Hustle in Hinojosa

University of Oregon soccer star Alyssa Hinojosa transitions from college career to coaching.

Hannah Holman

The crowd applauded as Alyssa Hinojosa and the rest of the University of Oregon women’s soccer team stepped out of the locker room and onto Soni McAlister Field. Hinojosa was back in her hometown, playing against the University of Southern California. She was restless and on edge. She glanced quickly from left to right, hoping to spot her mother and brother watching from the stands. Her attention was drawn straight ahead of her as she locked eyes with her twin brother, jumping up and down with excitement. He was standing next to their mom and all of their other relatives, all wearing matching green and yellow jerseys, displaying her number, 10. Instantly, her face lit up in a smile, elation and pride taking over. She was ready to play.

Growing up in Sylmar, California, Hinojosa began playing club soccer at the age of 5, playing with girls three years older. Along with soccer, she went to the Junior Olympics for track, running the 400m, 4x100, and 4x400. Following a track injury, she decided to solely pursue soccer. Now, at 24, she still dedicates many hours of her time and energy towards the sport.

Eric Evans

Hinojosa’s college soccer career began at the UO in 2016. Dedicated work throughout high school landed her the opportunity of a lifetime: a full-ride scholarship to play NCAA Division I soccer at a university close to home. It was a dream come true. She proved herself and played as the starting center back in her very first game as a freshman. At one point, she even had the most consecutive starts in UO soccer history before COVID-19 struck and several players stayed to play for a fifth year.

Hinojosa is hard-working, determined, and someone who has always wanted to win. She found motivation from her family, specifically her mother.

“She had high expectations of her teammates”, her mom, Monica Lopez, states, “She expected her teammates to have the same drive as her [and] work their hardest, as she did”

From a young age, she always devoted time to bettering herself through private training and soccer camps. All parents, teammates, and coaches recognized her talent by the age of 6, as clubs were already reaching out to recruit her.

Her mother also mentions her drive in school and her time-management skills.

“She would be working, staying up late at night, doing her homework,” she says, “knowing that she had to have everything done before she got to school [because] after school she had to go to practice.”

Hinojosa was the first to graduate college in her family with not only a bachelor’s degree, but also her master’s. Juggling her education and being a successful student athlete has been one of her biggest achievements.

Throughout all of her incredible accomplishments, her mother has always been by her side.

“She raised us pretty much by herself,” says Hinojosa. “So, just playing for her my whole life and trying to make her proud, that’s been my inspiration.”

During college, Hinojosa devoted so much time to soccer that she struggled to find classes she was passionate about or chase dreams other than soccer. Now graduated, she found work as a communications specialist for the School of Music and Dance at UO. She enjoys telling stories, working in marketing, and spreading the word out to the community about what students and faculty are doing, but she fills up the rest of her time coaching soccer at Springfield High School.

Hinojosa never thought about being a coach until she had the chance to coach for a Kid Sports summer camp during college. She decided to teach her own private lessons. Hinojosa saw the lack of advanced training in the Eugene and Springfield area as an opportunity.

“I teach soccer based on what I would have wanted to get out of it myself,” she says. “I teach because I want kids to know the things that they should know when they need to know it.”

Hinojosa thought she could contribute by teaching more tactical skills to local athletes. She found herself drawn to coaching at Springfield High, as she could represent and be a role model for other people of color. She hopes to be someone who players can seek out for advice or find inspiration.

One moment of epiphany struck Hinojosa during her junior year of college that she wants every young soccer player to realize.

“I love this sport, I love everything about it and all of the lessons I’ll get from it, but this isn’t Alyssa,” she says, “This isn’t going to define me at the end of the day. If I make a mistake, it will be okay.”

Being someone who has played at a high level, she has learned countless lessons that can be spread around the community. For her teammates, she has shown leadership and drive. For her trainees, she exhibits the confidence and determination needed to succeed. And for her family, she has expressed support and encouragement and received the same back in return. She believes that for high school and college athletes there is a point where you can either crack or keep moving forward. Even the best athletes in the world have made mistakes in the past; the decisions they made after those mistakes are how they got to where they are now. Always striving for improvement and using mistakes as an opportunity allows for growth and learning.