Gonsolin was born and raised in Northern California. From an early age, he had been a jack of all trades, playing baseball, basketball, soccer and football. Soccer came and passed quickly, he gave football a shot for a minute but knew it was not for him and basketball, like the others, was not the right fit. Like his older brother, baseball was his calling
“Baseball always just stuck around,” Gonsolin said. “I was always influenced by my brother. He had played baseball only and I wanted to be just like big brother. By the time I got to high school, I was ready to be done with everything but baseball.