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During Menlo-Atherton High School’s senior night varsity soccer game, team captain Yandel Hernandez looked at the stands and saw them packed with friends, family and peers cheering for the team and its graduating seniors.
For Hernandez, this was one of the most memorable moments from his high school career — a memory that highlights his personal journey from a shy student to a confident leader. As the captain of the varsity soccer team, Hernandez led his undefeated team to the Open Division playoffs and achieved the greatest boys soccer record in M-A history.
Growing up in East Palo Alto, he was introduced to soccer through the local Boys and Girls Club when he was 3 years old and has been playing his entire life.
“There are a lot of things you can learn from soccer,” Hernandez said. “It’s not just knowing how to pass the ball and how to shoot, but also lessons in losing, winning and being able to be a leader.”
As a child, Hernandez experienced bullying from older teammates but he said this didn’t discourage him from continuing soccer. Instead, he used this experience to spread compassion and sympathy to his teammates. While out on the field or in the classroom, Hernandez said he tries to support and guide his peers in any way possible.
“I’ve been able to develop skills like communication and problem-solving with (my peers). We have a support system in (our AVID class),” said Hernandez. “They’re not really classmates, they’ve become more like a family.”
Hernandez transferred to M-A from KIPP Esperanza High School when he was a sophomore. Coming from a small charter school of about 200 students to a school with over 2,000 students, he remembered feeling nervous about not having any friends.
“At first I didn’t want to go to school because I didn’t have anybody, but once I became good friends with my AVID class, I started to branch out more and meet all kinds of people. It changed my mentality a lot,” Hernandez said.
As a transfer student and skilled soccer player, Hernandez made the varsity soccer team as a sophomore, playing against teammates who were two years older. Being the youngest player, he was a bench warmer and he knew that if he wanted to play he would have to practice every day outside of the team’s practice hours.
“I won’t lie, it was exhausting,” Hernandez said. “It was so hard but I learned to persevere, manage my time well, how to push through events like this and to have courage too.”
As a shy kid, Hernandez said he would have never imagined being captain of the soccer team. When his coach threw the captain’s badge at him in the locker room one day, he said what he felt was indescribable.
“I wanted to cry because I’ve always wanted to lead my team and to be a leader,” he said. “It didn’t feel real to me at first because I never saw myself in that position.”
With Hernandez’s leadership, his team succeeded and was featured on the high school sports show 49ers Cal-Hi Sports where he said he attributed the team’s victory to players’ strong bond and chemistry. Last year, the team only won three games in the Peninsula-Bay League and this year, the M-A boys varsity soccer team ranked first in the league.
Although Hernandez faced various obstacles in his life, his natural ability to be positive has led him to great success. “I’m always joyful. I really love talking to people and the little things make me smile,” said Hernandez.
In the fall, Hernandez will attend Skyline College to play soccer and plans to study business management. He hopes to transfer to a four-year university afterward. For the summer, he looks forward to spending time with his family, friends and working as an apprentice closet designer.
Check out this year’s list of Menlo-Atherton High School graduates and read our article about the graduation ceremony.
For all of our graduation coverage, go to our central graduation page.
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