Ever since the age of five, senior star and Bosnian sensation Hilma Mededovic had aspirations of excelling in the sport she loves today: basketball. After moving here from Europe in February of this year, Mededovic strives for greatness in America.
“My father is my number one fan and the best coach I’ve ever had. He’s always been there for me on and off the court,” Mededovic said. With huge expectations both academically and athletically, Mededovic’s parents push her past her limits as they see great potential in their daughter.
With basketball consuming her every hour, Mededovic shared her story on how basketball has changed her life.
“I’ve been playing basketball for about 11 years now. My whole family plays basketball. Basketball is my history,” Mededovic explained.
For Mededovic, time management is a necessity in juggling her strict hoops schedule with her academic work.
“I’m an average student in school but my parents always want me to do well,” Mededovic said. Elaborating on her experiences in the classroom, she explains how it really isn’t easy to excel in both areas.
“Basketball is my life. Because it takes up so much time, I never seem to have a break, but that’s okay. I like it.”
Before she ever brought her talents over to Niles West, Mededovic had a wonderful career in Bosnia playing for a top ranked travel team in the capitol city of Sarajevo and for the Bosnian national team.
“Playing for such a big team is difficult. We used to practice for like five hours a day. It was hard both physically and mentally,” Mededovic stated.
Though her career in Bosnia was one in a million, the consumption of her time in basketball called for a sacrifice in other areas of life.
“The national team kind of helped me with my move to America. We would be apart from our families for months and sometimes longer. We traveled a lot to places like Romania. It’s hard to be away from family for such long periods of time,” Mededovic.
Mededovic and her sister moved out here in February of this year, leaving behind all loved ones in Bosnia. Here, Mededovic lives with her Aunt and Uncle, only to make matters more difficult as the two most important people in her life aren’t with her, her parents.
“I honestly could not see myself living in America. Maybe somewhere in Europe, maybe I’ll live in Europe. But I can’t go back to the Balkin’s, life over there is difficult,” Mededovic shares.
Through all matters, killing it on the court as a highschool basketball is definitely not enough of an accomplishment for Mededovic.
“I know everyone always says that they want to win regionals and move on to sectionals, but this year I really think we could, that’s my goal,” she shared, but that’s only the beginning of what she wants to accomplish. Because she left so much behind and came over to America in hopes to make something of her career, Mededovic will not settle for anything. “I want to play Division 1 basketball at Northern Illinois University or at Stony Brook University at least. When I’m in college, though, I want to study business management.”
All these goals could never be possible without the help of others in Hilma’s life.
“Magic Johnson is my favorite basketball player and my motivation, but my parent’s are my favorite people. They are always helping me when I need it,” said Mededovic.
Not only does Mededovic have high hopes for herself but believes in her teammates and coaching staff. She wants to leave behind her own great legacy, but also the legacy of her team: the 2014-2015 varsity girls basketball team. Mededovic wishes to take her game to the next level and accomplish a few great goals along the way with the help of her teammates. Mededovic shares, “I love the team. They’re great girls off the court and on the court they do their job. They give a lot of effort and the team is very organized.”
Senior captain Julia Easter agrees with Mededovic’s opinion on this years team with the addition of great things to say about the transfer from Europe.
“The team this year is a group of hardworking individuals and Hilma is a great addition. She is a hard worker and pushes everyone to get better. She always brings great energy and is always awesome to be around,” said Easter.
Following her family’s footsteps and proving people wrong as she does it, Mededovic still gets jittery on game day even after 11 solid years of competitive basketball.
“I love to encourage myself. Set myself goals. Tell myself I can do anything because I know I can. I want to excel, I want to go beyond my own limits,” Mededovic said in the very confident way she lives her everyday life.
