Known for her dedication to the Little Leaguers® not only on her team, but throughout the league, Jessica Lewis is a pillar of North Accomack Little League in Chincoteague, Virginia. An advocate for fairness and inclusion in youth sports, Lewis spends hours in her role as League Vice President, ensuring balanced teams so that every player has a positive experience and an opportunity to develop as a player and as a person.
Lewis was recognized for the creativity, enthusiasm, and heart that shine through her coaching style and was named the 2025 Little League Baseball® Coach of the Year, Supported by Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).
“It’s beyond a huge honor. I have been a part of Little League for about five years now. I have gone from Tee Ball to Coach Pitch and then, of course, the only woman in the program as my son’s coach,” said Lewis. “It can be hard because I am a younger coach and I am a female, but I have grown up with these kids in our community, so knowing I have been named Coach of the Year without knowing it was even a possibility means that I have been successful in teaching them more than just baseball.”
Recognized as the November 2025 Little League® Diamond Leader of the Month, Lewis shared her training experience in a Diamond Leader Discussion:
Why do you think it is important for coaches and volunteers to take the Little League Diamond Leader Training Program?
The Diamond Leader training program focuses on mental well-being and everything outside of the actual skill set on the baseball field. You can be the best pitcher, you can run those bases quicker than anyone, but if you don’t have the mental capacity to handle everything you face as a player, you’re not going to excel. As a coach, if you don’t have the training opportunities to implement that for your players, they are going to fail. They have to navigate the game and be able to have setbacks and errors; that mental load alone is so stressful. If you, as a coach, don’t understand that, then you’re not going to connect with them.
What lessons from the training specifically do you plan to carry into future seasons?
When it comes to the training, a specific lesson that I always carry with me is the mental side of the game. Kids in the 8-10 range carry a lot of pressure with them, whether it is school, homework, building friendships, or anything really. Every practice, I make it a point to warm up and throw with each player and ask them about their day. When they open up, I look for ways to connect their challenges to the game in a positive manner. The Diamond Leader training emphasizes the significance of building not just young athletes’ skills, but their confidence, too. I am going to continue to instill that mental confidence in them so they know that they can push through whatever is thrown at them.
What does it mean to you to be a Diamond Leader, and why should others strive to be the same?
It means to me that I have all of the tools that I need to be a good coach. Kids are going to come back to coaches that they like. Kids are going to come back whether they win or lose because they had somebody who cared about them… Sometimes people say, “I know how to coach, I know how to do this.” But that’s not always the case. We have to connect with these players, and it requires doing the training and giving the pep talks and remembering it’s not just about playing baseball.
The Little League Diamond Leader program, which was first piloted with nearly 1,000 Little League volunteers throughout the 2022 season, was created as part of the Susan Crown Exchange’s Million Coaches Challenge and developed in coordination with the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. Focused on ensuring children have a positive, well-rounded experience on and off the field, the Little League Diamond Leader Training Program is a FREE educational resource that provides coaches with an understanding of the impact that mental, social, and emotional well-being has in youth sports through detailed information, interactive scenarios, and a variety of additional resources. Learn more and become a Diamond Leader yourself by visiting LittleLeague.org/DiamondLeader.