Pitching for Change

For the first time in Conifer High School history, a female athlete has decided to join the baseball team. Sophomore Emerson Brooks began her baseball journey as a little kid, playing in elementary school and the start of middle school. After a few years Brooks quit, but she decided to resume her baseball career with the Conifer Lobos.
“I ended up quitting just because I thought it was weird being the only girl. Then I started to get back into it and decided I didn’t care and still loved it,” said Brooks.
After Brooks decided to join the high school team, she began participating in the team’s pre-season and fall ball. This year, her goal is to make the L3 team and establish herself in the sport with the team and her coaches.
“When I walked in the first day I got a bunch of weird stares and I was worried about what the community was going to be like,” Brooks said.
Brooks started her baseball career when she joined Little League, which is an organization of baseball and/or softball programs for kids worldwide that focuses on sportsmanship and community. 2024 was a big benchmark in history for females in Little League, celebrating 50 years since girls were officially allowed to play in Little League Baseball. According to Little League Female Inclusion, currently, 32% of their baseball and softball players are female.
“I played baseball all through elementary school and into the first year of middle school. I always loved playing baseball because it was also a way to connect to my father because he was a big baseball geek, and we would always play catch,” Brooks said.
Entering high school, the number of females playing baseball remained small. According to Statista, in 2023-2024 females made up 0.29% of players on high school baseball teams.
“I think joining baseball made me a lot more confident as a person. It also made me think that I can do stuff on my own, and I don’t need other people’s permission or need to be worried about what other people think,” Brooks said.
As a sophomore, Brooks is frequently asked about why she never played her freshman year. The help from her friends and the support from her dad pushed her back into the sport.
“When joining I looked up to my father. He was always an assistant coach on my past teams and was always very helpful. He kept me going. He’s an amazing father and I’m very grateful for what he did,” Brooks said.
Brooks has a strong bond with her father, which has only grown with her interest in baseball.
“I always have admired Lou Gehrig,” Brooks said.
Lou Gehrig (also known as “The Iron Horse”) was an American baseball player, who is often referred to as one of the best first basemen players in Major League Baseball history. He played his career with the New York Yankees from 1823-1839. Two years after his career ended, he passed away due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
“My father introduced me to him and I have looked up and admired him since. I wish he was still alive so I could have watched him play live,” Brooks said.
Conifer High School has a successful softball team that went to state in 2024. Due to this, Brooks gets many questions about why she hasn’t joined the team.
“Softball and baseball are both very different games, with different rules and equipment. I have never been interested in the sport of softball, only baseball,” Brooks said.
When girls get to the high school and college level teams, the options for co-ed or girls’ baseball teams are slim to none, which usually forces girls to just play on softball teams.
“I’ve never tried softball. I’ve played baseball growing up and that’s the sport I loved, not softball,” Brooks said.
Alongside the mental challenges and team difficulties that come as a result of Brooks joining high school baseball, there will also be physical difficulties. On average, males tend to have stronger throwing arms than girls, especially in terms of speed and distance. This is due to differences in muscle mass and upper body strength that males are more often born with than females. Brooks plans to overcome this through technique and training.
“Especially because I haven’t been playing for two to three years, it’s going to be hard to get my strength up again. I was still out and doing stuff, but it’s not the same as throwing and hitting and training every day. So I know, especially this year, I’ll struggle with getting my strength up because my body just physically isn’t up to guys,” Brooks said.
Although boys typically have more muscle mass, some girls can be equally as fast and agile.  Baseball, like most sports, requires stamina for both fielding and batting, and these demands can be similar for both genders. Physical conditioning plays a significant role in how well someone can perform in sports, including baseball. Brooks plans to develop these attributes so she can compete with her teammates.
“One thing that’s helped me through joining the team is what my mom always tells me: If anyone ever looks at you weird for what you’re doing, look them straight in the eyes and tell them that you’re doing this to be confident in yourself and your own goals. Tell them to accept the fact that I’m not as strong as others, but I can work hard on my physical abilities and earn my respect that way,” Brooks said.
Last year, Conifer’s Varsity baseball team had a winning percentage of 47.83%, finishing with an 11-12 record and ranking 6th in 4A Jefferson County. This year, Brooks plans on continuing fall ball with the team, with high hopes of making the L3 team. She wants to continue working hard to get back into the sport and find a place on her team, even with the difficulties she knows may lie ahead.
“If you love what you do or play, you are always in the right place and meant to be there. I am just a person who loves baseball and loves to play baseball, and I happen to be a girl. Being a girl is not a limitation, it is only a gender. Yes, I may need to work harder, but that does not make me different from any other players. In the end, we are all just here to play ball,” Brooks said.