By Spencer Drake
There has been a recent exciting progression in the world of baseball that could change the sport over the past couple of weeks. Taylor Jackson, an Alabama native, was recently promoted as an assistant coach for the Greenville Drive, the Boston Red Sox High-A affiliate. Jackson will be the first female on-field coach in the team’s history.
“When I got the phone call offering me the position, I was super excited. I had been hoping for an opportunity once the video internship ended, and was excited to get the call. I think this will be a great opportunity to develop as a coach, especially being back in Greenville with a familiar staff (and also some new staff),” said Jackson.
Jackson did not forget to thank those who had given her an opportunity and pushed her to pursue this career. Her coaching interest really did not peak until she was surrounded by the coaching staff at Louisiana Tech. They helped her see that coaching baseball was what she wanted to pursue for the foreseeable future.
“I then began to take more interest in coaching baseball and the coaching staff at LA Tech allowed me to come help out as a volunteer. The 2020-21 season was unbelievable, which helped me to realize I definitely wanted to work in baseball. I’m so grateful for Coach Burroughs, Coach Gaspard, Coach Silva, and Coach Miller allowing me the opportunity to come on with the team,” said Jackson.
Head Coach Lane Burroughs at Louisiana Tech voiced how appreciative he was of Jackson’s time volunteering for his program during the 2020-2021 season. He talked of how much of an impact she had and how he could see a bright future ahead of her.
“Taylor was just a pleasure to be around. Very intelligent, tremendous work ethic and an extreme desire to learn and grow. She literally just showed up and wanted to help with our program. It didn’t take long for her to gain the respect of the coaches, players and everyone within our organization. She has that hunger to succeed with zero ego. I will always have her back and anything she accomplishes in life will not surprise me. I’m a big Taylor Jackson fan and we are so proud of her,” said Burroughs.
Jackson hopes that her success will inspire other women to see that there is always a possibility to pursue a career they truly want. Seeing other women take steps in the right direction in turn inspired her to take her own steps.
“I think women working in baseball is becoming more common, now that the door has been opened. Being able to see someone like you in a certain role can help you see the possibility of being in a similar position one day, which is cool,” said Jackson.
Taylor Jackson is just another example of someone wanting a dream and working hard to reach it. She is an inspiration for all that desire a certain role in life, but feel like they cannot reach it. Push the boundaries and it may just surprise others what all can be accomplished.
