#Spotlight – This week we continue our celebration of Women's History Month. Today is our tribute to Justine Siegal, the first woman to coach in professional baseball.
From Justine Siegal's website
"When she was 13, Justine's coach told her that girls are only supposed to play softball - not baseball. At that moment, she vowed she’d never quit. At the age of 16, she set her sights on becoming a college baseball coach. Despite being ridiculed, laughed at, and told no man would ever listen to a woman on the baseball field, she worked toward her goal, growing even more determined to realize her dream.
After earning her PhD in Sport Psychology from Springfield College, Justine became the first woman to coach for a Major League Baseball Organization (Oakland Athletics, 2015) and to throw batting practice to a MLB team during Spring Training (Cleveland Indians, 2011). In 2016, she served as Mental Performance Coach for Team Israel at the MLB World Baseball Classic Qualifier. She served as a guest pro baseball coach in Japan and Mexico (2019). Justine is currently a baseball consultant for the tv show, A League of Their Own.
Now, Justine is giving back to the next generation with Baseball For All, a nonprofit she founded to provide opportunities for girls to play, coach, and lead in baseball. She is an inductee of the National Women's Sports Museum and has been named as an Everyday Hero by espnW. Her jersey is now hanging in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. She is also a proud mom of a happy and fiercely independent 22-year old daughter. "
#HistoryInYourSize
