Ginny (Jernigan) Hughes is in her 5th year coaching the Michigan women's club lacrosse team and has just finished her first year as the head coach. She has also coached for the last 10 years at the high school level, where she helped lead the Birmingham United High School girls' lacrosse team to four Division I state championships in the last six years. Hughes specializes in coaching the goal keepers and the defense. In Ginny's first year leading the Wolverines, the team accomplished numerous "firsts" for the current players and coaching staff, including an early season dominating win over last year's National Champions, Colorado State (12-5), as well as a first trip to the "final 4" at Nationals. Hughes' first year coaching record of 14-6 (.700) is a solid start to her head coaching career and she looks forward to another successful season next year where she aims for the Wolverines to compete for the National Championship title in Colorado Springs in May, 2013. Ginny serves on the board for the WCLL conference, and is also the "Recognition Chair" for the WCLL league, serving as the committee chair for the conference-level awards, and the conference representive for the All-American award recognition committee.
Hughes attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia where she was an eight-time varsity letter winner in soccer and lacrosse while also serving as captain for both teams her senior year. The Generals' defense finished their 1998 lacrosse season with an 8th-ranked 7.33 Goals Against Average, led by Hughes' .667 save percentage in goal. Hughes also holds the Washington & Lee Women's Lacrosse program record for most saves in a season with 210. The Generals’ Lacrosse team finished in the top 25 all four years of her career. Academically, Hughes was an all-ODAC Conference Academic Award winner, W&L Scholar-Athlete, and was named to the W&L Dean's List and W&L Honor Roll (all 4 years). Hughes graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Mathematics and Physics-Engineering.
Hughes then attended Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia for graduate school where she earned a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Biomedical Option through Wake Forest University. Her master’s research focus was on airbag-induced injuries which was performed in the Virginia Tech Center for Injury Biomechanics. Hughes also worked on multiple impact biomechanics research projects in the areas of automobile safety, military restraints, and sports biomechanics. Hughes played club soccer and club lacrosse in her two years at Virginia Tech (2000-'02).
Hughes graduated high school from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, FL, and is its most decorated female athlete of all time. Starting every game all four years in three varsity sports, Hughes was a dominating all-around athlete who earned 12 varsity letters in Volleyball, Soccer and Softball. Graduating as the Valedictorian of her 800-member class of 1996, Hughes exemplified the term "student-athlete." She won the school's first and only Florida High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in 1996. Hughes was named All-Metro Conference and All-District in all three sports as well as All-State in Volleyball. She was named team captain a school-record seven times and was named both the Dr. Phillips Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Dr. Phillips Most Outstanding Female Athlete in 1996. She was also inducted into the Metro Conference Hall of Fame as well as the Dr. Phillips High School Hall of Fame.
Ginny is married to fellow coach Kasey Hughes and the couple resides in Birmingham, Michigan. Their first daughter, Haley, turned 2 in July ('12). Their second daughter, Morgan, was born on November 11, 2012. Ginny worked as an Engineer at General Motors for 8 years after graduate school until Haley "joined the team" in 2010. Her most recent job at GM was an Airbag Design Engineer where she was responsible for the design, engineering, testing and integration of airbag systems into vehicles in the General Motors fleet.
