The Youth Baseball Edge Podcast with Rob Tong: Coaching | Drills | Strategy

Rob Tong answers 8 more Question Of The Week submission, including some tryout questions, how to help a team frequently striking out looking, how to teach back picks to a 9U team, and more. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Rob Tong devotes this entire episode to answering several Question Of The Week submissions and hopefully you can gain something practical & actionable from the answers. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

How do you help develop competitive toughness in players who aren't by nature that way? There's no silver bullet but Milwaukee Brewers minor league pitching coordinator Jake McKinley shares some pro tips to help us help our players be more competitively tough. Plus Austin Wasserman has the Wass Strength Tip of the Week on kettle bell front rack reverse lunges. And Rob answers the Question of the Week about whether it's worth trying to hold runners on at third base. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Milwaukee Brewers minor league pitching coordinator Jake McKinley discusses how to build competitive toughness in youth baseball players. Plus Austin Wasserman has the Wass Strength Tip of the Week on single leg RDLs. And Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to help hitters who adjust to umpires making bad strike zone calls. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Do details matter? This is baseball, not science, right? Doesn't focusing on details suck the fun out of the game or practice? Highly successful high school coach Trent Mongero of Glyn Academy (Ga) explains the detail he goes through with his players. Plus Austin Wasserman is back with the Wass Strength Tip of the Week on managing athletes with Osgood Schlatter's Disease. And Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to help hitters use their legs more in the swing. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

The siren call of sexy-looking drills is a temptation to many a coach. We wouldn't want to be called "the boring coach", would we? Fast-forwarding through the fundamentals can be a dominant thought when we want to be "the cool coach." In this episode, Trent Mongero, the head coach at Glyn Academy (Ga) encourages us to focus on the fundamentals and shares his foundational drills with us—drills he uses even with college players. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about what to do when the back foot skips forward during the swing and the back foot is on the toes after the swing. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

We do a deep dive in ground forces to improve hitting. What is "leg-to-leg transfer speed"? How do you troubleshoot? What about coming up with swing mechanics by analyzing swing video? Justin Stone of Elite Baseball Training explains key concepts to help you help your kids improve their hitting. This is Part 2 of 2. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

When we think of improving power in the batting swing, how often does "ground forces" come to mind? Probably never, for most people. So does that mean it's not important? If it is important, how do we tap into it? Justin Stone of Elite Baseball Training shares what he's learned regarding ground forces and how to teach it. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

What lessons have you learned while coaching in 2018? Now that the year is in the books, it's a good time to reflect back on what transpired and see if there's anything you learned that you may be able to apply in 2019. Rob Tong shares seven coaching lessons he learned in 2018, and Paul Niggebrugge and Trent Mongero share the lessons they each learned in 2018. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

We've heard about the mental game but how do we actually apply it to our baseball coaching? How do we make the concept of mental game more practical? Brian Cain, #1 international best-selling author, speaker and coach, helps us with exactly that. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

When one of your players doesn't feel confident on a particular day—or even throughout a particular season—what do you do? When a kid isn't having the results he wishes he had, what do you do? When you are looking for team leaders, what do you do? Brian Cain, a #1 international best-selling author, speaker and coach, helps answer some of these mental game questions and many others to help you give your team the edge. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Last time, Rob Tong gave several small tips that can yield big improvements. They were small in the sense that they are minor changes to what you already do for your team. In today's show, Rob gives several big tips that can yield big improvements. This round of tips is "big" in the sense that they will change the culture of your team or program and generally will require a long-term vision and implementation. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Did you know that if you are traveling from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. and are off-course by just one degree, you'd end up in Baltimore? Small changes can sometimes have big consequences. And sometimes that applies to coaching youth baseball as well. Many times we're looking for that magic bullet that will make our kids enormously better—yet sometimes we just need to make some small, fine-tuned adjustments. Rob Tong shares seven seemingly minor changes coaches and parents can make to help kids make big improvements. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about what is the best hitting aid for youth baseball. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Can pitch recognition skills separate the good batters from the great batters? Can pitch recognition training help overcome some common hitting flaws? Peter Fadde, author of "The Sixth Tool: Training Baseball Pitch Recognition", explores this and other topics related to pitch recognition. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about what is the best hitting aid for youth baseball. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

What is "pitch recognition"? How is it different from "vision training"? How do you recognize pitches anyway? Peter Fadde, author of "The Sixth Tool: Training Baseball Pitch Recognition", shares his thoughts. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

How do you become an ump in youth leagues like Little League? How do you become a high school ump? College? Pros? What makes a good ump? Brandon Jackson, a long-time and well-respected collegiate umpire, shares his thoughts on these and other umpire-related topics. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Ever wonder what an umpire's thinking? What IS an umpire's strike zone supposed to be? Here's your chance to find out. Brandon Jackson, a long-time and well-respected collegiate umpire, explains umpiring philosophies and goes through some commonly misunderstood baseball rules that you might need to know someday. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about whether the tennis swing will ruin the baseball swing. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

