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Justine Siegal


Justine Siegal is an American baseball coach and sports educator who is particularly interested and involved in sports gender equity, and noted for her success in coaching baseball in contexts that were previously male-only. She is the first female coach in MLB history.

Siegal was first introduced to baseball at a very young age. Her grandfather frequently took her to Cleveland Indian baseball games. At a young age she was introduced to the idea that only a certain gender can play the sport. Even at this age she knew that this idea was wrong and continued playing baseball despite what people said. She did not listen to people who discouraged her from playing baseball because it was a "man's sport". At age 16 she made the goal to coach at a collegiate level. She was discouraged from playing and coaching at this age as well. Although those around her discouraged her from pursuing this goal, she continued in this career path with her passion for baseball.

Siegal holds a B.A. from St. Olaf College with a concentration in "Leadership: Religion, Military, and Baseball", an M.A. in Sport Studies from Kent State University, and a Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Springfield College (MA); her academic focus is in performance enhancement, sport management, coaching, gender equity, and youth sports. Siegel knew the difficulties of trying to be a baseball coach, so she went on to pursue her Ph.D to equal the level of opportunities. Siege's persistence is what helped her get the coaching position with the Oakland A's. Siegal through her academic backgrounds as well as experience on the field has given her an edge above the rest allowing her to become a coach having a method of coaching players on the field and off in a classroom setting. Currently, Siegal is the Director of Sports Partnerships at the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University. As the director she is continues to work towards expanding the academic programs and relationships with Major League Baseball and other sports organizations. In addition, Siegal is the founder and executive director of Baseball for All, an organization that provides meaningful opportunities and instruction in baseball, especially for girls.


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