
He says it was a relief as he had been going through the application process with the Baltimore school for about six weeks. This process included interviews on Zoom, lots of paperwork, providing his social media, and filming himself training and playing basketball, at the gym, and his nutrition.
Elijah Fonotia has been accepted to complete his last year of high school at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland. Photo / Alex Cairns
Elijah will be travelling over to attend the school at the end of August, just a month after returning from a basketball tournament in Las Vegas with the Rotorua rep team.
He is looking forward to the facilities and training opportunities that Boys’ Latin School of Maryland provides, as well as experiencing being away from home and meeting new people.
He says his big goal is to play in the NBA or any professional basketball, and going to America will help him to gain new experience and exposure.
“It will be cool to be in that environment. It’s the biggest step I think. I’m only getting better and hopefully will do well over there.”
Elijah is spending three months before he goes working, saving and training.
Julia Fonotia, Elijah’s mum, says: “Elijah works really hard; he is dedicated and gets up early to go the gym three days per week, works two jobs to help toward his costs, and trains with three different teams throughout the week.
“We are really proud of him as we know this isn’t easy to do. Taking part in HoopNation was a catalyst for opportunities that have led to completing his high school years in America.”
She says they want Elijah to chase his dreams, and that this has all happened so quickly.
His dad Daniel Fonotia says it feels like this opportunity will give Elijah an extra step up.
He says academics is important to them as parents too, and at Boys’ Latin the class sizes are small, giving a lot of one-on-one teaching opportunities.
Since the age of 11, Elijah has been focused on basketball. Photo / Brooklyn Edwardson
New Zealand basketball scout and mentor Stevie Cozens, who has contacts in the US, says he is very excited for Elijah.
“He is very humble and works his butt off to achieve his goals.”
Stevie says The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland is part of the DMV Area which encompasses all of Washington DC and parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.
“This is one of the strongest areas for basketball in the USA. Lots of NBA and college players come out of there.”
He says the school will also be a great experience for him academically and they really take care of their international students.
Stevie says the main plus for Elijah about finishing his schooling there is that America’s college coaches are able to see the athletes in person.
“When he gets there he will have the chance to be seen in person... and will get experience playing some of their best local talent and can get in the gym as much as he likes.
Elijah Fonotia has been accepted to complete his last year of high school at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland. Photo / Supplied
“I can’t say enough about how great they [the Fonotia family] are and how deserving he is of this opportunity. I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses over there.”
Sue Pene, Rotorua Basketball Association development co-ordinator, says Elijah has been with the association for a number of years.
“He’s come through our rep programme. We are taking a group of 17 and under athletes to a tournament in Las Vegas in July which is part of the programme we’ve put together where we give our senior students, mostly Year 12 and 13, experience and exposure to the international arena. We have a number of kids keen to play at college or high school in the USA, and this is part of the pathway we’ve developed.”
She says Elijah is a very committed and focused player.
“His whole work ethic is 110 per cent. He just wants to work hard all the time, and he pops down to the Sportsdrome whenever he can to work on things.”
She was elated for him when she heard the news - “I’m really excited that he’s got this opportunity and he’s worked hard to get there”.
Sue says he is following in the footsteps of other local athletes who have gone to the States, and is a role model showing others that they can do it too.
Elijah Fonotia has dreams of playing in the NBA. Photo / Alex Cairns
Elijah is also a member of the Tauranga-based Whai Academy. Director of coaching Alex Stojkovic says Elijah has been with the academy since it started in term 4 last year, with players from Tauranga, Rotorua and Hamilton trialling to join.
Alex says Elijah is a great athlete with great potential, and is a hard worker.
“I’m happy for him. I’m always happy when players get opportunities, whether that is here in New Zealand or overseas.”
He says the academy is trying to provide those pathways and help prep players like Elijah to play at that next level.
Alex believes a number of local organisations contribute collectively to helping these athletes, such as the academy, basketball associations and school teams.
The Fonotia family give a big thanks to Profiles Gym, Funnell Family Chiropractic and Pizza Hut Fairy Springs, which have given financial support this week for Elijah’s deposit/visa costs.
