Sophomore Dominique Hernandez plays guard on CSUSM Women’s basketball team. In the 2021 season game against Cal State LA, Hernandez scored three points of one field goal, one free throw, and a rebound for the Cougars. Her total game plays were five in the 2019-2020 season.

Born in Oxnard, California, Hernandez attended Saint Bonaventure high school and became a two-time Coaches’ Award Honoree and served as Spanish Club officer and Girls All-State candidate during her high school years. She achieved the Mangrum Award for Academic Excellence in the 2020 semester of her college career at Cal State San Marcos. The the Mangrum Award for Academic Excellence is honored to student-athletes who remain on an average of 4.0-grade points per semester. Currently, she is preparing to obtain her business management degree.

What is your typical day as an athlete?

“I will wake up a little more than two hours before practice starts to follow my regular routines, such as getting ready for school and having breakfast. Then I will train at the gym for an hour before training and get to the trainers. Being in my last semester and studying at school, there are conflicts between my classes that are available in practice times, so I am often rushing from classes to training. And because I have group project meetings, both classes and training times would probably intervene on those, but I am on Zoom, where I am trying to do group tasks and get those done.”

How is your social interaction going right now? 

“The COVID makes social interactions tricky, so the Cougars have their own bubble right now, but after the winter COVID-19 breakthrough, we all promised each other to stay in our small group to make sure no one gets sick. Now, we are mainly hanging out with the team members. Occasionally, I will see people in my classes, but I will be home often and play safe.”

How often do you train? 

“I will train six days a week and get a day off on Sunday to reset mentally and physically.”

When do you complete your school assignments? 

“Since we are playing, I lack time to do homework on Saturdays, but I try to maximize my time at my desk. I try to do homework every day and I get an extra two hours on Fridays and hopefully study on Sundays.”

Do you prefer group study or self-study? 

“I plan to study by myself, so I list things I need to accomplish and sit in my room for hours to do work and at the time, I will get a ten-minute break to relax and continue my study.”

What do you eat on your typical day? 

“Every morning I will eat a bowl of oatmeal mixed with fruits before practice because it keeps me full.”

What is your sleep routine? 

“This week, the coach told us the practice has moved to 9:30 a.m., so I get some extra time to rest. Typically, I wake up around 6:20 to 6:45 a.m., but sometimes I do have time to sleep, like this morning, until 7:30. At night, I try to sleep at a reasonable time, around 10:30 p.m.”

Getting a look into the life of a student athlete allows our enjoyment of watching sports to grow even more. Show support for Herndandez and the CSUSM Women’s Basketball team here BY attending their upcoming games.