From being the first in her family to receive a college degree to becoming a professional basketball player, Erica Hayes maintained a high academic record while pursuing her passion for sports at a young age.
Hayes grew up in East Palo Alto, where she started playing basketball in first grade and joined her first team in fifth grade. She attended Menlo-Atherton, where she graduated in 2008. During her time spent at M-A, Hayes played basketball all four years, and earned the title of all-PAL Most Valuable Player during her senior year.
“To know I was honored with those titles makes me feel like I can achieve anything I set my mind to. I know it sounds cliché, but it is so true,” claims Hayes of her success.
However, earning these titles came at a price. Hayes struggled with time management and to maintain a good GPA throughout high school; luckily, she found a support system through her peers and her teachers. “What worked for me was getting extra help from my teachers as well as my teammates,” Hayes admits. Through her hard work, Hayes was able to make the M-A Honor Roll during her senior year.
Hayes began her M-A basketball career on the frosh-soph team during her freshman year, but was bumped up to varsity during her sophomore year after she proved her talent. Pamela Wimberly, Hayes’ basketball coach for the three years she was on varsity, took notice of her and saw an opportunity. “When Erica tried out for the basketball team, I knew we had a special player,” says Wimberly of Hayes’ skill.
Hayes loved playing for M-A’s team, and goes so far as to call it “more like a family than a team.” She remembers feeling how there was “so much pride in stepping out on the court, getting ready to battle to represent M-A.”
After graduating from high school, Hayes continued playing basketball in college. She attended Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, choosing the school because of the location, and commenting that it was “close enough and far enough from home,” along with the fact that she loved the “family unity from the team and how much the coach would go out of her way to make sure all [Hayes’] needs were met.” Now as a professional basketball player, Hayes’ dreams continue to expand. “Becoming a professional basketball player has always been one of my dreams as a kid. I would always challenge my neighborhood friends to play against me and get such a rush when I beat them. That feeling has always motivated me to continue playing basketball,” says Hayes.
Upon her induction into M-A’s Athletic Hall of Fame in November, Hayes felt incredibly honored. “When I found out I was being inducted I had one of those ‘is this really happening?’ moments. It really had not hit me until I was actually at the ceremony,” remembers Hayes. “At the moment, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.”
Even though Hayes is currently not playing basketball for any team, she is working with sexually exploited girls to reclaim their lives, education, family, and youth in the Bay Area. “I wanted to focus on and start my career. I love the game of basketball and it has taken me to some amazing places; however, being that I have played since the fifth grade nonstop, I have got to the point where I was burnt out,” said Hayes. However, even though she might have put her basketball career on pause, it’s still at the center of her life: “Basketball is my heart and soul.”
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| Erica Hayes is the 2nd from the right |