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Alumna makes baseball history

By Kari VanDerVeen
August 10, 2009

Justine Siegal '98 made headlines this spring when she became the first female coach in men's professional baseball.

The Ole is the first-base coach for the Brockton Rox of Massachusetts, a minor-league team in the independent Canadian American League. It's a fitting job for Siegal, who dreamed of playing for the Cleveland Indians as a child and has played or coached baseball for nearly three decades.

Siegal is also an assistant coach at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., where she's studying for her Ph.D. in sports psychology. She has a master's degree from Kent State University, is the founder of the BaseBall for All instructional program, and ultimately would like to become a college baseball head coach.

From a bunkhouse in Cooperstown, New York -- where the girls' baseball team she coaches was competing in a tournament against 95 boys' teams -- Siegal answers questions about all things baseball.

When did you first know that baseball was your game?
I have been playing baseball since I was five years old. I love playing the game. But when I was 13, my youth coach told me that he didn't want me to play because I was a girl. That's when I knew I would have to decide whether I was going to continue in baseball or go to softball. The mixture of my love of the game and my ingrained stubbornness kept me playing baseball.

Did you always have a desire to make a career out of baseball?
First I wanted to be a Cleveland Indian. As I grew into my teenage years, I figured out that was not going to happen. So, at 16, I decided I wanted to be a college baseball coach. The first person I told that to told me I was crazy and that a man would never listen to a woman. Thankfully, my other baseball coach believed in me and started having me work camps at age 16.

What are the most challenging aspects of being a woman baseball coach?
The most challenging part is getting the opportunities to showcase my abilities. I know what I'm doing, and once I prove that to my male players, they adjust and somewhat forget that I'm a female. Right now, I am looking for a college that is bold enough to hire the first female head collegiate baseball coach. My abilities are there; now I just need the opportunity.

How did your players initially react to having a woman coach?
At the college level, most of the players just waited to see if I knew what I was doing. Male coaches are given the assumption that they know how to play and coach the game. As a female, I had to earn that respect first; it wasn't automatic. At the professional level, the players want to know if I was going to help the team and help them become better players. They wanted to know how having a female coach might influence the team and their careers. In college, baseball is something players do as part of their social life. At the pro level, baseball is their livelihood. But winning teams at any level have a mix of talent, hard work, and fun.

What's the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is serving as a role model to boys and girls, helping them see that their dreams can come true and to not give up.

Is your daughter a baseball player or fan? Do you think she'll follow in your footsteps?
My daughter, Jasmine, is my biggest fan. She understands my message, which is to be who you want to be. Don't let other people dictate who you are to become. Follow your own dreams. Jasmine has taken that message into her love for art, engineering, and computers. Her goal is to be a Disney Imagineer. I am her biggest fan.

What's your favorite baseball movie?
My favorite movie is The Natural. I walked out of the movie theater knowing that I wanted to play baseball forever.

If you could be the head coach of any major league baseball team, which would it be?
The Cleveland Indians. Then I would win a World Series, so that my grandfather could finally watch them win.

What did you major in at St. Olaf?
I had an amazing education at St. Olaf. My degree from the Paracollege was "Variations of Leadership: Religion, Military, and Baseball."

Do you have any advice for other Oles who want to make a career out of the sport they love?
My advice is to vary your educational experiences, intern, and network. Most importantly: dare to be different.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.