Academy
athletes
honored
Sophomore volleyball player Paula Hernandez was named to the Class L All-State team by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association and sophomore field hockey player Avery Jones was chosen for the Futures program in the sport.
Hernandez, despite coming to Woodstock Academy halfway through the season, guided the Centaurs to the Class L championship match where they lost to RHAM, 3-0.
It was the first state title match for the Centaurs since 1967.
Hernandez finished the season second on the team in kills with 295, had 212 digs and 154 service points with 48 aces.
“She’s a gamer,” Bottone said about the sophomore following the state championship match where Hernandez carried the team. “She’s all business, she’s serious and she knows how the game is played. She knows what we need to do to win and it’s good for the other girls to see that level of competitiveness and, hopefully, it will rub off even more next year.”
Woodstock Academy coach Lauren Gagnon said Jones’ acceptance into Futures will help her take her game to a new level.
According to USA Field Hockey, the Futures program allows athletes to sharpen their skills in the offseason, allowing them to work toward their dream of playing the sport at the next level.
Jones will take part in seven three-hour sessions and will have the opportunity to play her way into the Futures regional tournament which will take place in May at UMass-Lowell.
“Avery’s hard work and determination are truly starting to pay off. She stays after practice nearly every day to work on her skills and makes an effort to teach her peers whatever cool new hit or trick she is attempting to master. She can watch a skill once and have it mastered by the end of practice, having worked on it whenever she is waiting her turn for a drill or during water breaks,” Gagnon said.
Jones finished with five goals and six assists for the Centaurs this season.

Marc Allard
Sports Information Director