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Summer is heating up for the Hollister Heat girls softball program. This summer, the program has 12 teams, each with about 15 players. The six-week summer league is held at Veterans Memorial Park softball fields Monday through Thursday in the evenings.
Heat President Gina Annotti has been involved with the program for 10 years and served as president for two years.
“It’s cool to see players come back and coach their daughters,” Annotti said. “They went off to play high school ball, college ball, and for them to be able to come back and have such an impact on another generation of girls is huge.”
Ruby Hinostroza, a Heat alumn, is back with the program coaching her six-year-old daughter.
“This program means a lot to me,” Hinostroza said. “I remember how I felt playing when I was a child, and I wanted my daughter to have the same experience.”
Sydney Andrade played in the program for 10 years before moving on to play at Hollister High School, where she was a part of the 2023 Division 1 championship team, and went on to play at Modesto Junior College.
“This program means a lot to me,” Andrade said. “My grandpa was one of the founding members of this program. I unfortunately did not get to meet him, so this means a lot to my dad and I.”
Her father, Geno Andrade, is a Heat board member, and she has been helping out with coaching for the past year.
“I love the family mentality,” Andrade said. “I love when the girls are playing together. They’re like my little kids.”
Seasoned softball dad Alex Medina has three daughters–Natalia, Alexis and Karyssa–in the program. This is their third summer playing for the Heat.
“This program is important for their development and for building relationships,” Medina said. “They’ve been on many teams, and the relationships they built with the other players is amazing to see.”
All three of his daughters play travel ball, but they decided to play one more season of recreational softball because of the “laid-back atmosphere.”
“I decided to come back after playing travel ball and do my last season here because it means a lot to me,” Karyssa Medina said. “It’s not really competitive, but it can be.”
Hollister Heat veteran Rick Monroy has been with the program for 18 years. In addition to coaching, he also serves as umpire-in-chief.
“When you are around softball for so long, you grow,” Monroy said. “You really open your eyes and realize that it’s all about the kids. Them having fun, them being very positive, but at the same time learning the fundamentals of the game.”
Annotti believes the program’s success comes from deep family ties and a community that helps empower young women to believe in themselves and build lifelong relationships.
“There’s a lot of men out here, but not one of them played softball,” Annotti said. “The women that come back, they come back to their sisterhood and they come back to their family.”
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour and Taylor Farms.
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