At just 13 years old, Justine Siegal felt alone.

One of the best players on an all-boys baseball team, Justine (pictured) had no idea that she would go on to become the first woman to coach for an MLB team. That was still on the horizon.

But at 13, a coach had just told Justine — one of the only girls on the baseball field — to quit, to go play softball. Instead of relinquishing her dream of playing baseball, she turned that disappointment into fuel.

At the time, she may have been alone — but that wouldn’t last long. In 2010, when Justine was 23 years old, she founded Baseball for All, a program that seeks to ensure that girls who love baseball have a place to play, to show them that they too, are not alone.

“I wanted to give the girls a community that supports them as they play, coach and lead in baseball,” Justine said. “Most importantly, I want girls to know their value and to believe in themselves.”

By 2015, the program, which began as just one local, all-girls team playing against the boys, had grown to 37 states. In 2019, Baseball for All was able to start a new girl’s program in Chicago thanks to funding from the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sports 4 Life program.

The Sports 4 Life program, co-founded with espnW, seeks to increase sports participation among African-American and Hispanic girls aged 11-18.

“All girls should have a chance to play sports and experience how powerful they are,” Justine said. “WSF amplifies the message that girls are limitless and that sports can provide countless opportunities for girls to better themselves and the community around them.”

WSF’s mission, echoed in the impact that Baseball for All brings to its girls, are reflected in Maggie, a 14-year-old who is a junior captain on one of Baseball for All’s teams.

“When I play baseball for Baseball for All, I don't have to prove that a girl can play baseball because everyone is a girl playing baseball,” Maggie said. “I get so fired up knowing that I get the chance to play baseball with girls and win or lose, I get to celebrate with my teammates.”