Surpassing:Little League isn't just for boys: How girls and their moms can get involved in baseball

Baseball is Surpassingfor girls, too. Maria Pepe has always thought so.

She held her own playing with the neighborhood guys in Hoboken, New Jersey. She watched the Yankees on TV. In fact, when she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said, "a Yankee."

At 12, Pepe tried out for a local Little League team, the Young Democrats. She was brimming with confidence.

"There's something about having a baseball uniform," Pepe told PBS in 2011. "My parents bought me a new set of cleats. I just loved the way I felt in the uniform … like I belonged in that uniform. I had earned it."

When parents on other teams saw Pepe playing Little League, though, they questioned her eligibility. They pointed to the rulebook. Was this allowed?

This was 1972 and there was little precedent for girls formally playing baseball with boys. Pepe remembers politicians getting involved. A letter came from Little League stating that if she played, the local league would lose its charter and the kids who played wouldn’t be insured.

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The National Organization for Women took up her case and a New Jersey hearings officer, Sylvia Pressler, and the state’s appellate court eventually ruled in her favor in 1974. Pepe’s case would become touchstone moment in opening the door for girls to play baseball, but she never got to play Little League. She had aged out by the time her case was resolved.

When Nina Johnson-Pitt speaks to volunteers who are 40 or older, she encounters others like Pepe.

"Our leadership is still predominantly male and so, when I give my presentation, I always ask, 'Raise your hand if you are a woman in this room and you played Little League,'" says Johnson-Pitt, a Little League’s senior strategy executive. "And a couple of hands will go up and then I’ll ask, 'Raise your hand if you’re a woman and you wanted to play Little League but you couldn’t because the opportunity didn’t exist. And more hands will go up.

"And I tell them that our goal is that, in 20 years when we go through these trainings and we ask that question, no hands will go up because, regardless of where they lived or what their circumstances were, they had the opportunity to play Little League if they wanted to."

Fifty years later, Little League is still navigating equal access and opportunities for females within its organization. According to its latest research, about 85% of its coaches are men. Softball, its signature sport for girls, lags behind baseball in participation.

Its leadership, however, has an emerging female presence that is promoting it as place for girls, as well as women, to thrive.

Since 2019, its "Girls with Game" initiative has highlighted the achievements of its females and become a monthlong celebration during Women’s History Month in March. As it commemorates 50 years of inclusion and the Little League Softball World Series, it has dedicated $250,000 to supporting females across its programs.

It's trying to establish new softball leagues, encourage more girls to play baseball and more women to coach and umpire up to its highest levels.

"We remain committed within our program to promote inclusion," Johnson-Pitt says. "I think we also have to recognize what's happening in society around us. And that Little League really is just a microcosm of the rest of society."

USA TODAY Sports spoke with Johnson-Pitt and Kevin Fountain, the senior director of communications for Little League International, about these new initiatives and opportunities and what they might mean for you and your daughter.

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Encourage your daughter to play baseball like Maria Pepe did. Little League will support her.

In the aftermath of the Pepe decision, tens of thousands of girls signed up for baseball and Little League started its softball division. Twenty-two girls have played in the Little League Baseball World Series, including the unforgettable Mo’ne Davis in 2015.

But Johnson-Pitt says the idea that girls can continue with baseball through their 12-year-old year isn't clear to everyone.

As a reminder, the organization is selecting 96 girls aged 10-12 to play a baseball tournament from June 7-9 in front of Pepe in Williamsport.

What will also be on display is that idea that Little League’s baseball programs are as open to girls as they are to boys.

"Hopefully, that’ll also inspire girls to know that they can play baseball and that there's room for them in the program," Fountain says. "And we want to encourage them to be part of it."

Most girls start out in Little League playing coed baseball at young ages in its instructional divisions before even trying softball.

"At some point, they have to make a choice," Johnson-Pitt says. "But do they have to make a choice? That’s some of the education: Girls can play either baseball or softball in our program. And we want them to play where they're comfortable. …

"Who knows? Maybe in a couple of years, we'll see that a girl's baseball division is necessary based on the number of girls that want to play."

Little League has seen its softball programs grow by about 8% since 2018. Part of the $250,000 it has devoted to supporting female participation was allocated in hopes of existing leagues with baseball starting or expanding their softball programs.

