Erik Hernandez | Embracing Imperfect Mentorship

Mentorship isn’t flawless — and that’s where its power lies. Erik Hernandez, Associate Director for Sports Performance – Olympic Sports at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, has built his career on turning imperfect scenarios into lasting lessons for athletes and young coaches alike. For over 14 years at UNC, he has guided lacrosse, volleyball, and golf, adapting his voice to each culture while holding firm to shared standards of accountability and growth. Hernandez streamlines training into a three-phase model — explosive, strength, and remedial — yet emphasizes that delivery and communication matter more than complexity. He reminds athletes, “modifications are part of progress,” linking health, recovery, and seasonal demands to long-term development. For interns and early-career coaches, his advice is clear: earn mentors by serving others, and learn from every scenario, even the imperfect ones. Hear how mentorship, adaptability, and athlete health point the way forward for stronger teams and longer careers.

Reach out to Coach Hernandez on Instagram: @hernandezstrength or by email: ehhernan@email.unc.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs  

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Show Notes

“Once you feel more confident in your program, […] then you can get complicated with the coaching and the delivery and how you need to adapt that.” 9:00

“If you fail in it, we're going to have a conversation about it. But that's just our standard of growth. And the goal is to make you better for your teammates, make you better for your future husbands and wives, and make you better for your future employers and family.” 13:25

“Young coaches should seek to learn from every single scenario, and it doesn't have to be the most ideal scenario. I've been told before, you learn more sometimes by seeing things done the wrong way than the right way, because that's going to help in your longevity to see someone kind of burn out or something happen because they do things a certain way that maybe doesn't fit with what you think would give you the most longevity. So I think really being able to take something away from any situation that you're in,” 15:53