Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Where Are They Now? - Gabe Somarriba
5/3/2020 3:45:00 PM | Baseball
As a Miami-area high school baseball prospect, Gabe Somarriba wanted to play for a college coach who valued family as much as he did. He found that two counties north in then-FAU skipper Kevin Cooney and became an Owl ahead of the 1999 season.
"That overall family view of things was very important to me," Somarriba said, "and FAU provided that opportunity to me."
FAU also provided Somarriba an uber-competitive baseball program to grow within. The fall before his freshman season, Somarriba watched the team's 11 seniors and seven juniors practice harder than any group of players he'd seen.
Watching the upperclassmen compete was an "eye-opening" experience for Somarriba and one he carried into the spring. The Owls' roster was loaded with returning talent, so his path to immediate playing time wasn't clear. But Somarriba worked to his teammates' heightened standards to ensure he'd be ready if called upon.
"Having a lot of upperclassmen allowed me to emulate that work ethic and make sure that I (was) fully committed and able to fall in those footsteps," Somarriba said.
Somarriba's hard work proved vital for FAU. The 5-8, 160-pound outfielder saw the field as a defensive replacement early, then moved into the starting lineup when the team's centerfielder suffered a midseason injury.
The Owls didn't skip a beat through the lineup change, the freshman Somarriba playing a key role in their eventual 34-game win streak. They parlayed that run into a program-best 54-9 record, a Trans America Athletic Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
That record-smashing season was a sign of Somarriba's future. The leadoff batter helped the Owls to two of the next three NCAA Tournaments, finishing fifth in team history for games played with 226. Â Somarriba also climbed to fourth and 10th all-time in runs (178) and sacrifices (16), respectively.
But while Somarriba acknowledges his individual achievements, he credits the team and its selfless culture for making them possible. Â
"There's individual accolades I've been able to gain," Somarriba said, "but those accolades are a reason why I went to [FAU], really building what a team is."
Somarriba saved his best on-field year for last, winning position player MVP and FAU's Teammate Award as a senior in 2002. That year, though, baseball was far from his first priority. Somarriba's father was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease the summer prior, making Somarriba consider leaving baseball – the game he played for more than a decade – to stay with his family full-time.
But Somarriba's parents, who "gave up their lives" by emigrating from Nicaragua when their son was six years old, wanted him to stay at FAU to finish the opportunity their cross-continent move afforded him. So, Somarriba made a challenging compromise: He lived in Miami with his family and drove to Boca Raton for 5 a.m. workouts; after that he'd drive to Davie for classes, then back to Boca Raton for practice and would return to Miami nightly.
Somarriba's coaches supported him throughout the year, even told him he could miss workouts. But he attended them all.
"They didn't pressure me at all to stay or leave," Somarriba recalled of FAU's coaches, who later named the program's Teammate Award after him. "They said, 'This is your life, this is your decision.' They understood how important family is to me, and they will support me with whichever path I wanted to take.
"I knew baseball was there for me," Somarriba added. "That family was there for me. I knew at any given moment if I had to leave and take care of something at home, there would be no questions. So, their support was really unwavering for me as an individual. They put me before baseball, the baseball season itself."
Somarriba's father passed away six months after FAU's trip to the 2002 NCAA Super Regionals. Before the season, Somarriba vowed it'd be his last. He wanted to spend as much time with his family as possible. Â Â
His declaration was put to the test, though, when the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the 49th round of the MLB June Amateur Draft. The Orioles offered Somarriba a contract, a chance at playing on the game's preeminent stage. But he declined the offer. For Somarriba, staying close to home with loved ones took precedence over a chance at "The Show." Â
"That was a great honor, to be given that opportunity at the end," Somarriba said. "But I knew that my career wasn't going to continue down that path. I knew I had to come back to Miami and spend time with my family. That was far more important than what possible professional baseball career I could have. To me, there was no decision to be made."
