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Little League

Diven family helps make West Hernando league a hit

The organization's second-year president has her husband and three children involved in the rapidly growing league.

By LARRY BUGG
Published July 14, 2005

SPRING HILL - West Hernando Little League president Donna Diven has more than one reason for dealing with the headaches and joys of her position. "My son, Jack, is on the Junior All-Stars," Diven said. "My son, Jimmy, is on the majors All-Stars. My husband, Jim, is managing the Majors team.

"We live and breathe Little League," she said.

Even her daughter, Julia, 7, plays on the Lower Minor baseball team.

The league has been in existence since October, 2001. It was run by the Hernando County YMCA prior to that, and Little League was around for years before but a division among parents forced the YMCA to take over for a while. It has been building up over the past four seasons. In 2001, there were 100 kids playing.

"They turned it over to us," said Diven, who has been president for two years after serving as league secretary for two. "Now four years later, we have 450 kids. We expect to hit 500 this fall.

This year, West Hernando had four Top Teams excel in their divisions. There were 33 West Hernando squads this spring, with boys 5-16 playing. The Senior (15-16) baseball Mets took Top Team honors at West Hernando and went undefeated en route to the District 15 championship.

"That's a big accomplishment," Diven said. "West Hernando has never taken a Top Team championship until this year."

Marty Feeney managed that squad, and was assisted by Sam LeBron and Jerry Adams. Some players from the Top Team played for the 4-0 West Hernando Seniors, which won the first district title since West Hernando Little League was reorganized in 2001.

Diven was an all-around standout when she played high school sports in her native North Carolina. She was offered college scholarships in softball, basketball, track and volleyball at Inca High in Candler but chose not to accept any of them.

Sports helped steer Diven toward her husband."I moved to Florida in 1985 and joined a softball league in Clearwater," she said. "Jim and I met on the ball field. He was my coach."

The family moved to Spring Hill, where Jim has an investment firm, in 1998. Donna works as a substitute teacher and isn't paid for her league president duties.

"Volunteering is a full time job," Diven said. "I put in as much time as a full-time person would on a job."

Keeping volunteers motivated is her biggest challenge. "I think you can take any negative and turn it into a positive," she said. "When you are a volunteer organization, you have a lot of parent conflicts. It's rarely the kids; it's the parents." Diven's leaguehas control over its playing facilities.

"We totally maintain our park on Deltona Boulevard, one half mile north of Spring Hill Drive," she said. "We have to pay for our own lights. Every nickel goes back into our league. We have to depend on fundraising to make our league work. Every other youth league in Hernando County is on county property.

"We decide to close our park for rain. We have a crew of volunteers getting the parks ready," Diven said. "Billboard and team sponsorships help pay expenses."

Now, Diven hopes her teams can bring home a flag or two.

"I'm looking forward to seeing a District 15 All-Star division championship flying at West Hernando's field," she said.

But that's not the only thing that keeps her going. "The one thing you have to remember is, it is all about the kids," Diven said. "That's the only reason I do what I do."

[Last modified July 14, 2005, 00:31:19]