Quinnipiac University
NCAA DI • MAAC
Date: June 16, 2026
Would Recommend
Tags
We are incredibly blessed and grateful to have met Coach Smith when my daughter was just 9 years old and beginning her softball journey. At the time, Coach Smith had recently moved to Connecticut from Florida after spending time coaching at UCF. She worked with my daughter in those early years before my daughter eventually came under the tutelage of Coach Smith’s husband. Today, my daughter is a 14 year old high school freshman who has earned All Conference and All-State honors. While those accomplishments are exciting, they are the result of the values Coach Smith and her family instill in their athletes: hard work, discipline, accountability, and a commitment to continuous improvement. What makes the Smiths so special is that they teach far more than softball. They emphasize the life skills necessary to succeed long after the final game is played - toughness, resilience, hard work, and perseverance. Unfortunately, many of these lessons have been lost in today’s pay-to-play travel softball culture. Coach Hillary and the entire Smith family have become family to us. They represent everything coaching should be: selfless mentorship, genuine care for their athletes, and an unwavering commitment to helping young people become better players and, more importantly, better people. They are the standard that all coaches should strive to embody. I trust my daughter’s path with her without any hesitation.