How is the health of your relationship with your baseball-playing child? How would you know? Is pushing your child always wrong? Rob Tong addresses these questions and introduces the Open Baseball Journal. Learn ten questions you should ask your player(s) after each season that will help keep your relationship with your player(s) on the right track—or to get on the right track if you've been derailed. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to help kids know how to end plays on defense. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

If you had $5,000 to spend on youth baseball, what would you spend it on? Pitching coach? Hitting coach? Travel teams for exposure and experience? Strength training? High tech gear? Ben Brewster, founder of Tread Athletics, explains why strength training should be the majority of your budget. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to help kids know how to end plays on defense. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

YBE has devoted several sessions to strength training. But how important is strength training anyway? Ben Brewster, founder of Tread Athletics, explains why strength training can help you bust through your current limitations. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Does your batting practice consist of you pitching, one kid hitting and everyone else standing around in the field...while telling the batter to swing level? Josh Rodrigues, assistant coach at Salve Regina University, discusses some modern hitting concepts and practical ways to help your hitters. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to help kids know how to end plays on defense. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com introduces us to offset squats. Plus, this is your last week to enter a giveaway for free YBE swag (hint: listen to YBE Session #100)! Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

What are the hitting philosophies you teach your players? How did you come to embrace those philosophies? And what evidence do you have to support your philosophies? Josh Rodrigues, assistant coach at Salve Regina University, talks about modern hitting philosophies that's backed by stats and research. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to help hitters adapt to pitchers with wildly varying velocities. And find out how to win YBE swag! Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

How does brain training for athletes differ from, say, doing a bunch of Sudoku puzzles? John Kennedy, founder and primary neuroplastician of Combat Brain Training, explains more about brain training and how it can benefit athletes. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to help hitters adapt to pitchers with wildly varying velocities. And find out how to win YBE swag! Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

You've likely heard of the mental game of baseball—especially on this podcast. But you may not have heard of brain training, which is different from the mental game. John Kennedy, founder and primary neuroplastician of Combat Brain Training, explains what brain training is and how it can benefit youth baseball players. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about lunging during the swing and handling parents who give unhelpful tips. And Austin Wasserman of wassermanstrength.com discusses first baseman training protocols in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

As your kid gets older, telling your kid what to do may not get the same mileage as when your kid was younger. In this latest in my series on Baseball Dads, Rob Friedman, the Pitching Ninja, shares how he helped influence his son Jack's development, as well as the high school team that Rob helps coach, without needing to bark commands and make demands. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Plus Austin Wasserman of wassermanstrength.com shares frontal plane movements in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

The latest in my series on Baseball Dads, Rob Friedman, the Pitching Ninja, shares how he helped his son Jack to get a baseball scholarship to Georgia Tech, a Division I college baseball team. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about machine pitch vs. coach pitch. And Austin Wasserman of wassermanstrength.com shares a forearm strengthening tool and exercise in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Getting started with strength training for youth players? Nick Esposito of espositostrengthclub.com gives some thoughts on functional movement screens, planning workouts and whether certain familiar warmup routines are helpful or hurtful. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Plus Austin Wasserman of wassermanstrength.com shares the dangers of plank marathons and sit ups in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Is strength training important for youth baseball? How do you get started? Nick Esposito of espositostrengthclub.com and the Strength & Conditioning Coach at Austin Wasserman and Bobby Tewksbary's AB Athletics facility shares his thoughts. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about why in-step pressure is important in the swing. And Austin Wasserman of wassermanstrength.com shares fitness games for youth athletes in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

I talk pitching with Lantz Wheeler of BaseballThinkTank.com and creator of the Core Velocity Belt. A variety of pitching thoughts are discussed and perhaps you can take away a few things and implement them with your team. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

How do you best teach kids to pitch? By NOT focusing on pitching mechanics, of course! If that raised your eyebrow, Lantz Wheeler of BaseballThinkTank.com and creator of the Core Velocity Belt explains why. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about what to say to kids before a big game. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

What do you do as a coach when a parent is giving you grief? What do you do as a parent when a coach appears to be doing something you don't like? Dayn Perry of CBS Sports goes through some scenarios to help give some guidance on how to help improve those parent-coach relationships. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about whether game experience is better than training, or vice-versa. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

How should baseball parents behave and interact with coaches? Dayn Perry of CBS Sports offers his insights into the role of baseball parents that provide the best chance of team harmony. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about whether travel ball is necessary to get into high school ball. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Dan Keller of DugoutCaptain.com shares more ideas for making practices fun. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about what it means to 'stay connected.' And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com explains the floor dumbbell press for youth baseball and softball players in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Dan Keller of DugoutCaptain.com shares his ideas for making practice fun again. What exactly does that mean? And how do you do it? Tune in and find out. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to improve players' baseball IQ. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com shares his own practice plan and post-game recap templates for youth baseball and softball players in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Double the fun! Last week, I had 15 baseball coaches share the lessons they've learned in 2017, including Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv, Tucker Frawley of Yale University and Billy Boyer of Seattle University. This week, I have 15 more baseball coaches share, including Paul Niggebrugge, Rick Strickland, Houston Astros hitting coach Jeff Albert, Tim Corbin and more. This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Plus Justin Stone of Elite Baseball Training answers the Question Of The Week about where lefties should play in the field. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com explains the kettle bell waiter walk for youth baseball and softball players in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

