Alejandro Inoa is all about seizing opportunities.

“He wants to be a part of everything,” Ayisha Fullerton, principal at Frederick Douglass Academy, said. “I think he just really wants to do good, and it comes from a really genuine place.”

Whether it was winning the PSAL championship in tennis his junior year or this year’s PSAL championship win basketball. Inoa knows the true power lies in teamwork.

What You Need To Know

  • Alejandro Inoa never thought tennis was a sport for him but when his basketball coach encouraged him to participate he decided to give it a try

  • He might not always be the best on the team, but Alejandro is always ready to give it his all

  • Moving forward, Inoa will be the first member of his family to head to college. Leaving a different kind of legacy for others to follow

“It was like a collective of us,” Inoa said. “So when we first started, we weren’t really that good, but with hard work and consistency and listening to our coach, we were able to eventually have a good record and win the division championship.”

The hard work paid off as the Lions put up an 11 and one season, ending a ten-year championship drought.

“You can just tell that his heart and soul is into the improvement of the team,” Patrick Mangan said.

Mangan doubles as the basketball and tennis coach at Frederick Douglass Academy.

“After having a long day at school, I go like, ‘Oh, yes. I get to play basketball,’” Inoa said.

It was his basketball coach that invited him to play tennis. The Frederick Douglass Academy senior wasn’t so sure of the sport at first.

“The most I’ve ever done is probably watch it on TV once and I said, ‘Oh, that’s not my thing.’ So I turned it off,” he said.

But he quickly got the hang of it.

“It was about improvement and it was about the team,” Mangan said. “It wasn’t about himself. And that selflessness and that caring were by far his two most consistent and strongest attributes.”

Inoa consistently showed that it’s unnecessary to be the best on the team to accomplish amazing results.

“I think that will be his legacy,” Fullerton said. “Like look, you don’t have to be the best at every single thing you try, but you try. And you show up. And that consistency speaks to his leadership.”

Alejandro Inoa leaves a legacy for his family. He will be the first to go to college. He’s headed to the University of Rochester in the Fall to pursue chemical engineering.