Jason Hernandez, a former Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Canadian who competed in two national championships, will be inducted into the CCAA Hall of Fame in the Athlete Category.
Hernandez starred with the Seneca Sting and St. Clair Saints for five years in Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men’s Volleyball.
Looking back at his varsity career, Hernandez proudly remembers all the various roles he got to play on each team.
“From the walk on rookie who was just excited to make a varsity team, to being able to play more important roles on the team such as being the go-to guy in pressure situations and eventually the leader younger players looked up to,” he said.
In his first season, Hernandez led the Sting to a silver medal in the OCAA and a wildcard berth to the 2009 CCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship in Fort McMurray, AB.
After three seasons with Seneca and a two-year pause, Hernandez would transfer to St. Clair College, where he would exhaust his eligibility as a student-athlete.
Hernandez was a game changer for the Saints and quietly led by example, according to Jay Shewfelt, Athletic Coordinator at St. Clair College.
“When you looked at Jason he was not intimidating physically until he went up to kill a ball and then you could see how dominating he was,” said Shewfelt. “He was not just an offensive threat either; he was an all-around player that played amazing defense too.”
His final season with the Saints was one to remember.
Hernandez was named OCAA Player of the Year and led St. Clair to a silver medal – its first ever OCAA medal in Men’s Volleyball – and an appearance at the 2015 CCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship in Charlottetown, PEI.
At Nationals, he was named to the First All‐Tournament Team as the Saints placed fourth at the tournament, falling to the Niagara Knights in the bronze-medal game. St. Clair also earned the CCAA Fair Play Award – now the CCAA Exemplary Leadership Award.
“Being able to compete in two national championships was an extraordinary experience,” said Hernandez. “Just being able to compete in two very different parts of the country, on two very different teams for two different colleges brought my college volleyball career full circle.”
Hernandez also excelled in the classroom, earning CCAA Academic All-Canadian honours in 2008-09 and 2013-14.
Playing a team sport in the CCAA has directly transferred to his career today; Hernandez is a full-time firefighter with the City of Windsor and a long-time volunteer firefighter for the Town of Essex.
“Being a first responder, it is common to rely on my coworkers and have them rely on me in stressful situations,” he said. “It also allowed me to meet many important people in my life such as, players and coaches.”
Hernandez is a member of the Seneca Sting Hall of Fame and was also recently inducted into the OCAA Hall of Fame.
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The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) enriches the academic experiences of student-athletes by providing leadership, programs and services that foster development through high-level competitive opportunities in intercollegiate sport.
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