Balkovec’s breaking barriers

By Makayla Muscat

In November 2019 Rachel Balkovec made history, becoming the first female hitting coach in professional baseball. This summer, the New York Yankees Minor League Coach is in Australia ready for the upcoming season with the Sydney Blue Sox.

According to Balkovec, her new venture with the Sydney Blue Sox will give her the opportunity to gain experience as a hitting coach. She says after the cancellation of the 2020 MLB (Major League Baseball) season in the United States she was grateful to connect with Sydney’s Manager Shane Barclay and travel to Australia. “I was super grateful because of everything going on in the States with Covid,” she says.   

New York Yankees hitting coach Rachel Balkovec is in Australia, ready for the upcoming season with the Sydney Blue Sox. Picture: Rachel Balkovec

Balkovec’s career began as a college softball athlete. Since, she has been hired as the first female full-time strength and conditioning coach in the history of professional baseball and completed two master’s degrees. She says her recent transition from a strength coach to a hitting coach is a step closer to her goal of becoming a manager. “I realised that I wanted to have more of an impact on the culture of the organisation,” she says.

Commenting on the challenges faced during her career, Balkovec says her gender has been her biggest obstacle. She says feminism has opened opportunities and careers for women in roles not related to the physical side of sports being a lot more accepted. “Sports is just another business reaping the benefits of the feminist movement these past five to ten years,” she says.

Balkovec sporting Sydney Blue Sox apparel. Picture: Rachel Balkovec

Last month, Kim Ng also made history, becoming the first female General Manager in any of North America’s major men’s sports leagues. Balkovec says the decision of Derek Jeter, one of the most famous baseball players of all time, to appoint a woman as GM at the Miami Marlins speaks volumes about how qualified Ng is for the position. “I want to be a general manager, that’s my goal and her being hired as a general manager makes my path easier as I go,” she says.

She says coaching is a phenomenal vehicle for athletes to learn how to be good people and use their knowledge to empower others. Balkovec says this season she will continue to connect with the athletes and bring to the Blue Sox her ability to adapt to different scenarios. “It’s (coaching) taught me that life has a purpose, and you have a responsibility to use your gifts and experiences to impact other people positively,” she says.