Best Travelball Podcasts (2024)

1
YBE 168: Select-Level Coaching At Rec Levels 46:54

3M ago46:54

46:54

Grant Cowan, MBSA coach and vice commissioner, shares how to coach your rec league team like a select-level coach in part 1 of this two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week (40:50) about how to manage your kids and coaching staff when losing in a blowout. In this 47-minute episode, you'll learn: how travel ball can do it right …

1
YBE167: Top Tips for 2024 26:30

9M ago26:30

26:30

Rob Tong shares his top seven tips for 2024 that he learned from 2023. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to teach kids situational awareness. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating on iTunes!By Rob Tong

1
YBE 166: Youth Nutrition, Plus Strength Training Q&A with Joey Greany 31:00

1+ y ago31:00

31:00

Joey Greany, assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, finishes up his tour de force on youth baseball strength training with a conversation about nutrition and answering listener questions in part 2 of this two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week (24:29) about whether rec kids should be allowed to use …

1
YBE 165: The Need For Speed (and Strength and Agility and Sleep) with Joey Greany 44:15

1+ y ago44:15

44:15

Speed (and strength and agility) is not just an asset in football and soccer. Youth baseball athletes can greatly benefit from this type of training and Joey Greany, the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, explains why and how in part 1 of this two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about about h…

1
YBE164: Lessons Learned in 2022 32:51

2y ago32:51

32:51

Host Rob Tong looks back on the spring and fall seasons for his three teams in 2022 and whittled down seven lessons that he thinks might be helpful to you for 2023 and beyond. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about about why not teach a level swing if it produces higher batting averages. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about t…

1
YBE 163: How To Properly Coach Third Base with Toby Gardenhire 32:50

2y ago32:50

32:50

While the majority of 1B coaches in youth baseball tend to be spectators rather than coaches, 3B coaches in youth baseball also tend to not fulfill their responsibilities well and/or not know all their responsibilities. Toby Gardenhire, manager of the St. Paul Saints, is back to break it all down for us again in Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus…

1
YBE 162: How To Properly Coach First Base with Toby Gardenhire 33:59

2y ago33:59

33:59

What exactly does a first base coach do in youth baseball? A LOT, actually. Toby Gardenhire, manager of the St. Paul Saints, breaks it all down for us in Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about whether players can be first base coaches. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us …

1
YBE 161: Rules Every Coach Should Know Before Arguing With Umpires, Part 4, with Brandon Jackson 1:14:27

2y ago1:14:27

1:14:27

Test your knowledge of more commonly misunderstood baseball rules with Brandon Jackson, former umpire at the D1/DII/DIII level. Coaches should know these rules before going out to argue with the umpires. This is Part 4 of a four-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about what his hitting philosophy is and how to train it. Pleas…

1
YBE160: Rules Every Coach Should Know Before Arguing With The Umpire, Part 3, with Brandon Jackson 58:13

2+ y ago58:13

58:13

Test your knowledge of fair vs foul, batter's box rules, granting time, the infield fly rule, batted balls hitting objects, how to make appeals and the legality of stealing signs, as well as whether common arguments are myths or truths. Brandon Jackson, former umpire at the D1/D2/D3 level, is back to explain these commonly misunderstood rules coach…

1
YBE 159: Rules Every Coach Should Know Before Arguing With Umpires, Part 2, with Brandon Jackson 50:55

2+ y ago50:55

50:55

Test your knowledge of the rules as Brandon Jackson, former umpire at the collegiate D1/D2/D3 levels, explains more rules every coach should know before arguing with the umpires in Part 2 of a four-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to handle players who don't hustle on the base paths. Please let us (and others) kno…

1
YBE 158: Rules Every Coach Should Know Before Arguing With Umpires, Part 1, with Brandon Jackson 1:12:27

2+ y ago1:12:27

1:12:27

Admit it. You think you know the rules as much as the umpires do. I'll bet you don't. Brandon Jackson, former umpire at the D1/DII/DIII level, explains some rules coaches ought to know before going out to argue with the umpires. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to control young teams in the…

1
YBE 157: How To Play Speedball with David Klein 36:57

2+ y ago36:57

36:57

David Klein explains the details of how the game of Speedball works and what its unique rules are in Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob (and Austin Wasserman) answer the Question of the Week about whether jump ropes are beneficial to 8U players. Please let us (and others) know how you feel about the show by giving us an honest review & rating…

