By Ariana Perez Posted March 4, 2022
As the class of 2022 is filled with many outstanding athletes, senior Zach Fernandez has been chosen for Athlete of the Issue.
Fernandez plays both basketball and baseball, he has been playing since freshman year and has also played soccer during his freshman and sophomore years.
Growing up Zach never was into video games he has always loved being outside throwing a ball around.
“My favorite sport is basketball, I always grew up around it, and it just stuck with me the most,” said Fernandez.
Zach enjoys riding dirtbikes, snowboarding, water skiing, wakeboarding, hanging out with friends and family, and many other things outside of school and sports.
His biggest role models are his family. His dad Luis was always there to throw a ball around regardless after the 10-hour work shifts. His mom Sarah helped him with school, drama, and even friendships, and finally, his older sister Hailey, who pathed the way for him. She showed him how not to get distracted in school and how not to worry about unimportant things. All three helped Zach grow into who he is now.
The one thing that he regrets is not working hard enough in sports.
“I wished I would have taken the time to focus on sports, I could have focused more on basketball now and I wish I would have because there’s a lot of aspect in my game that I could approve on that would make me better and help the team out,“ said Fernandez. “So in a sense, I do regret not working every day but I feel like I could have taken it more seriously.”
After high school, Fernandez plans on going to UNR to get a degree in kinesiology and looking into paths in the medical field like a physician assistant, physical therapist, etc.
“If I can have a career where it’s not sports based but sports are still involved I think I would really enjoy it and have a passion for the job,” said Fernandez.
As a senior, he’s experienced having to balance school and athletics while still having fun. If he were to give a piece of advice to the underclassmen it would be to take school seriously.
“When it comes to school, in general, I would say to find a balance between taking it seriously and still enjoying school,” said Fernandez. “When it comes to athletics I would say to take it seriously and enjoy it because you never know when it’s gonna be over and when it is close you realize how much you’ll regret.”