"We’re on this great momentum wave of women’s sports – Nebraska volleyball and Caitlin Clark, obviously – so we know there’s an appetite for that," Johnson-Pitt says. "We see our viewership numbers for the World Series and regional games continue to increase, so we want to make sure that we’re supporting existing programs to start softball."

No more 'team moms': You have the resources, and the support, to be a coach

Starting next year, Little League will allow kids ages 7 and under to sign up in any local program (baseball or softball) they want, not just the one closest to where they live.

It’s these youngest age divisions where kids can develop a love of a sport. It’s also where a mom can develop a love for coaching.

"We hear about the team moms, and we try and fix that by saying, ‘Use team parents,’ because dads can be dugout dads, too,' " Johnson-Pitt says. "But we know that coaching and umpiring are areas that continue to be primarily male."

Anecdotal evidence, Johnson-Pitt says, shows there are more women coaching in Little League’s lower divisions than its upper ones, where they feel less confident. Little League is dedicated to keeping you and other women at every level.

Its grant program offers aid to women who want to pursue training and development opportunities. Though that program has closed for this year, it could resurface as part of Little League's long-term plan.

In the meantime, as a coach, you can lean on Little League’s partnerships with the Positive Coaching Alliance and Diamond Leader training program. There is also a "Girls With Game" pep talk series from sports celebrities such as Julie Foudy to inspire girls.

However, as a coach, you are the most important influence and role model on kids. And it starts with just being yourself, like you are at home.

"We want to ensure that regardless of the level and regardless of the division, that really the key is that if you care about kids, and you care about community, we have the resources to help you coach in your Little League program," Johnson-Pitt says.

If you’re interested in umpiring, Little League is looking into training specific to women for beginning umpires.

"Moms, get out there," Johnson-Pitt says. "Coach, umpire, just get involved. Your kids will appreciate it, the other parents will appreciate it. But get involved and, if you don’t know how, reach out."

Follow Little League on social media or fill out a support form. Little Little also has a list of FAQs.

"The other way is just work with their league, talk to their district administrator or their regional office as well," Fountain says. "Those are the boots on the ground and they’re gonna be able help locally but really anything on our website will get back to us and we’re happy to support from there."

Moms and daughters: You can help effect change if you speak up and reach out

Nicole Bates dreamed of being the first female pro baseball player. That dream was never realized, at least in part because of a lack of opportunity to play when she was a girl, but she has found ways to stay connected to baseball as a parent and coach for her son.

During the summer of 2021, she became a rare woman to manage a 12U baseball team of boys to Little League regionals, the step before the Little League World Series. When she got to her dorm with her team at the East Regional, she felt Little League's on-site staff wasn't prepared for her. She overheard one employee catch herself from saying she had never hosted a woman manager before.

Bates says she was put up in a hotel, instead of being allowed to stay with her team in the dormitory, and she had limited access to her team while it stayed there.

"I was treated differently than the male managers," she said. "On multiple occasions, I was questioned for being in the few areas in the compound where I was 'allowed' to be, despite wearing a large lanyard, which was clearly visible, identifying me as the D.C. Manager."

After her team was eliminated, which Bates made clear wasn't affected by the lack of access she received, she called Williamsport and had a productive discussion with Pat Wilson, Little League's chief operating officer.

"I made some suggestions, basically saying you’ve got an issue," she told USA TODAY Sports. "It's a male-dominated baseball world, and it's still difficult for women to step forward.

"It needs to be a top-down approach, and I think they've begun to implement that. Shortly thereafter, they actually even named their first female general counsel (Joy Reynolds McCoy)."

Says Johnson-Pitt: "We continue to learn from all of those new interactions that come up and try to improve and get better. I know we have made some adjustments to some of the communication practices that happen at that dorm."

Three years later, if you are woman coaching or volunteering in any of Little League's programs, she says you can feel empowered to speak up: "We are in the midst of launching a new organizational identity and one of our core values is inclusion."

Johnson-Pitt was at a meeting of Little League’s senior leaders the other day, and there were four women sitting around the table. The image also aligns with Little League’s goal of having equal participation opportunities for girls in the Little League program by 2032.

Yes, it’s a far off goal, but it’s a lifetime away from the days of Maria Pepe.

Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for a high schooler and middle schooler. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.

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