Since arriving at FAU, Somarriba wanted to eventually work in health. His parents set a "prime example" of selflessness and he thought a career in that field would help him follow it. Somarriba's father's bout with Lou Gehrig's disease only reinforced his intentions.
"It sort of solidified my purpose of wanting to help," Somarriba said. "Seeing a family struggle through something like that solidified and confirmed that this is what I want to do. I want to be able to impact people in a way I'm able to. So, that's always been my motivator."
Somarriba, who earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science and health promotion, landed a three-month spinal-cord research internship at the University of Miami in 2002. At that point research wasn't the path Somarriba thought he'd take, but he took the job anyway to gain working experience.
His perspective soon changed. Somarriba "gained an affinity" for research, turning that Miami internship into a full-time job. Still, he wanted to make a bigger impact on his community. That led him to the University of St. Augustine, where he sought a doctorate in physical therapy. Somarriba wanted to make a tangible impact on his patients and knew he needed to continue his education to do so.
"I felt that what I was currently doing as an exercise physiologist and researcher, I was limited by my academic degree," Somarriba said. "So, I knew this was the next path and what I needed to do to continue to grow and to continue to develop programs, to continue to impact communities."
Somarriba returned to the University of Miami after graduating in 2009 to start a series of pediatric clinics. His clinics addressed a "big need," helping children suffering from conditions such as cystic fibrosis, intellectual disabilities, congenital heart disease and HIV. Somarriba worked alongside physicians in treating those special-population patients, helping them manage their recoveries functionally.
In 2015, Somarriba left for a full-time teaching position at St. Augustine, allowing him to work in a field he "thoroughly" enjoys. Somarriba leads the anatomy team, among others, as an assistant professor. In addition to his classroom work, Somarriba is the university's assistant DPT program director and the Miami campus director.
A staunch proponent of personal growth, Somarriba recently began pursuing a doctorate in education at St. Augustine. Somarriba says he's only a year away from what'll be his second doctoral degree. But although he's getting a formal education in teaching now, his first lessons came on the FAU baseball field more than 20 years prior.
"Teaching is like coaching," Somarriba said. "You have experience, you have knowledge and what you're looking for is this motivated group of athletes or students and really take what you're saying and grow from that.
"As a freshman in college, I looked up to my coaches to really offer all of their knowledge and take advantage of that, and now in teaching I sort of have the same type of role," he added. "I have this knowledge that I gained through my schooling and also through my experience that now I have students in front of me that are motivated and want to learn, so my goal is to share that information and put those students in a position to succeed just like my coaches put me in a position to succeed."
Upon transitioning to St. Augustine full-time, Somarriba continued his clinical work but shifted his focus to adults. One of his newest programs deals with fall prevention, as Somarriba says falls have a "significant" functional impact on special populations.
Somarriba also works as a physical therapist for the Special Olympics, attending the State Games twice a year. Through his work with the organization, he grew a passion for helping people with intellectual disabilities. And Somarriba is now sharing that passion with his students, taking a select few to the games in an effort to familiarize them with the community. Â Â
"It really gives them that experience to understand more about this population," said Somarriba, who is publishing a study on his Special Olympics evaluation data soon, "to work with this population with the hopes that, as they become practitioners, they help fill that gap that we have with healthcare workers that are comfortable working with this population."
Somarriba hopes to continue growing in his many roles with St. Augustine and the Special Olympics. While working as a researcher, mentor, professor, physical therapist and more may seem like too much to most people, it isn't to him.
His experience at FAU, where he developed as a player and person through his coaches' instruction and father's struggles, prepared him for a life of continuous achievement.
"One of the things being in sports, playing baseball at FAU has taught me is time is not endless," Somarriba said. "You have opportunities and you really need to make what you can of that opportunity.
If something is worth your time and effort, then you really need to commit to that, you really need to be fully committed no matter what it takes.
"It's always been that outlook," he added. "Given that opportunity first to be a part of that team, next to being allowed to play on those teams, (then) to be a starter on that team for a period of time. Those are all opportunities you really need to take advantage of and really commit to that growth, that work it's going to take to be at that level. And then it's what else can you do with that. It's not just making it as a starter. It's not just creating a study. It's not just doing your job, it's what else can you do with that."