15 different amateur baseball coaches share the lessons they've learned in 2017, including Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv, Tucker Frawley of Yale University and Billy Boyer of Seattle University. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Plus Travis Kerber of Elite Baseball Training answers the Question Of The Week about a "kid-safe" curve ball. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com tells us about the floor dumbbell press for youth baseball and softball players in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

You have a full-time job that doesn't involve coaching baseball. You volunteer to coach your kid's team and want to be as efficient as Tim Corbin. Is it a pipe dream or is it possible? Pete Caliendo, host of the Baseball Outside The Box podcast, offers multiple tips for volunteer coaches to be more effective. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about where to start when teaching six-year-olds. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com tells us about Kettlebell Waiter Walks in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

You have a full-time job that doesn't involve coaching baseball. You volunteer to coach your kid's team and want to be as efficient as Tim Corbin. Is it a pipe dream or is it possible? Pete Caliendo, host of the Baseball Outside The Box podcast, offers multiple tips for volunteer coaches to be more effective. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about where to start when teaching six-year-olds. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com tells us about Kettlebell Waiter Walks in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

When parents volunteer to become a coach, these volunteer parents often soon realize coaching is not as easy as they thought and become overwhelmed by the responsibilities. Pete Caliendo, host of the Baseball Outside The Box podcast, offers tips for helping the legion of volunteer parents who are coaching youth baseball. This is part 1 of a two-part interview. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

To get a better understanding of how successful national elite travel teams operate, you should better understand their philosophies. Rudy Garcia, who won the Elite World Series four years in a row as head coach (8U-11U), shares many of his philosophies in coaching his travelball team. This is part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com tells us about single leg lunges in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

How does a top travel team get run? Rudy Garcia, head coach of an elite national travel team from Wilson MVP Elite, gives some fantastic tips on running a successful travel team, although much of the discussion can also apply to rec leagues. This is part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers how to handle difficult parents. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com introduces us to Turkish Get-Ups for youth baseball players in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Based on our current understanding, we won't be able to guard 100% against arm pain. But with the knowledge we do have, what are some things we can do to help reduce the risk of arm pain? Randy Sullivan of the Florida Baseball Ranch offers some suggestions to help guard against arm injuries. This is part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Travis Kerber of Elite Baseball Training answers the Question Of The Week about what age to introduce the curve ball to pitchers. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com brings us the Pallof Press with Weighted Perturbations in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

How can we have strict pitch counts and play multiple sports instead of pitching all year round...and still have so many baseball arm injuries? Randy Sullivan of Florida Baseball Ranch discusses the touchy issues of arm pain. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Even in an era of baseball data, a radar gun at the youth level seems like a luxury. But is it a luxury—or a must-have? Pocket Radar co-founder and CEO Steve Goody discusses how the Ball Coach model can help coaches help their pitchers and hitters. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers whether organizations like Baseball Factory would be useful for instructional or motivational purposes for a 13-year-old. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com teaches us about one of his all-time fave exercises—trunk rotation for youth baseball players in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Is the Motus Baseball sleeve more gimmick or good? Every baseball product claims to do wonders. Does Motus Baseball help improve performance/help prevent injury? I discuss the merits of Motus Baseball with Will Carroll, the Media Relations Director for Motus Global. Plus Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com explains what bullpens are, what the benefits are and how he tracks them in the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

If you're teaching tee ball kids, there's no nuance. It's all the absolute, bare bones basics. It's a good day if the kids can just throw the ball somewhere within three feet of you. Teaching tee ball requires extra patience, which is why making practice segments fun is so crucial—for both the kids' AND the coaches' sake. Marty Schupak returns in Part 2 of a two-part interview to discuss how to run practices for tee ball teams. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about how to help structure practices for a 7U machine pitch team consisting of players of varying skill level. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Resources for tee ball coaches are pretty scarce. If you are—or will be—coaching tee ball kids, Marty Schupak delivers some great advice for coaches teaching the youngest of baseball athletes. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about how to find a hitting coach for an 8-10 year old. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

What's your #1 baseball goal for your kid? Paul Reddick, who was a previous YBE guest on episodes 41 and 42, is certain there is something deeper there, and that you need to communicate that to your kids. But how? Paul explains this important concept in this interview. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about how to help field leaders become more vocal leaders. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

Naturally, confidence is a key component of a player's mental game. But can we really impact confidence? Dr. Tom Hanson, co-author of "Heads Up Baseball 2.0", discusses this and provides some amazing tips to help our kids' confidence. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about how to kindle (or re-kindle) passion for the game among youth players. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!

We talk quite a bit about the mental game here on Youth Baseball Edge. But is it a separate area of focus from the physical? Dr. Tom Hanson, co-author of "Heads Up Baseball 2.0", discusses this and provides some practical tips to help our kids up their mental game. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about how to handle kids who miss practice when you're teaching a progression. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!