Jackie Hinojosa is in her sixth year at Valley Christian High School. She is the Associate Athletic Director and the head coach of both the softball and field hockey programs. Her first year as a head coach was one to remember. In spring 2025, her debut season, she led softball to a WCAL championship. That fall, in her first season leading field hockey, the Warriors won the CCS championship.
Hinojosa joined Valley Christian in 2021 as an assistant coach for field hockey and softball. She was named head softball coach for the spring 2025 season and head field hockey coach in fall 2025. She coaches with an emphasis on competing at a high level while growing in faith and character. "I love having the opportunity to develop young women both on and off the field," she says, "and being part of a program where we can compete at a high level while also growing in our faith."
Before Valley Christian, she spent four years (2017–2021) coaching at her alma mater, Saint Francis High School in Mountain View. She was head JV and assistant varsity softball coach and head JV field hockey coach there.
Hinojosa was one of the most decorated athletes of her class at Saint Francis, where she graduated in 2013. She was a three-sport varsity athlete and won the school's Three-Sport Varsity Athlete Award. In softball, she was a two-time All-WCAL selection (2012, 2013) and a two-time ESPN All-State nominee. In 2012 she was named first-team All-Peninsula and won the All-Peninsula Gold Glove Award. She also won a 2012 CCS field hockey championship and a 2013 CIF NorCal Division II basketball championship.
She went on to play softball at UC Santa Barbara. There she earned All-Big West honors in 2015 and was named UCSB's Breakthrough Athlete of the Year that same season. She earned her bachelor's degree in Global Studies from UCSB in 2017. She later completed a master's degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration at Concordia University Irvine in 2021.
"I was very fortunate to play for some incredible coaches in high school that made lasting impacts on my life," she says. "That's why I'm very passionate about what I get to do every day. I hope to have that same impact on the female athletes I have the privilege of coaching."
Jackie and her husband, Connor Taylor, live in Sunnyvale and attend St. Simon Parish.
Her life verse is Psalm 46:5: "God is within her, she will not fall." "Failure is an inevitable part of sports and life," she says. "As my relationship with God has grown, this verse has reminded me that our identity is not in our sports or our failures. Each failure is an opportunity to learn trust in God's strength. As a coach, I hope to instill this same mindset in my players."
Fun fact: Her players know the fastest way to put her in a good mood is to surprise her at a game or practice with a fountain Diet Coke.
