Ennis Sticks to Old Values

Loyalty is a character trait slowly disappearing from the high school athletic scene.

Top athletes leave schools with no hesitation if they can find a program that better suits their sports needs.

Parents hardly worry about a son or daughter abandoning life-long friends; the chance to earn a college scholarship means everything.

Coaches offer no sympathy when removing a dedicated senior from the lineup to make room for a transfer student.

It’s all about winning.

The changing priorities of high school athletics makes the story of All-City pitcher John Ennis of Monroe High even more remarkable.

To understand the true loyalty shown by Ennis, go back to the summer of 1995.

There was a crisis atmosphere surrounding the baseball program at Monroe. Coach Kevin Campbell stepped down after 10 years as coach. Two top players, catcher David Lusk and outfielder Josh Miranda, transferred to Kennedy under open enrollment.

Ennis was a promising sophomore pitcher. Everyone was predicting he’d be the next player to bolt. He refused.

“I really didn’t like how they [Lusk and Miranda] just left,” Ennis said. “So I didn’t want to do it. Every time I see a guy from middle school, they go, ‘Why are you there?’ These are the cards I was dealt. You don’t have to stick it out, but I think it makes you stronger in the long run. Going to Chatsworth or Kennedy would have been the easy way out. I don’t take the easy way out.”

By staying, Ennis took a gamble. Would major league scouts go see him if the Vikings’ program faltered? How would he impress college scouts? Was he giving up his dream of playing for a City title at Dodger Stadium?

Ennis never wavered.

He is enjoying prosperity in his senior season. He has a 3.8 grade-point average in Monroe’s Law and Government magnet program. He scored 1,100 on the SAT. Last November, he accepted a baseball scholarship to UCLA.

This season, he led Monroe to the Mid-Valley League championship with an 8-3 record and a 1.32 earned-run average. On Friday, he’ll be Monroe’s starting pitcher in the opening round of the City 4-A playoffs against North Hollywood. Next week, he’s expected to be selected in the amateur draft.

“This is the weirdest time in my life right now,” he said. “I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I do know I have something to do. I’m just not sure what it is yet. It doesn’t scare me. It’s exciting and different.”

If someone were to line up Monroe’s players and ask, “Please pick out the pro prospect, John Ennis,” it would be as easy as identifying the sun.

Ennis is 6 feet 5 and 220 pounds. Whether on the mound or at the plate, he is an elite player. His teammates call him “Duke” because they think he can do anything. Last summer, he hit four home runs in an American Legion game.

Ennis is always neat and organized. He accepts nothing less.

“I don’t like messy rooms,” he said. “I keep my shirts organized, my pants organized, my underwear drawers. I don’t like mess. I like it nice and orderly.”

Last year, Monroe was seeded No. 16 in the 4-A playoffs and upset top-seeded Carson in the opening round behind Ennis. The Vikings play in the weakest league in the City, which causes many to underestimate their ability. Ennis has a warning.

“Whoever gets us is going to have a nightmare,” he said. “We might not win, but we’re going to give it to them.”

Ennis is entering peak pitching form. He threw a one-hitter last week against Van Nuys in the Mid-Valley title decider. He has 85 strikeouts in 74 innings. He has learned to aim for three outs on three pitches rather than three strikeouts on 20 pitches.

“He’s keeping the pitch count down,” Coach Fred Pudrith said. “He’s starting to get a sharper curveball for strikes. He’s throwing a straight change. He’s a man among boys.”

Pudrith, in his second year as coach, was asked, “How come Ennis didn’t transfer?”

“I really don’t know why he stayed,” Pudrith said.

Ennis stayed because he lives down the street from Monroe. He stayed because he liked the school academically. He stayed because he had confidence that hard work would force people to notice him. And he stayed because he was loyal to his neighborhood.

“If no one stays at schools like Monroe, baseball over here will never get better,” he said. “At the other side of the Valley, baseball is already great. All the good players move over there. I don’t like that.”

Ennis has made a stand. Good for him.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.