BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Deana DeSiena’s life has revolved around sports, so it would make sense that the perfect job would center around athletics.
DeSiena, a Pennsylvania native, is the recreation director for the newly established Bradford Sports United — a position that suits her and her wardrobe preference.
“I was always dressed up,” DeSiena said of her previous job. “I would go in a pantsuit or a dress or a skirt. I like to dress up, but I like to be in athletic clothes because I grew up in them.”
A life of sports, which included a stint as a field-hockey player at Division I Lock Haven (Pennsylvania) University, led DeSiena to earn a degree in Sport Management, so her position with Bradford County’s new youth-athletics organization would seem to be a great fit.
DeSiena said her husband was the one who made her aware of the position with Bradford Sports United. She said he told her, “Just apply. It might not be something that you want to do forever, but it’s right up your alley. You went to school for this.”
So, she applied, making her one of 40 to do so. Bradford Sports United board member Danny Riddick, who’s also a Bradford County commissioner, said that group was narrowed to six. The six finalists were interviewed, with DiSiena being the first one.
“When she got done with the interview, she walked out, and we all kind of looked at each other like, ‘Wow.’
“All six of them were awesome. I think all six of them would have done a fantastic job, but without a doubt, out of the six — and I’m not knocking any of them — (DeSiena) was the best choice. I truly believe that with all my heart. This is who God wanted in place.”
Just as she made an impression on the board, the board made an impression on DeSiena.
“I got there and interviewed with everyone,” she said. “Just from the start, I said, ‘I think this is going to be my board. I think we’re going to work really well together.’”
Like Riddick, DeSiena credits God with how things worked out.
“My husband, my in-laws, my parents — everyone was just praying for me to find something that was going to suit me, not just for a month or two, but for the long term,” DeSiena said.
Playing sports and working in sports
What sports did DeSiena play growing up? The easiest question to answer would be what she didn’t play. The same thing goes for her brother.
“You name it, and my brother and I have probably played it,” DeSiena said, adding, “We were always doing something and always active.”
DeSiena said she experienced one year without sports as a child when she partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in one of her knees from being on a trampoline.
“My parents made me learn the piano,” DeSiena said. “That was the only time I wasn’t around sports, but my parents still made me do something.”
It wasn’t until she was in seventh grade, though, that she began playing the sport she would go on to play collegiately.
“I didn’t know what field hockey was,” DeSiena said, “but I knew I didn’t want to play soccer anymore, so I started playing it.”
She would keep playing it, going on to become a member of the Lock Haven University team from 2021 through 2024. DeSiena didn’t play her first two years, with a back injury preventing her from playing as a sophomore. However, she played in 35 games her junior and senior seasons, starting in 30 of them.
For DeSiena, the chance to be a collegiate student-athlete did more than allow her to continue playing a sport she enjoyed. The practices and games were hard, but they instilled confidence in DeSiena and taught her such skills as communicating with others and time management.
“I had great coaches who not only taught us to be strong players, but strong women and people,” DeSiena said. “That experience, without a doubt, is going to and already has impacted my life.”
Playing field hockey and taking classes at Lock Haven was a “full-time job,” DeSiena said. The Sports Management major, though, made the time to do other things. She worked for Lock Haven’s athletic department most of the time she was there.
“I did event management,” DeSiena said. “I worked their parking lots. I worked their ticket sales. I worked their press boxes for baseball and lacrosse games. I announced them over the PA.”
DeSiena worked a couple of hours a week at Lock Haven’s Student Recreation Center and was a graduate assistant there the spring of her senior year.
“I ran all their intramural sports,” DeSiena said. “I was there every day, but Monday through Thursday I was running co-ed volleyball and co-ed basketball.”
Going into her senior year, DeSiena worked for the Williamsport Crosscutters, a team in the Major League Baseball Draft League, which showcases draft-eligible amateurs. She was a manager in food and beverages and also helped organize the game-day experience, overseeing pre-inning and in-between-inning events.
DeSiena’s non-playing sports experiences began before she even got to college. She worked with children in her local youth organization and umpired for 8U games.
“I was always, always in sports,” DeSiena said.
Her experiences with the youth organization and at Lock Haven proved to be what she really enjoyed.
“College and recreation were probably my two favorites,” DeSiena said. “I didn’t not like the stadium (work with the Crosscutters), but I like to be involved with the athletes. The position that I like, which is that kind of background-managing part — I would probably never get to do that at a stadium, so I think where I’m at is perfect.”
Moving to Florida
DeSiena moved to Florida after she got married in July 2025. Her husband, Joseph, is a Jacksonville native. Their paths crossed in Pennsylvania.
“We met at Lock Haven in Bible study,” DeSiena said. “That was our junior year.”
Joseph was playing baseball at Lock Haven after playing at junior colleges in Georgia and Maryland. DeSiena said it was, of course, fun to do the PA announcing at Lock Haven baseball games with Joseph being on the team.
Their meeting was no mere coincidence.
“God’s hand was on this whole thing,” DeSiena said. “Why would a kid from Jacksonville be in Central Pennsylvania? It’s amazing.”
So, how does DeSiena like being in the Sunshine State? She said the loves the Southern accents and finds them funny at times, but she added that “everyone’s so sweet.”
“It’s been nothing but a great experience,” DeSiena said of her new home, adding, “I can’t complain.”
She certainly has no complaints about the weather.
“Christmas was crazy,” DeSiena said. “They said it wasn’t even that warm, but we were at the beach. I was like, ‘This is weird. It’s snowing at home.’”
Play ball!
It’s not quite time to yell, “Play ball!” However, sign-ups are now underway for the Bradford Sports United baseball and softball seasons. To register, use the QR code accompanying this story, or follow the link on the Bradford Sports United Facebook page. Age groups are 4-6 (tee-ball), 7-8 (Rookies), 9-10 (Minors), 11-12 (Majors) and 13-16 (Seniors).
DeSiena is working to make Bradford Sports United so much more than baseball and softball.
“Deana’s got big plans with basketball, pickleball and racquetball,” Riddick said. “I mean, you’ve got four awesome racquetball courts down there (at the Edwards Road Complex) that never get used. The facilities are there. You just need someone to manage them.”
DeSiena said she’s excited to see how Bradford Sports United grows, with the overriding goal being to put smiles on faces.
“The only thing I want is for the kids to be happy,” she said.
She also wants families to be happy. DeSiena said she doesn’t want to see parents drop off their kids and return later to pick them up. She wants children and their families to feel like they have “a community” at the sports complex.
It’s a community DeSiena is ready to be a part of. In fact, she’ll be tempted to join the children in whatever activity they’re involved in, saying, “I want to go play with them.”
That makes sense for someone whose entire life has evolved around sports, and she’d be ready to go play, too, because now she has a job she can wear her athletic clothes to.
