STAR, Idaho β At just 13 years old, Adyn Hernandez has earned opportunities most teen athletes can only dream about, and now he's competing for one of the biggest honors in youth sports.
The Star Middle School student is one of the top contenders for Sports Illustrated's Athlete of the Year award, which comes with a $25,000 prize and national recognition.
Watch to learn more about Hernandez's career.
Hernandez's love for football began in an unexpected place β his front yard β after watching an iconic NFL moment.
"It was around 2017 when my older cousins showed me the clip of OBJ making his one-handed catch, and I thought it looked hard and I wanted to try and do it, and I just started doing it every day in the front yard with the football, and I just started getting into football," Hernandez said.
Hernandez's path to recognition began with flag football before transitioning to tackle football with the Optimist League.
"I joined because I played flag football and one of the coaches told me about the tackle football team and said I should join, so I decided to join a tackle football team, and I ended up being the Vipers; they're not a team anymore, sadly so," Hernandez said.
After two years with the Vipers, Hernandez moved to Pro-Tec, where his development accelerated significantly.
"I moved on to Pro-Tec after my 2nd year with the Vipers, and it really went off from there with the coaching and stuff. The quarterback, Titus, he did really good with me. We had a good connection," Hernandez said.
Hernandez quickly joined the local Optimist League, where his skills were immediately apparent to coaches.
"First time I met Adyn was at a 7 on 7 practice, and the kid didn't drop a single ball," said Ryan Suydam, one of Hernandez's youth coaches.
Suydam, who coached Hernandez in Optimist football, was so impressed by both his athletic ability and character that he nominated Hernandez for the Sports Illustrated award.
"That's what I can say about Adyn is he is as good of a person as he is a football player. He's an amazing kid, he's a good friend, he is all about his teammates. He's just an awesome kid all the way around," Suydam said.
On the field, Hernandez's receiving skills stood out immediately.
"He's just fantastic. He's just a good kid all the way around, but on the football field, he's an amazing receiver, and anything in his general vicinity he will catch," Suydam said.
Former Optimist head coach Matt McNulty, who also supported the nomination, said Hernandez arrived with exceptional abilities that only improved over time, especially after facing adversity.
"After that, he had a little chip on his shoulder and just outworked everybody every day. It was, it was awesome. Like we could put him anywhere and he just would do whatever you asked him, you know, blocking, everything... just excelled," McNulty said.
This year, Hernandez represented Star in the All-State Game, delivering a performance that put him on college recruiting watch lists β years before high school graduation.
The experience has opened doors for his future athletic career.
"It meant a lot because they told us that they would put us on a watch list for colleges to see so they could see my stats through this year and to the end of my senior year of high school," Hernandez said. "It really helps with that recruiting process."
Despite being so young, Hernandez is excited about the college possibilities ahead.
"Pretty excited knowing that colleges can look at me and decide whether they want me now or later... maybe not now, but later on in my high school career," Hernandez said.
Currently, Hernandez plays for the Star Cowboys and competes as both a receiver and cornerback.
The recognition extends far beyond Idaho's borders, as Hernandez now finds himself competing against athletes from across the nation for Sports Illustrated's prestigious award, thanks to his youth coaches' belief in his potential.
"Really excited because I've had a couple of their books before and I've looked at them quite a bit, and I just really wanted to be in there for a long time," Hernandez said about learning of his nomination.
"It means a lot to be able to represent the state that I've lived in my entire life, and be able to show them my talent that God has given me ever since birth, and it's just nice to be able to know that I can represent Idaho," Hernandez said.
Suydam emphasized what Hernandez's representation means for the community.
"Just his character, he's just an all-around amazing kid. He does what's right, he's always there to help out, and he's always there with a big smile on his face," Suydam said.
With the voting window still open, Hernandez's coaches, who nominated him, are encouraging the community to rally behind the young athlete.
"Go vote," Suydam said.
For Hernandez, the possibility of winning represents the fulfillment of a long-held dream.
"It's super exciting. I mean, I've always wanted to be in there since I've seen their first book. It's just really nice to know that I have a chance of getting in there," Hernandez said.
Voting for Hernandez is free and can be done every 24 hours through Thursday night. The community's support could be the deciding factor in bringing this national recognition and $25,000 prize to Star.
You can vote for Hernandez here:
https://athleteoftheyear.org/2025/adyn-20a8
