Between the ages of five and six, Natalia Martinez admired her two older brothers, who played basketball. What started as two-on-two games with her brothers and father quickly became something more.
In the Martinez Mexican American household, basketball was the main sport.
As a young Latina in a male-dominated sport, Martinez grew up with the mindset to give it her all. Through her determination to chase the dream of becoming a Division I athlete, she faced obstacles that helped shape who she is on and off the court.
Her oldest brother, Ruben Martinez, was fond of his sister’s maturity from a young age.
“Very disciplined,” Ruben said. “You could tell that she was a little bit different than everybody else at basketball. She was gifted with the talent, but her work ethic stood out like crazy.”
Her mother, Anabel Ramirez Martinez, saw that competitiveness early on. Playing basketball outside of the house with her brothers was never easy. They made it difficult for her, but she didn’t quit.
During elementary school, Martinez’s parents enrolled her in a Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), where she played basketball with girls her age. Once Martinez entered the youth program, she excelled quickly and got moved up to play against older girls.
Martinez didn’t truly fall in love with the sport until third grade, when she won a CYO championship.
Within the Martinez family, the term half-a**ed has been a reminder always to give full effort, not just a portion.
“I lived with my grandparents for a while, so I seen them work hard,” Martinez said. “I grew up, and it was like, ‘You’re not gonna half-a** anything, like you’re gonna do it right, and you’re gonna do it like the best you could do it.’ Just growing up with that mindset really helped me play sports. Like, my determination, my work ethic.”
What began as a little Mexican American girl playing basketball with her family soon became a challenge.
As she got older, Martinez faced obstacles because of her gender. In middle school, boys cyberbullied her because she was good at basketball.
“I remember this one boy got really mad that she was good,” Martinez’s mother said. “He started kind of harassing her and just being mean because she was better. I didn’t find out about it until a couple weeks later, but to the point that the little boy wanted to fight her. I’m like, ‘She’s a girl.’ Her brother ended up getting involved, and we ended up talking to the dad.”
Because of this experience, Martinez’s mother made it a family tradition to attend each other’s games to show they all have each other’s backs. She also ensured that a parent was present with her daughter during practices, games and even tryouts.
The recent rise of women’s sports has been fundamental, especially with the increase in representation of different ethnicities and identities. Growing up, Martinez witnessed the lack of representation in the sport.
“Growing up, there wasn’t really any representation,” Martinez said. “I can’t even remember like someone, it wasn’t until recently, I found out Diana Taurasi is Hispanic, and I was just like, ‘Why did no one say anything?’”
Martinez realized that although she didn’t have the representation she needed growing up, she now has the chance to represent younger Latinas and honor her Mexican heritage.
“Going back home, I work at a rec department, so there’s camps, and I feel like I see more Latinas, young girls playing different sports, especially basketball,” Martinez said. “You don’t see much of that. So it definitely warms my heart when it’s like you have someone to look up to. Where before, when I was younger, I didn’t really have anyone like that.”
Her brother knew that his sister had plenty on her plate.
“She knew that she was carrying a bigger weight than any other girl, just representing the flag,” Martinez’s brother said.
Fast forward, as a Division I student-athlete, Martinez faced a cultural challenge: her name, Natalia.
At San Diego State, she decided to go by Nat because people would mistake her name for Natalie or couldn’t pronounce it correctly. Martinez was tired of correcting people. Her mother, on the other hand, disagreed with her choice; she wanted Martinez to embrace her whole identity.
“It’s important to me that she represents who she is at all times, because it’s already very tense on how this country is,” Martinez’s mother said. “I was like, ‘Your name is Natalia, and they call you Nat, and that was because, at one point, somebody in your little basketball career couldn’t say Natalia, so they shortened it to Nat.’ I was like, ‘Please consider next year having them call you Natalia.’”
Despite facing cultural and gender-based obstacles, Martinez learned about herself in her first year at SDSU, including the importance of being compassionate.
“I’d feel like I became more compassionate,” Martinez said. “Growing up, I had this certain mentality, and it wasn’t so healthy. Especially once I committed, I felt like whatever I did had to be for everyone. There was a lot of pressure coming in, and this year I realized, ‘No, it’s for myself, this is what I wanted, this is my dream, it’s nobody else’s.’”
Martinez now has one year of collegiate basketball under her belt and is entering her second year.
In her first season with the Aztecs, she won a Mountain West Championship, made her NCAA women’s tournament debut, made it to the Mountain West All-Freshman Team and was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week three times.
Time will tell what comes of Martinez’s collegiate career as an Aztec, but things are hopeful.
