Time on the clock is running out for Mia Hernandez’s high school softball career with all eyes set on her future. Mia Hernandez recently committed to Eckerd college, a college with the sun and beach surrounding the students. With a change from Charter to Eckerd, Hernandez is ready to take her talent to the next step as a D2 softball player.

   The journey to get to where Hernandez is at wasn’t always easy though. Starting at 4 years old, Mia started playing softball but really started to take a liking to it reaching fourth grade. Making more and more progress in skill and talent, Mia realized that this was something that she could see herself carrying on throughout her future. 

   With more experience in the game came a few challenges thrown at her. During her freshman season, Mia hit a block on the road to success. “I actually fractured my growth plate in my shoulder in 8th grade and I was out for a whole year. But, I feel like when I got back I came back better and that all that recovery happened for a reason,” Mia explains.

   Getting back up after this challenge, it was time to consider scholarships and the near future. Practicing and working out everyday, Mia wasted no time to make sure she was on the right track for what was her goal at the time, D1. 

   “So, at first, I was set on going to a D1 school, but then as I grew up, I didn’t want that life,” says the D2 Eckerd commit on her change of mind. D1 programs around the country for softball are known for being very intense and competitive, which is the opposite of what Mia wanted for her college experience. This made Eckerd the perfect environment for Hernandez to flourish into her most successful, yet happiest self. 

   With such a drastic change in environments going from Charter to Eckerd, Mia has people and experiences to thank throughout her life. “My inspirations are really my coaches. [The coach] I have right now, Coach Scott, is who really pushed me to my best. He’s one of my best support systems.” Mia explains that she never really had a famous softball player be her inspiration, but instead her coaches being the ones that really made her into the player she is. 

   After playing varsity softball for the Lady Jags for all 4 years of high school, Mia has made connections on the team that will last her. Putting aside an interesting season, Mia will remember her teammates as the ones who made her last year memorable. 

   Leaving #46 on the field at Charter for the softball legacy to be carried on, Mia continues her story next fall. With a major in Psychology and hopes of going on to get a degree in criminal justice, Mia Hernandez is ready to make her mark on Eckerd.

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