By Beth Stewart
Medill Reports

When Taylor Daniels got cut from her all boys baseball team at age 13, she didn’t let that roadblock stop her from playing the sport she loved. Instead, she addressed the setback by building her own playing field, the organization Illinois Girls Baseball.

The non-profit organization, which the Winnetka teen co-founded with her father Rob Daniels in 2015, creates opportunities for girls to play baseball with other girls at camps, clinics, and tournaments with hopes of eventually building an all girls baseball league in Illinois.

It is through this community of girls baseball that the Humboldt Park Gators, Chicago’s first all-girls baseball team, came to fruition. The Gators, who are still looking to add to their roster, will take the field in May in the 12 & under Roberto Clemente Little League.

Currently, the organization is hosting weekly girls baseball clinics at the Chicago Baseball and Education Academy on Sundays through March 15 for girls aged 8 to 18.

Daniels now plays on the all girls team the Windy City Huskies in Winnetka.