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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Former Tiger Softball Coach DeAquino Thriving at Helm of NY/NJ Juggernaut
By Bill Alden
As the New York/New Jersey Juggernaut kicked off play last month in the newly created National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) softball league, Dina DeAquino thought her coaching assignment was clear.
DeAquino, a former star pitcher at Montclair State in the 1980s who helped coach the Princeton University softball team from 1990-98, joined the Nauts as an assistant coach in charge of the team's pitching staff.
But in mid-June, DeAquino found herself at the helm of the club after manager Linda Derk left the team due to "philosophical differences" with the front office.
Although DeAquino was initially stunned by her battlefield promotion, she is adjusting nicely to life in the managerial hot seat.
"It was a shock," said DeAquino, whose club plays its home games at Montclair State's softball field. "I was put in a situation where I had no preparation so I've really had to do a lot of homework. It entails a lot of things."
One of the perks of DeAquino's new post is the chance to utilize the talent at her disposal. "We have the elite college players in this league so it's very competitive," said DeAquino, who had guided the Nauts to a 25-16 mark through July 24 to put them in third-place in the six-team league. "It's exciting to get a chance to coach them. It's like being at Notre Dame and getting to coach all the best football players."
DeAquino herself was once an elite pitcher. During her career at Montclair State, DeAquino was a two-time Division III All-American pitcher and led the Red Hawks to appearances in the Division III Softball Championship in 1987 and 1988.
The Belleville, N.J. native finished her career as Montclair State's all-time wins leader with 73 victories and her 30 wins in the 1988 season still stands as a Montclair State single-season record. She was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
A key aspect of DeAquino's college experience was the lessons she learned at the knee of Montclair coach Wilma Rucker, a former star catcher.
"She really helped me with specifics," said DeAquino, recalling her time with Rucker. "She would tell me this is what you're doing wrong, this is how you should do it."
Soaking up such inside knowledge led DeAquino to consider coaching as a career option after college. "I wanted to stay in the game and get into coaching," added DeAquino. "I coached two years at Montclair then I went to Princeton."
While at Princeton, DeAquino and head coach Cindy Cohen developed into a formidable tandem. "Cindy was very passionate, very intense," said DeAquino, who helped guide Princeton to consecutive appearances in the Women's College World Series in 1995 and 1996. "I was very calm so we worked well together. We balanced each other out well."
DeAquino learned as much about dealing with people from Cohen as she learned about softball. "The really cool thing is the relationships Cindy had with her players and how they respected her," said DeAquino, who has taught physical education in the Fair Lawn school district for the last 16 years in addition to her softball coaching. "She really helped them out and treated them with respect. In turn, they worked really hard for her."
DeAquino developed some special relationships with the players at Princeton during her tenure which saw the program win six Ivy League titles.
"Just getting to know the kids there was great," said DeAquino, whose first mound protégé at Princeton, Maureen Davies Barron, became the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and is currently the program's head coach. "They aren't just brainiacs like many people think. They are good individuals, they are well rounded people."
DeAquino is looking to use that people-oriented approach to get the most out of her current players.
"Everybody is an individual," asserted DeAquino. "The key is to find out what you can get out of each of them. It's working out well."
