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Athletics

In the right place

When Venezuela-native Santiago Herrera joined Carolina's men's soccer team this year, he found a new home in Chapel Hill and a group of players who have helped him succeed in the classroom and on the pitch.

Santiago Herrera

For much of his life, Santiago Herrera hadn’t ever really considered the possibility of leaving his native Venezuela and coming to the United States.

Yet, in 2017, that’s exactly what he did.

Since 2014, Venezuela, which possesses the world’s largest crude oil reserves, has endured significant turmoil, sparked by the decline of oil prices, government corruption and social unrest. Hyperinflation, widespread power outages and shortages of medical supplies, food and water have made life an everyday struggle for millions of people. Millions of others have fled the country.

Luckily, Herrera said he grew up “in a good family with enough.” But he saw how the lives of people around him were affected. And he also noticed how the crisis was affecting soccer, the sport he wished to make a living playing, but realized he wouldn’t be able to in Venezuela.

By then, the idea of playing college soccer in the U.S. had been presented to him. So, when college programs started contacting him and offering scholarships, he decided he’d leave his hometown of Barquisimeto.

“A lot of things were going on in Venezuela, so that was a good way to get out of that,” Herrera said. “My family was happy to see it. They wanted me to play soccer, but they also wanted me to get an education. That was just the best plan for them.”

But not everything has gone as planned since then.

There have been struggles, both on and off the field, as he’s spent most of the last two years away from his family. Some of those resulted in him transferring from UCLA to North Carolina during the offseason. In Chapel Hill, though, he’s found a place he can call home.

“You don’t know how it’s going to be until you get here,” said Herrera, a junior forward. “But as soon as I got here, I knew I was in the right place.”

Over the years, soccer has become more popular in Venezuela. Still, baseball is known as the country’s sport, with several Venezuelans having gone on to MLB careers. So, unsurprisingly, that’s the first sport Herrera played.

Then, around the age of 4, he followed in the footsteps of his brother, Luis Manuel, and picked up soccer. From his neighborhood streets to the fields he played on as a member of Venezuela’s U17 men’s national team, he became hooked.

“When I started playing it, I just enjoyed it a lot,” he said. “I met a lot of friends. It was just different, and I just liked that a lot. Since I started playing soccer, I’ve never stopped.”

When the time came to pick a college, Herrera said he was choosing between UCLA and Carolina. Both schools seemed like great options based on what he’d read online and his teammates told him. But ultimately, he decided to become a Bruin.

Entering his freshman season, Herrera said he didn’t realize how intense college soccer is and thought it’d be easier. It didn’t take long for that perception to change.

“I realized, ‘OK, this is really hard for me. I have to work hard,'” said Herrera, who played the third-most minutes (1,434) for UCLA as a freshman. “I learned from a lot of my teammates how to have a good work ethic, and I knew to be on the field, I had to work really hard.”

That was also the case off the field.

Herrera said he quickly learned that he’d have to do a better job balancing soccer and academics. The latter proved especially trying since his English was “really bad.” He estimates that it’s since gotten about 60% better.

“I started taking classes, and on my first test, I got, like, a 32,” he said. “I was like, ‘This is not going to work.’ But I just worked hard. I’ve been working hard my entire life, and I knew it would make a difference. I worked hard, I improved my English, and after that, it’s just been getting better.”

The same couldn’t be said for his overall UCLA experience.

In Herrera’s first season, the Bruins went 7-10-1. They slightly improved in 2018, going 10-9, but Herrera played 698 fewer minutes. All of that was discouraging. But it wasn’t until his head coach resigned in March that Herrera decided to leave.

Before long, the Tar Heel coaching staff reached out to him. And he couldn’t think of a better school to transfer to than Carolina.

Herrera said he arrived on campus in the summer. Only a few members of the team were around at that time. But most of them were seniors, and the initial impressions that they made on him reaffirmed his decision to come here.

“Meeting them from the very first moment was really important,” he said. “As soon as I got here, I was really happy. I saw that change from UCLA to UNC, that here they work hard every time, they want to win, and that’s just what I needed.”

Herrera said he initially didn’t realize he was joining a team that includes 10 other players with Hispanic and Latino backgrounds. That, however, has helped him acclimate as he’s bonded with them over everything they have in common.

He said that sense of community is even stronger at UNC than it was at UCLA.

“It makes me feel more comfortable,” he said. “I get along with all of the guys, but having that piece of culture in the team, that makes it easier. I think it was surprising because I didn’t know there were that many. I knew there were some, but not that many. They’re really related to me. It’s just incredible the environment, the atmosphere here.”

As good of a fit as Carolina has been for Herrera socially, he’s also benefitted academically. He said he’s “found a really good opportunity for me” as a sports administration major. Because of that, he added that he’s more motivated to excel in the classroom.

He said his family, who still lives in Venezuela and he last saw about a year ago, is unable to stream his games. But he calls them every day and fills them in.

Carlos Somoano said Herrera and the rest of the team’s newcomers are gradually understanding what it means to play at Carolina. As that happens, they’ll start showcasing their good qualities more often.

One thing is for sure, though: Herrera always demonstrates his best quality.

“He’s got just amazing spirit,” Somoano said. “When he starts to get in, he’s just going to get better and better. He’s got the heart of a lion. I love the energy that he brings day in and day out; it’s every day. It’s infectious.”

It also comes naturally.

“I think that’s the way I am as a player, going back to where I came from,” Herrera said. “I try to always play with passion and always remember where I came from.”

And he always will.