1
YBE 156: What is Speedball? with David Klein 44:04

2+ y ago44:04

44:04

We as coaches work hard to revolutionize youth baseball practices so that it's no longer long, slow and boring. But is there a way to make games less slow and boring? David Klein is back (again) to share his idea for fast-paced youth baseball games where everyone gets lots of reps and no one sits the bench in Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Ro…

1
YBE 155: How To Be A Better Youth Pitching Coach with Jim Brower 43:34

2+ y ago43:34

43:34

If a kid came up to you and asked you to help him with his pitching, would you know how to help him? Jim Brower of Brower Baseball shares his tips on how to analyze and help your youth pitchers in Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about a clear plan of where to start with beginner to intermediate middle schoo…

1
YBE 154: A (Slightly) Different Take On Pitching with Jim Brower 41:52

3y ago41:52

41:52

Jim Brower of Brower Baseball explains why he values training accuracy over training max velocity, plus more of his philosophy on training youth pitchers and how to get started in Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus, Rob answers the Question of the Week about practice plan help for head coaches who don't have any helpers. Please let us (and others…

1
YBE 153: Lessons Learned in 2021 29:37

3y ago29:37

29:37

Reflecting back on the past year is a productive way to see what went well and what could have been better. Consider doing that with your own team to get your own specific lessons learned! In the meantime, Rob shares seven lessons that he learned this past year that may help you for the upcoming year. Plus, Rob answers the Question of the Week abou…

1
YBE 152: Steal More Bases with Tyler Gillum 40:07

3y ago40:07

40:07

Is stealing more bases as simple as telling your kids, "Be aggressive! They can't throw you out!" As kids move up the ranks, defenses CAN throw you out. Then what? Tyler Gillum of South Mountain Community College and the Savannah Bananas tells you what—and how—in part 2 of our two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week (38:11) ab…

1
YBE 151: Advanced Baserunning with Tyler Gillum 46:42

3y ago46:42

46:42

Can advanced baserunning be taught to youth players? Tyler Gillum from South Mountain Community College and the Savannah Bananas says yes, and explains how to teach advanced baserunning to your kids in part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about whether establishing concrete rules of thumb would be better than tr…

1
YBE 150: Growing Entry-Level Players with Justin Sherman 35:28

3y ago35:28

35:28

Teaching entry-level players is arguably the toughest job as a baseball coach. Hitting a baseball is hard enough for adults, much less teaching it to uncoordinated kids. Same goes for pitching/throwing. And then the many rules in the game. How do you help grow beginner players? Justin Sherman from justintimebaseball.com shares his tips in part 2 of…

1
YBE 149: Helping Entry-Level Players with Justin Sherman 41:20

3y ago41:20

41:20

What do you do for entry-level players, be they tee-ballers or 10U? Justin Sherman from justintimebaseball.com shares his techniques for helping the kids who need the most help. This is part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about whether 18-20 players is too big for a varsity team. Please let us (and others) know…

1
YBE148: One-Knee Stances & Calling Pitches with Jay Weaver 34:59

3y ago34:59

34:59

Finishing our discussion of catcher attack angle from the previous episode, Jay Weaver from catchingcamp.com also jumps into one-knee stances for youth catchers as well as simple methods for youth catchers to call pitches and pickoffs. This is part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about considerations for doing w…

1
YBE 147: Catcher Attack Angle: Advanced Receiving with Jay Weaver 47:44

3y ago47:44

47:44

What is catcher attack angle when receiving? Why is it useful and how do I teach it to my youth catchers? Jay Weaver from catchingcamp.com discusses this significant new development in catching in part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to defend against overly aggressive 3B baserunners in 8U. Please let …

1
YBE 146: Train Like A Big League Second Baseman 46:35

3y ago46:35

46:35

Perry Hill, the first base coach and infield coach for the Seattle Mariners, breaks down how you can properly train your second basemen (plus the remainder of our chat on first base play). This is part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to help kids new to kid pitch get over the fear of getting hit by pit…

1
YBE 145: Train Like A Big League First Baseman 48:24

3+ y ago48:24

48:24

If catchers wear the "tools of ignorance", then first basemen play the "position of neglect" because many youth coaches don't teach much to their first basemen even though it is a highly important position. Perry Hill, the first base coach and infield coach for the Seattle Mariners, breaks down how you can properly train your first basemen. This is…

1
YBE 144: Pitching with Drive with Zak Doan 42:17

3+ y ago42:17

42:17

What is "drive" in pitching and is it important? Zak Doan, whose clients range from youth pitchers to Gerrit Cole, shares his thoughts on the subject as well as other pitching issues. Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to help a kid who's hitting grounders in games but fly balls in practices. Please …

