By Celina Yin

Do you want to know about the youngest female professional baseball coach and how she came to her career? Her name is Madison Femia. She is a coach of the Joliet Slammers and is 18 years old.

When Madison was young, she played baseball. She enjoyed it a lot, although she was the only girl on the team. “It was fun, but challenging,” Femia said. “I always felt like I was never truly accepted, but I loved the game enough that I never wanted to stop despite what everyone else thought.”

Femia played along other great baseball players from the U.S. in a game in South Korea before COVID. She was on Team USA Elite, and they played in the LG Cup. Her experience was exciting as she played baseball in a professional game and she found the culture, especially the food, interesting.

When Femia went into high school, she still played baseball, despite being the only female on the team. In her second year, she couldn’t play baseball anymore, because her high school coach cut her from the team. She decided to switch to varsity softball instead. Femia figured that it was the closest to baseball during the school season.

When Femia was a senior, she didn’t know that the year would end during a serious pandemic and that she wouldn’t have normal high school celebrations. Although COVID disturbed Femia’s senior year, she found a new opportunity. The Joliet Slammers baseball team in Illinois needed a new coach. Femia couldn’t believe that she was offered to join the coaching staff. “I almost cried in front of my boss. I was so excited. I called my mom and dad as soon as I got out of the building,” Femia said.

Femia coached for bullpen and catching for the Joliet Slammers. On May 27th, she became the first female coach to travel with a team in the Frontier League.

Madison Femia is a legendary coach and she has left a trail for all other female baseball coaches in the future.

Source: https://www.sikids.com/kid-reporter/madison-femia-the-youngest-professional-female-baseball-coach