There was an added face at Wests Tigers training on Friday as Major League Baseball Coach Rachel Balkovec visited the team.
A full-time hitting coach for the renowned New York Yankees, Balkovec spent time shadowing the club's football department throughout the day — from meetings through to field and gym sessions followed by player meetings and video.
In 2019, Balkovec became the first woman to be hired as a full-time hitting coach for a Major League Baseball team having previously worked for the Houston Astros as their Latin American Strength and Conditioning Coordinator.
The Nebraska-born Balkovec also has formal graduations from the University of New Mexico (Exercise Science, 2009) as well as a Master's degree in Kinesiology from the Louisana State University, before moving to the Netherlands to earn two master’s degrees in the science of human movement.