1
YBE 143: Improving Pitching Accuracy with Zak Doan 53:47

3+ y ago53:47

53:47

How can we help our young athletes to improve their pitching accuracy? Zak Doan, who works with youth pitchers and whose most famous client is Gerrit Cole, shares some helpful pointers to help kids throw the ball with more accuracy. This is part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to get over the feeling o…

1
YBE 142: Creating Positive Experiences with Deven Morgan 52:38

3+ y ago52:38

52:38

How can we create more positive experiences in youth baseball? How do we help youth athletes are struggling to succeed in baseball? Deven Morgan, Director of Youth Baseball at Driveline Baseball, shares some ideas to help kids have more positive experiences. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about whether any GameChanger stats can be used t…

1
YBE 141: Training Youth Pitchers, The Driveline way with Deven Morgan 52:35

3+ y ago52:35

52:35

Training youth pitchers is not easy (safe to say that's an understatement). What does Driveline do and recommend? Deven Morgan, the Director of Youth Baseball at Driveline Baseball, shares some tips in part one of this two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to help a batter who mashes in training but is late to load…

1
YBE140: Lessons Learned in 2020 37:46

3+ y ago37:46

37:46

2020 may have been a crazy year but there were still youth baseball lessons to be learned. Host Rob Tong looks back on 2020 and distills many things he learned into eight lessons that he shares in this episode. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about whether 8U kids should give verbal pre-pitch defensive reminders. Please let us (and others…

1
YBE 139: 3 Things Killing Youth Baseball (and How To Fix Them) with Steve Ferroli 54:41

4y ago54:41

54:41

Steve Ferroli says three crucial things are killing youth baseball. Is the sport of youth baseball—and the millions of kids participating in it—in serious danger? Does youth baseball need to be saved? Can it be? This is part two of a two-part interview. Plus Rob (and Deven Morgan, the Director of Youth Baseball at Driveline Baseball) answer the Que…

1
YBE 138: Improving on The Science Of Hitting with Steve Ferroli 47:45

4y ago47:45

47:45

What can the Science of Hitting teach you about hitting, and can you improve on the Science of Hitting? Steve Ferroli, the personally-chosen successor to Ted Williams' theory of hitting shares some of his thoughts in part one of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about what travel teams can do in-between games at tourna…

1
YBE137 bonus #2: Tom Griffin's Christian Testimony 6:45

4y ago6:45

6:45

Bonus segment #2: Tom Griffin shares his story of becoming a Christian.By Rob Tong: Youth Baseball Coach, Consultant and Training & Development Leader

1
YBE137 bonus #1: Catcher's Mitts with Tom Griffin 3:55

4y ago3:55

3:55

Bonus segment: Tom Griffin talks catcher's mitts.By Rob Tong: Youth Baseball Coach, Consultant and Training & Development Leader

1
YBE 137: Advanced Basics for Catchers with Tom Griffin, Part 2 48:20

4y ago48:20

48:20

Learn from one of the best as Tom Griffin breaks down more advanced basics for catchers with the finer points of receiving, blocking and throwing, plus strategies, in part two of a two-part interview. Plus Rob (and Nick Esposito) answer the Question of the Week about how to help nine-year-olds build strength for pitching. Please let us (and others)…

1
YBE 136: Advanced Basics for Catchers with Tom Griffin 40:17

4y ago40:17

40:17

If receiving, blocking and throwing are the fundamental aspects of the catcher position, what are the key teaching points of those aspects? What information goes beyond the basics for your catchers to give them more of an edge? Tom Griffin shares some helpful tips in part one of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about …

1
YBE 135: Smarter Practice Planning with Bo Ashabraner 53:00

4y ago53:00

53:00

Practice planning is one of the most frequently asked topics for youth coaches. With so many topics, how do you know what to work on, and when? Bo Ashabraner has some helpful advice so you can plan smarter, not harder, for your practices in part two of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about the benefits of batting lef…

1
YBE 134: Start With A Plan with Bo Ashabraner 53:44

4+ y ago53:44

53:44

Do you have a plan when you start your team? Or when you start a new season? Aside from what drills you want to run, what philosophies do you have for your team—or as Bo Ashabraner puts it, what philosophies do you enforce or tolerate? Bo is here to help us break down some things you may want to consider for your team or season in part one of a two…