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"That overall family view of things was very important to me," Somarriba said, "and FAU provided that opportunity to me."
FAU also provided Somarriba an uber-competitive baseball program to grow within. The fall before his freshman season, Somarriba watched the team's 11 seniors and seven juniors practice harder than any group of players he'd seen.
Watching the upperclassmen compete was an "eye-opening" experience for Somarriba and one he carried into the spring. The Owls' roster was loaded with returning talent, so his path to immediate playing time wasn't clear. But Somarriba worked to his teammates' heightened standards to ensure he'd be ready if called upon.
"Having a lot of upperclassmen allowed me to emulate that work ethic and make sure that I (was) fully committed and able to fall in those footsteps," Somarriba said.
Somarriba's hard work proved vital for FAU. The 5-8, 160-pound outfielder saw the field as a defensive replacement early, then moved into the starting lineup when the team's centerfielder suffered a midseason injury.
The Owls didn't skip a beat through the lineup change, the freshman Somarriba playing a key role in their eventual 34-game win streak. They parlayed that run into a program-best 54-9 record, a Trans America Athletic Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
That record-smashing season was a sign of Somarriba's future. The leadoff batter helped the Owls to two of the next three NCAA Tournaments, finishing fifth in team history for games played with 226. Â Somarriba also climbed to fourth and 10th all-time in runs (178) and sacrifices (16), respectively.
But while Somarriba acknowledges his individual achievements, he credits the team and its selfless culture for making them possible. Â
"There's individual accolades I've been able to gain," Somarriba said, "but those accolades are a reason why I went to [FAU], really building what a team is."
Somarriba saved his best on-field year for last, winning position player MVP and FAU's Teammate Award as a senior in 2002. That year, though, baseball was far from his first priority. Somarriba's father was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease the summer prior, making Somarriba consider leaving baseball – the game he played for more than a decade – to stay with his family full-time.
But Somarriba's parents, who "gave up their lives" by emigrating from Nicaragua when their son was six years old, wanted him to stay at FAU to finish the opportunity their cross-continent move afforded him. So, Somarriba made a challenging compromise: He lived in Miami with his family and drove to Boca Raton for 5 a.m. workouts; after that he'd drive to Davie for classes, then back to Boca Raton for practice and would return to Miami nightly.
Somarriba's coaches supported him throughout the year, even told him he could miss workouts. But he attended them all.
"They didn't pressure me at all to stay or leave," Somarriba recalled of FAU's coaches, who later named the program's Teammate Award after him. "They said, 'This is your life, this is your decision.' They understood how important family is to me, and they will support me with whichever path I wanted to take.
"I knew baseball was there for me," Somarriba added. "That family was there for me. I knew at any given moment if I had to leave and take care of something at home, there would be no questions. So, their support was really unwavering for me as an individual. They put me before baseball, the baseball season itself."
Somarriba's father passed away six months after FAU's trip to the 2002 NCAA Super Regionals. Before the season, Somarriba vowed it'd be his last. He wanted to spend as much time with his family as possible. Â Â
His declaration was put to the test, though, when the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the 49th round of the MLB June Amateur Draft. The Orioles offered Somarriba a contract, a chance at playing on the game's preeminent stage. But he declined the offer. For Somarriba, staying close to home with loved ones took precedence over a chance at "The Show." Â
"That was a great honor, to be given that opportunity at the end," Somarriba said. "But I knew that my career wasn't going to continue down that path. I knew I had to come back to Miami and spend time with my family. That was far more important than what possible professional baseball career I could have. To me, there was no decision to be made."
Since arriving at FAU, Somarriba wanted to eventually work in health. His parents set a "prime example" of selflessness and he thought a career in that field would help him follow it. Somarriba's father's bout with Lou Gehrig's disease only reinforced his intentions.
