Erika Marmolejo affects the Bears in and out of the box Larry Mayer’s story
In honor of Latino Heritage Month, the most recent episode of our Difference Makers Erika Marmolejo series, Bears Player Engagement Coordinator.
Growing up in Merced, California, about an hour northwest of Fresno, Erika Marmolejo plays softball, basketball and volleyball.
“It’s my whole life,” the Bears’ player engagement coordinator said. “I almost started betting sports as soon as I started walking. For me, it’s competition. I love competition. I hate wasting more than I love to win, so it motivates me. “
Marmolejo, thanks to his father, Richard, for giving him his drive and determination. As a softball player and team captain at Azusa Pacific University, Marmolejo earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism. She aspired to be a secondary journalist, but had been in sports groups all her life, she was returned to this dynamic with the force of a strong magnet.
“I had a keen interest in secondary reports,” he said. “But then I discovered myself in a team environment, just being in other sports and running in other sports. I think I actually figured out my position in a team and I’m smart. “player engagement, a non-public expansion mindset. “
In his role with the Bears, Marmolejo works heavily with players and their families. It provides help and resources in 4 main areas: continuing education, monetary literacy, career progression, and private growth. Marmolejo and others engage players throughout the NFL and their entire ecosystems and after their playing days.
As a component of the Bears’ overall wellness, Marmolejo also cares about offering fitness resources to players, working heavily with director of player progression and intellectual skills Mike Wiley Jr. and team clinic Carla Suber.
“This role is simply a servant role,” Marmolejo said. “I like it and I think it’s because I didn’t have that when I was in college. I don’t forget my coach in college who led me to get my first checking account. We didn’t have that, especially in women’s sport. So I like being able to give back and educate. “
Marmolejo especially enjoys that rookies assimilate into NFL life.
“It means a lot to me to influence the lives of those kids and help them and their families and help them transition,” she said. “I’m excited to see them excel not only as athletes, but also as young men. “
Venturing into the NFL
Marmolejo’s first assignment in professional sports as an intern for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. She was hired through the Oakland Raiders in 2016 as an assistant to general manager Reggie McKenzie and worked as an assistant to the player corps in the team’s scouting department. It also started helping with player engagement in 2018.
“She cares about a goal in mind,” said Lamonte Winston, who at the time was the Raiders’ director of player engagement. comfortable for other people because you have to be able to tell them the truth. She was in a position to have a difficult conversation; I wasn’t afraid to have them. “
Winston recalls that Marmolejo temporarily gained reliability among Raiders players.
“This locker room is a small community,” Winston said. Once players have a really smart experience, they stop by to talk to each other like, ‘Hey, Erika, you’re stopping by to pass her, she’s real. ‘”, she passes by to tell you the fact and she passes by to walk the experience with you. ‘”
Marmolejo has developed the same relationship with Bears players since coming through the team in 2020.
“She’s someone you can communicate with and she’ll be fair to you,” said catcher Darnell Mooney, selected in the 2020 fifth round. “She’s smart to work with. Everything for you, it’s there. “
After a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls, Marmolejo was signed through the Bears because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, it was difficult for her to meet the players when all the meetings were held virtually and she had to wear a mask at Halas Hall the entire time.
“It was another experience,” Marmolejo said. It’s crazy to look back now at how things were. Now it is completely different. Me when I was with the Raiders and that’s how it looks now day by day. It’s probably a kind of culture shock, especially for other people who have come in the last few years, even the players, without having noticed what it was like before COVID. “
Proud of his heritage
Marmolejo, of Mexican descent, is believed to be the Latina woman who applies for the signing of players for an NFL team.
“I’m proud of that,” she said. My culture is everything to me. “
Marmolejo’s grandparents and mother were born in Mexico, and Spanish was his main developing language. Her mother, Martha, was a Spanish instructor and school principal and is now the oldest student at one of the best schools in El Dorado, California. brother, Richard, a football coach at Atwater High School near his hometown of Merced.
Marmolejo spoke to academics from other schools, hoping to serve as role models and motivate them to follow in his footsteps.
“A lot of other people ask me, ‘How do you interact with the player?'” he said. the plan for the player to have interaction; 90% of paintings are about your relationships and running with other people. I think that point of relationship and adaptability is an excellent skill that I see with my teammates across the league. “
Marmolejo is grateful for the support she receives from general manager Ryan Poles, coach Matt Eberflus and assistant general manager Ian Cunningham.
“I’m grateful to Coach Flus, as well as Ryan Poles and Ian,” she said. “Having a dynamic player care [system] here that they’re contemplating is huge for this organization and I’m proud of what we’re building here. “. “
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