For most high school students, summer break is a time for rest or vacation. However, for sophomore Victoria Hernandez ‘28, last summer felt more meaningful:she stepped onto the international stage and represented Mexico by playing for the Mexican National Basketball Team. What began as a simple moment on the elementary playground has now evolved into a lifelong passion and an international opportunity to connect deeper to her heritage.
Hernandez is a two year member of the varsity girls’ basketball team. She has been around basketball from a very young age, playing for both a club team and the school team.
“I first got into basketball around age six,” Hernandez said. “One day during recess in elementary school, I picked up a ball, started dribbling and then I saw a basket and shot it. That’s really how it all started.”
That childhood spark was only the beginning for Hernandez’s basketball career. Over the years, her commitment has grown stronger as she made the varsity team her freshman year. She wants to take the sport as far as she can and aims to pursue it in college. Her journey to the Mexican national team began when she was playing with her old club team, Statham Academy. Her coach brought the team to a tournament that featured Latin players, and her team made it far. A tournament coach noticed three girls, including Hernandez, and reached out to people in Mexico.
“[The coach] told[the Mexican team] we were strong players and that they should consider us for tryouts,” Hernandez said. “I then was one of the players invited to Mexico to try out for the national team. I felt really honored,especially to represent my family, myself and my community. It felt like a spark inside me.”
For Hernandez, representing Mexico went beyond just wearing the uniform. She felt a great sense of pride. Though she was born in the United States, stepping onto the court in Mexico allowed her to feel connected to her heritage in an entirely new way.
“My favorite memory was honestly the practices,” Hernandez said. “We’d laugh, play games and just have fun. They[the team] were really welcoming, and even though my Spanish wasn’t great, they understood me and took their time with me. It made me feel really included. Getting to play for Mexico made me feel so proud of who I am and where my family comes from.”
Hernandez spent nearly a month training in Mexico over the summer. Most of her teammates were 16 or 17 years old, and all but one other girl were born in Mexico. Although she found her place among them, she experienced some challenges.
“I had to overcome a lot of politics because I wasn’t born in Mexico,” Hernandez said. “There’s definitely a preference for players born there. There was also some favoritism—the coach’s daughter played on the team. I felt like I wasn’t always looked at during tryouts, but once I started practicing, I really tried to put my name out there and show them what I could do.”
Although being away from home was difficult, Hernandez’s Campbell Hall basketball teammates and coaches supported her journey along the way. They constantly asked her how she was doing and encouraged her to go out there and show everyone who she was. Whenever Hernandez was feeling homesick, their support really helped. She learned to take every opportunity she can because she never knows what the outcome will be. She is now implementing lessons she learned from the Mexican national team and taking them into her school basketball season.
“My goals for this season are to play aggressively, give everything I have, play each game like it’s my last, stay strong and be confident,” Hernandez said. “From the national team, I learned to be aggressive and to play together as a team, and I just want to have a great school season.”
