THE OFFICIAL HOME OF
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BATTER UP BASEBALL SCHOOL
GIRLS
BASEBALL
in
Claire Eccles (White Rock, BC)
BATTER UP BASEBALL
Baseball
Girls
Batter Up Baseball's Girls Development
Batter Up Baseball School uses the same development strategy, techniques and game approach for both girls and boys, and encourages girls who love the game to stay with baseball through high school and pursue college scholarships, professional contracts and Olympic opportunities. View our official Girls Development Track for information on opportunities for girls in baseball at all stages of the game.
COACHES
Women in Sports Leadership & Development
WOMEN
Women are incredible athletes and coaches. Batter Up Baseball believes that the more women that are in sports leadership and development at all stages of the game, the faster athletics will go to the next level, both in North American and Globally.
Batter Up Baseball is actively seeking highly qualified women baseball coaches for its camps, programs and tournament teams.
To inquire or nominate, contact Mike Irving at camps@batterupbaseball.ca
HEROES
Women in Professional Sports Leadership
WOMEN
Justine Siegal became the first woman to coach men’s baseball professionally when she served as first-base coach for the Brockton Rox, an independent baseball team, in 2009. Then in spring training of 2011, she threw batting practice for six major league teams: the A’s, Indians, Rays, Cardinals, Astros and Mets. In 2015, she became the first woman to coach the instruction league with the A's. Today, she has her PhD and 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.
Siegal is one of many heroic female athletes/coaches who are proving that women have what it takes to compete and coach at the professional level. For more information, visit www2.BaseballForAll.com or JustineSiegel.com.
"Too many girls are still told they can't play baseball. I want girls to know they can follow their passions. That they have no limits. That their dreams matter."
Justine Siegal
Batter Up Baseball has been training girls in the FUNdamentals of baseball for more than 20 years and is proud of its awesome female athletes and instructors.
Girls Baseball
Batter Up Baseball's
Yenna Robson, Pitcher
BASEBALL HISTORY
WOMEN& GIRLS in
Women’s baseball trailblazers reflect on the league, 75 years after its founding
By Nicole Haase May 30, 2018
When 16-year-old Shirley Burkovich joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, she thought she would play baseball for the rest of her life.
The league was in its fifth year of existence and Burkovich was a wide-eyed, if naive, teenager who had been offered the job of her dreams. The AAGPBL, founded in 1943, was still near its prime; based on ticket sales and attendance, 1948 was the height of the league’s popularity and success.
“When I went into the league, I thought that was going to be my career,” Burkovich says. “I planned on playing forever. I had no plans to do anything else. I made no arrangements for attending college to get a degree to do anything else.”
Three years later, she was working for the phone company.
Sophie Kurys, star of the Racine Belles of the All-American Girl's Professional Baseball League, slides into the bag. Bettmann Archive
IN THE MEDIA
Changing
How girls and women are challenging sexism and Ignorance so they can play Baseball at the highest levels
the Game
Repost of Natalie Weiner's article, "How to make the Team USA women's baseball team" at SBNation
“Get off the field!”
Five years ago, Emily Tsujikawa stood on the mound at a baseball tournament in eastern Washington as members of the opposing team, along with their parents and grandparents, shouted at her. They were refusing to step up to the plate and let her pitch because she was a girl.
Even after her opponents acquiesced to the umpires’ threat of a forfeit, the heckling continued. “If you strike out, you won’t eat dinner tonight,” one parent yelled down to their on-deck son, 17-year-old Tsujikawa recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s kind of strict.’” Her team won. ”I honestly had a pretty good game, but it was just strange to encounter that — especially being only 12.”
Girls Development
PLAY
Learn to Play is the first stage of the game where girls learn the FUNdamental skills and team strategy and develop a love for the game. There are many opportunities in North America for girls at this stage of the game compared to boys.
COMPETE
Learn to Compete is the second stage of the game where girls join teams and leagues and learn about healthy competition. There are increasing opportunities for girls at this stage of the game compared to boys, especially in Canada and Japan.
WIN
Learn to Win is the third stage of the game when young women reach for scholarships, professional contracts and Olympic opportunities. There are unequal opportunities for young women at this stage of the game compared to young men.
COACH
Learn to Coach is when women are given leadership opportunities in developing players and teams. There are unequal opportunities for women at this stage of the game as compared to men.
LEAD
Learn to Lead is the final stage of the game when women become presidents and owners of sports teams, leagues and organizations. There are unequal opportunities for women at this stage of the game compared to men.
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Batter Up Baseball has been training girls in the Learn to Play and Learn to Compete stages of the game for more than 20 years. However, we have become increasingly aware of the unequal opportunities for young women and adult women at the higher level of the games. While some girls have opportunities to play in high school, NO GIRLS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY IN UNIVERSITY, which means most choose to leave the sport and compete in softball. Batter Up Baseball is committed to helping girls find a way to stay in the game through high school and university so they can continue their careers at the Professional, Olympic and Leadership levels. For more information, or to partner with Batter Up Baseball on this issue, contact camps@batterupbaseball.ca.