1
YBE 133: Advice From The Swing Whisperer with Doug Latta 36:58

4+ y ago36:58

36:58

Taming a wild swing in your youth hitters? The Swing Whisperer is in. Giving advice specifically targeted at the youth and high school level, Doug Latta, aka "The Swing Whisperer", is back to help calm those free-spirited hitters in this finale of a three-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about whether the travel baseball la…

1
YBE 132: Hitting Mechanics That Crush with Doug Latta 49:13

4+ y ago49:13

49:13

At some point, we're going to have to teach hitting mechanics to our kids if the kids are going to advance to the next level of hitting. Doug Latta, aka "The Swing Whisperer", returns to help give us some insight on hitting mechanics that could literally be game-changers in part 2 of a three-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week…

1
YBE 131: Talking Hitting and Going Deep with Doug Latta 39:25

4+ y ago39:25

39:25

There is no shortage of hitting advice, particularly on the internet. Some good. Some not so good. And some just plain awful. Doug Latta, aka "The Swing Whisperer", helps us sort out some of the information from the misinformation in part 1 of a three-part interview. Plus Rob (and Austin Wasserman) answer the Question of the Week about what age to …

1
YBE 130: Helping Your Team Bond with David Klein 34:26

4+ y ago34:26

34:26

Mental health is declining for more young people than ever before, thanks to digital technology. Is there anything youth baseball coaches can do to help young athletes? Or is this only a problem for counselors? David Klein gives practical, actionable advice to help our team grow closer together and improve our players' mental health in part 2 of a …

1
YBE 129: The Importance of Unplugging with David Klein 41:22

4+ y ago41:22

41:22

Video screens (video games, mobile phones) are probably one of the last things we consider when it comes to baseball. Yet screen time leaves a bigger footprint in our kids' lives than we think—yes, even on the baseball field. Former guest David Klein returns to discuss this important yet under-recognized aspect of our kids' athletic lives in part 1…

1
YBE 128: Lessons Learned in 2019 56:51

5y ago56:51

56:51

As we start the new year and the new season, you can make significant strides by remembering to avoid mistakes (and repeating successes) you made in the past. Rob Tong shares lessons learned from several members of Edge Nation, Pete Caliendo, and three lessons Rob learned in 2019. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week (47:31) about what tee to …

1
YBE 127: How Non-Elite Players Can Get To The Next Level with Joshua Band 32:00

5y ago32:00

32:00

Most high school players are not showcase-type players. What must these players do to get to the next level? Do they have any chance? Joshua Band, founder of PlateCrate, addresses these issues and more in Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about what one product a middle school coach on a limited budget should…

1
YBE 126: How Top Players Can Get To The Next Level with Joshua Band 41:00

5y ago41:00

41:00

What must a top high school baseball prospect do to get to the next level? What is important in a player promo video? Joshua Band, founder of PlateCrate, shares his thoughts on how players & parents can help propel towards playing college baseball in Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about whether a full-time…

1
YBE 125: Hope or Hype? Evaluating Baseball Products & Protocols with Dr. Chris McKenzie 34:00

5y ago34:00

34:00

With so many baseball products and ideologies competing in the marketplace, how do you know which ones work and which ones don't...or even worse, which ones make you worse? Are things like long toss and weighted baseballs just hype by their promoters? Are things like the Core Velocity Belt, Rope Trainer or the Durathro sock just hype by their inven…

1
YBE 124: Understanding Pitching Tightness & Flexibility with Dr. Chris McKenzie 44:28

5y ago44:28

44:28

When we help our kids learn to pitch, how much does tightness and flexibility play in the kids' ability to pick up what we teach? Dr. Chris McKenzie, a board-certified sports & orthopedic physical therapist, discusses these issues in Part 2 of a three-part interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about the catcher position will be a was…

1
YBE 123: The Kinetic Chain in Pitching with Dr. Chris McKenzie 47:08

5y ago47:08

47:08

What is the kinetic chain? How does it work with pitchers? Is it important to know? What do we need to know about it? Dr. Chris McKenzie, a board-certified sports & orthopedic physical therapist, goes over these concepts in Part 1 of a three-part (yes, three part) interview. Plus Rob answers the Question of the Week about drills for helping a 7-yea…

1
YBE 122: Question Of The Week Mega Show #2 52:22

5y ago52:22

52:22

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!By Rob Tong: Youth Baseball Coach, Consultant and Training & Development Leader

1
YBE 121: Question Of The Week Mega Show #1 36:35

5+ y ago36:35

36:35

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!By Rob Tong: Youth Baseball Coach, Consultant and Training & Development Leader

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Travelball Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide