Before his life changed forever, Anthony Onnembo was an eighth grader in New Jersey who made a commitment to himself that he was going to make the varsity baseball team at Northern Valley Regional High School his freshman year.
“I trained like an absolute animal to get there,” Onnembo said. “I was 100% all gas, no brakes. Everything towards it, and then in December of my freshman year I was diagnosed with pediatric follicular lymphoma. A lymphoma so rare that it wasn't even recognized [until] 2016.”
Now 18, Onnembo spent his final youth summer baseball tournament at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex for the Nike RBI World Series. He arrived in Vero Beach, Fla., as a cancer survivor and a published author. He later left as the winner of the Nike RBI “Breaking Barriers” essay competition with his story.
What kept him centered through three relapses, multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and misdiagnoses was baseball.
For more than three and a half years, Onnembo lived with his diagnosis in secret. The only people at his school who knew were his coach, one administrator and a nurse.
“I didn't want anyone to fear for me,” said Onnembo, who learned he had cancer when he was 14 years old. “I didn't want anyone to worry for me.”
“Baseball really did save my livelihood,” he added. “I definitely would not have had many of the experiences I've had without baseball … I used baseball as a vehicle to develop life skills that I could apply in other areas. One being this medical journey. Baseball really helped keep me afloat.”
It made him feel like a “normal” kid, giving him a sense of identity. To Onnembo, that is what the game is really about.
He joined Paterson RBI through a connection his grandmother had. He had no clue what he was walking into, but making people adapt in new environments is what the RBI program is about.
“Just putting strangers together and just bonding through the game of baseball, because we all understand this thing,” Onnembo said.
Despite an initial language barrier with some teammates, Onnembo learned that actions can break down barriers. One example came when Paterson RBI won the 2026 Nike RBI Northeast Regional. His teammates lifted him into the air and dedicated the championship game to him.
“One tool I wrote about [was] empathy … trying your best to communicate, staying curious, trying to be one with the team,” Onnembo said. “Once I did that, I think they recognized that [I] took that action, and that's why they dedicated the championship game to me, which I'm honored to have had.”
Paterson RBI coach Hephte Ramirez learned a lasting lesson from Onnembo’s relentless fight, one that she shares with many people.
“As [adults], we never think that we're gonna learn from kids,” Ramirez said. “We expect them to learn from us since we are the adult. But with him, I [was] taught a lesson, and since I met him, I think about him every day.”
Earlier this year, sitting at his desk, Onnembo felt guilty for not sharing his story with others.
He then realized the impact his words could have.
Inspired by his father, a 30-year police officer who taught him the importance of helping others, Onnembo spent two months in the library from 3:30 to 8 p.m. every day he could, writing while trying to derive meaning from everything he had gone through.
That turned into his book, "Cancer, I Thank You: A Blueprint for Creating a Life You Want to Wake Up To."
“I had tons of experiences,” Onnembo said. “And I wasn’t doing anything with them in order to help the next kid. ... So I just wanted to help. I had to break the silence. The silence wasn’t helping anyone.”
His book is divided into three parts: "Measuring Tools," "Gardening Tools" and "Power Tools," offering lessons derived from his fight.
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but I thank [cancer],” Onnembo said. “Because it gave me a lot of experiences, and those experiences, I believe that you have the option to choose if you want to derive meaning from them. … If I never had cancer, I would never have those experiences. Meaning I would never have those tools. Meaning I wouldn't be who I am today.”
During MLB Together’s annual mental wellness event in Vero Beach, Onnembo got to share his story with Dr. Jorge Aguilar, a sports psychiatrist and MLB consultant. When Onnembo presented Aguilar with a copy of his book to hopefully receive feedback, Aguilar almost cried.
“He’s inspiring,” Aguilar said of Onnembo. “It’s hard enough just being a kid and trying to accomplish so much in this very difficult game of baseball, but then to do that and have this backstory of ‘I had to survive cancer for so many years of my life,’ I’m just blown away.”
While Aguilar was addressing people at the event, Onnembo said that Aguilar had him listening when the words “mental health” came out of his mouth. He also specifically remembers when Aguilar mentioned journaling.
It was something that Onnembo spent all of his final year of high school doing as he helped his team win the Group 3 State Championship.
“Through my season, I graded myself based on my principles,” said Onnembo, who will go to Vanderbilt University to serve as student manager and bullpen catcher for his dream school. “If I went 0-for-4 and I felt like I used my tools, maintained composure in myself and everything, that's a 4-for-4 in my book. And I wrote that down.”
So when he came into JRTC, he didn’t think about whether he would come out of it with a win or a loss. He focused on whether he brought the best version of himself to the field.
When he received his Breaking Barriers essay award, Onnembo was recognized for an essay that condensed his story and drew a connection to Jackie Robinson, using both to explore the true meaning of baseball organizations like RBI.
Then he shared one final piece of advice to his audience:
“I hope things don’t go bad for you, but if they do, don’t look around for an answer, the answer to any problem is always within,” Onnembo said.