Sports

A New Era Begins for Southington Softball

Davina Hernandez is a break from tradition as the first woman to take helm as head coach of the Southington High School softball team – but that is the only tradition she intends to break.

Just a year removed from a trip to the Class LL Softball Championship game, the Southington High School girls’ softball team will look to make another run with a new leader at the helm and although a new coach may be in place, it’s a familiar face and one with a rich history of success herself.

Davina Hernandez, who helped lead the Blue Knights to the championship as the assistant coach last season, has been named as the successor to John Bores and she said she hopes to pick up where previous coaches have left off in maintaining a tradition of success.

“It’s an absolute honor to be selected. This was not something where I thought I would just take over because I was assistant,” Hernandez said. “There were a lot of qualified candidates and Southington has a lot of tradition, a championship mentality that has taken years to build.”

The selection breaks from tradition some as Hernandez succeeds a lineage of strong, successful male coaches – but her own record of success may speak for itself and why she was chosen to take over the team.

Hernandez, 26, served as the assistant varsity coach in 2013 and assisted the program in winning the CIAC Class LL State Championship.  She has played at the University of Massachusetts and also is a former member of the Puerto Rican Olympic softball team that competed in the Pan American Games and participated in the 2008 Beijing qualifying games. 

The Bristol Central graduate also knows the success the program brings firsthand as an opponent. As a junior, her team was knocked out in the championship game by Bores and the Blue Knights.

Hernandez is currently working in the Cromwell Public Schools as the district speech and language pathologist.

Moving forward, Hernandez said she is prepared to work hard and aims to bring the same success that Southington has seen over the last several decades.

“It was great to get a year to gain experience calling pitches and join a program where everyone is dedicated to finding a way to succeed,” she said. “The kids are great and come in with a great attitude. We have a good staff top to bottom in Southington. I only hope to continue the tradition and success that the program has had through the years.”

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