"It sort of solidified my purpose of wanting to help," Somarriba said. "Seeing a family struggle through something like that solidified and confirmed that this is what I want to do. I want to be able to impact people in a way I'm able to. So, that's always been my motivator."
Somarriba, who earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science and health promotion, landed a three-month spinal-cord research internship at the University of Miami in 2002. At that point research wasn't the path Somarriba thought he'd take, but he took the job anyway to gain working experience.
His perspective soon changed. Somarriba "gained an affinity" for research, turning that Miami internship into a full-time job. Still, he wanted to make a bigger impact on his community. That led him to the University of St. Augustine, where he sought a doctorate in physical therapy. Somarriba wanted to make a tangible impact on his patients and knew he needed to continue his education to do so.
"I felt that what I was currently doing as an exercise physiologist and researcher, I was limited by my academic degree," Somarriba said. "So, I knew this was the next path and what I needed to do to continue to grow and to continue to develop programs, to continue to impact communities."
Somarriba returned to the University of Miami after graduating in 2009 to start a series of pediatric clinics. His clinics addressed a "big need," helping children suffering from conditions such as cystic fibrosis, intellectual disabilities, congenital heart disease and HIV. Somarriba worked alongside physicians in treating those special-population patients, helping them manage their recoveries functionally.
In 2015, Somarriba left for a full-time teaching position at St. Augustine, allowing him to work in a field he "thoroughly" enjoys. Somarriba leads the anatomy team, among others, as an assistant professor. In addition to his classroom work, Somarriba is the university's assistant DPT program director and the Miami campus director.
A staunch proponent of personal growth, Somarriba recently began pursuing a doctorate in education at St. Augustine. Somarriba says he's only a year away from what'll be his second doctoral degree. But although he's getting a formal education in teaching now, his first lessons came on the FAU baseball field more than 20 years prior.
"Teaching is like coaching," Somarriba said. "You have experience, you have knowledge and what you're looking for is this motivated group of athletes or students and really take what you're saying and grow from that.
"As a freshman in college, I looked up to my coaches to really offer all of their knowledge and take advantage of that, and now in teaching I sort of have the same type of role," he added. "I have this knowledge that I gained through my schooling and also through my experience that now I have students in front of me that are motivated and want to learn, so my goal is to share that information and put those students in a position to succeed just like my coaches put me in a position to succeed."
Upon transitioning to St. Augustine full-time, Somarriba continued his clinical work but shifted his focus to adults. One of his newest programs deals with fall prevention, as Somarriba says falls have a "significant" functional impact on special populations.
Somarriba also works as a physical therapist for the Special Olympics, attending the State Games twice a year. Through his work with the organization, he grew a passion for helping people with intellectual disabilities. And Somarriba is now sharing that passion with his students, taking a select few to the games in an effort to familiarize them with the community. Â Â
"It really gives them that experience to understand more about this population," said Somarriba, who is publishing a study on his Special Olympics evaluation data soon, "to work with this population with the hopes that, as they become practitioners, they help fill that gap that we have with healthcare workers that are comfortable working with this population."
Somarriba hopes to continue growing in his many roles with St. Augustine and the Special Olympics. While working as a researcher, mentor, professor, physical therapist and more may seem like too much to most people, it isn't to him.
His experience at FAU, where he developed as a player and person through his coaches' instruction and father's struggles, prepared him for a life of continuous achievement.
"One of the things being in sports, playing baseball at FAU has taught me is time is not endless," Somarriba said. "You have opportunities and you really need to make what you can of that opportunity.
If something is worth your time and effort, then you really need to commit to that, you really need to be fully committed no matter what it takes.
"It's always been that outlook," he added. "Given that opportunity first to be a part of that team, next to being allowed to play on those teams, (then) to be a starter on that team for a period of time. Those are all opportunities you really need to take advantage of and really commit to that growth, that work it's going to take to be at that level. And then it's what else can you do with that. It's not just making it as a starter. It's not just creating a study. It's not just doing your job, it's what else can you do with that."
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