Maggie Mendelson competes on USA Junior National teams for volleyball and basketball, while also maintaining her life as a teenager.

This past summer, Maggie was invited to compete on the U16 USA Women’s junior basketball team and the U18 USA Women’s junior volleyball team, while maintaining her schooling as a junior of this year and still taking honors classes and AP courses. She is still able to still keep a 4.0 and pursue her dreams in both basketball and volleyball.

The USA junior basketball team held trials for 34 of the top players across the country and Mendelson made the roster of 12, while volleyball held trials for 24 players and Mendelson yet again earned the opportunity to be a part of the 12 member team.

The back-to-back sports for Mendelson continued throughout the whole summer as she was offered the opportunity to play for the USA junior basketball team in June and invited to USA junior volleyball tryouts in July.

Mendelson adds that, “Playing for both USA basketball and USA volleyball in the same summer was an unforgettable experience. It was hard to leave home twice for a long time with little time in between! It wasn’t that hard to sacrifice my time because I knew that it was a once in a lifetime experience!”

As the USA junior basketball team competed in Leon, Mexico, the team played six games and won them all against Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Canada. They won the gold medal this year with a shutout.

The USA junior volleyball team ended their tournament with a 7-1 end score taking home the bronze medal at the FIVB World Championship in Durango, Mexico.

Mendelson also explains what competing at a higher level has been like for her stating that, “To compete at that level has so many things that come with it. I was mentally drained, because it was a grind day in and day out! It was super cool to play with and against the best because we all had the same dedication and outlook on life…”

Through sacrifice, dedication, and resilience Maggie Mendelson has made an impossible duo become possible. In this day and age, one sport and only one sport is usually  focused on in order to excel in it well, but Mendelson proves that to be wrong.

She says, “The thought of picking a sport right now seems so difficult. I plan on playing both sports through college. It has been a grind to play both volleyball and basketball at such a high level while balancing school. It is always hard, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Also, to demonstrate her work ethic off the court, according to her Instagram page (@maggiem_sports) she announced her official reclassification of her graduating year to be 2022 of this year, instead of 2024. 

The love and work ethic Mendelson puts into both sports is unbelievable. As she continues through her journey at a young age, bigger opportunities await her. The recognition doesn’t get said enough, so to be in the presence of someone so highly motivated is what we’re all about here at Fremont.