Kayla Norsworthy grew up watching sports, either on TV with her grandfather or in-person at Tampa Bay Rays games.
As a kid, Norsworthy saw fans at a Tampa Bay Rays game getting autographs on baseball trading cards. This inspired her to start her own sports trading card collection.
She mainly collects baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, women’s basketball and women’s softball. She also tries to collect every card of Cincinnati Reds’ Austin Hayes.
Since then, Norworthy, 21, has spoken at different trading card events around the country, has collected a few thousand cards and has accumulated a following on social media.
For years, Norsworthy wanted to organize an all-girls trading card night because trade nights mostly attract males.
“There’s very few places that female collectors can feel invited and welcomed to, and if they aren’t super confident in their collecting, then they may not go to those trade nights,” said Norsworthy. “Earlier this year, there was a lot that went on with males in the hobby, kind of degrading females in a way, and for years and years, I’ve wanted to host an all-girls trade night because there’s nothing like this that exists in the hobby currently.”
Norsworthy saw a YouTube video of Baseball Card Collection in Effingham and its owners, Lisa and Jon Schafer, so she connected with them online. In spring 2025, Norsworthy – who lives in Nashville – and the Schafers spoke online about organizing an all-girls trade night.
On Norsworthy’s way to be a spokesperson at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, she spent a few days in Effingham to be a guest at the first all-girls trade night hosted by Baseball Card Collection.
“Kayla’s message is to promote the hobby,” said Lisa Schafer. “We hope that this will be a movement of ‘Her Hobby Trade Night.’ She created the ‘Her Hobby Trade Night’ logo, and we hope that it will just come along and spread all over the United States and the world.”
Effingham County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Katie Koester attended the event to support her friends the Schafers and their business.
“Baseball Card Connection’s huge for this community,” said Koester. “It’s a big deal around here, and I think it’s really neat to see that it’s not just a hobby for boys. Girls can trade sports cards, too, and they’re into it, as well, and I think it’s great to celebrate that it’s a ‘her hobby,’ as well.”
Five years ago, Koester began collecting Toronto Blue Jays’ Chad Green cards because the two of them grew up together as friends. Green graduated from Effingham High School, and he made his Major League Baseball debut with the New York Yankees.
“When he got his first card, they actually got it here in the store, and Lisa called me, and she was like, ‘I got Chad Green cards,’ and I said, ‘I gotta see them,’” said Koester. “That’s kind of what started it.”
Similar to Koester, Alyssa Klukis of Ingraham recently started collecting baseball cards. She has less than 100 cards in her collection.
Klukis received her great-uncle’s complete card collection, but she wants to build her own.
“I don’t really count those because it’s a complete set,” said Klukis. “I don’t get to do it myself.”
As a regular shopper at Baseball Card Connection, Klukis saw flyers for the event in the store, so she brought some of her duplicate cards to trade during the event.
“My fiance and I were like, ‘Let’s pick it up again,’ because we both traded and did it when we were younger. So we just got back into it,” said Klukis.
The free event had treats, goodie bags, raffle drawings and more.
“If one person came, that would’ve been great because we’re changing one girl, and it’s just one at a time,” said Lisa Schaffer. “That’s just what it’s all about is having fun.”
“I didn’t know how many people were going to show up because this is the first time anything like this has been run,” said Norsworthy. “Seeing how many people are here and how many young girls are here is really, really cool to see.”