Tommy Hottovy, Chicago Cubs’ Coordinator of Advance Scouting: Run Prevention, helps explain what his job is and how he helps his team prepare better game plans using data analytics. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Show notes
YBE 069: Double Play Feeds with Billy Boyer
Billy Boyer, assistant coach at the University of Washington, gives a detailed tutorial on how to teach the many intricate aspects of high-level double play feeds. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview.
Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about how to help tee-ball players hit with more power more consistently.
Show notes
YBE 068: Play Like A Middle Infielder with Billy Boyer
Billy Boyer, assistant coach at the University of Washington, helps break down some of the nuances that can help elevate the infield play of your players. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Show notes
YBE 067: Helpful Baseball Tech with Kyle Boddy
Kyle Boddy, founder of Driveline Baseball, discusses—among other things—what baseball tech is worthwhile. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview.
Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about how to handle fielding slumps.
Show notes
YBE 066: How Data Can Improve Your Training with Kyle Boddy
Kyle Boddy, founder of Driveline Baseball, discusses overload/underload training with bats—a new area of research-backed baseball training—as well as overload/underload training for pitchers, and more. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview.
Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about what the hands should be doing during the load & stride.
Show notes
YBE 065: Higher-Level Catching with Tanner Swanson
Tanner Swanson, assistant coach at the University of Washington and popular speaker on the topic of catching, gives some key insights on how to help your intermediate-level and advanced youth, high school and college catchers. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview.
Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about whether kids should cheer and enjoy the moment, or keep calm and “act like they’ve been there before”. And Austin Wasserman of WassStrength.com tells us about his Base Stealing: Leads & Footwork ebook that talks about creating shin angle and direction in his Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Show notes
YBE 064: The Value Of Youth Catchers with Tanner Swanson
Tanner Swanson, assistant coach at the University of Washington and popular speaker on the topic of catching, sets the vision for us on what it takes to develop good catchers and then begins to share how to make that happen at the younger levels. Plus Justin Stone of EliteBaseball.TV answers the Question Of The Week about whether it’s worth teaching kids how to bunt. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com shares the Supine Anti-Resistance Movement to create separation between the pelvis and the torso in his Wass Strength Tip Of The Week. Show notes
YBE 063: Pitcher Whispering with Brent Kemnitz
Brent Kemnitz, distinguished former pitching coach for Wichita State, shares some insight on how he coached the mental side of pitching with his pitching staff. We don’t want to talk our pitchers into a slump, as he warned in Part 1 of my interview, but we do want to get them feeling happy, strong and confident. This is Part 2 of the two-part interview. Plus Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com talks the progression of the Kettle Bell SOT Press. Show notes
YBE 062: The Mental Side Of Pitching with Brent Kemnitz
Brent Kemnitz, renowned former pitching coach for Wichita State, shares about how to coach the little-discussed aspect of the mental side of pitching. The mental game of baseball doesn’t just apply to hitters! This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about what parents should focus on with travel kids during off-team practices. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com introduces us to sled drags. Show notes
The Lowdown on Rundowns: 3 Simple Rules
Baseball rundowns seem easy to execute, yet they are often botched. What rules must we teach and what rules are superfluous? Here is a definitive three-step process to teach rundowns to any age group.
Read the full articleYBE 061: Vision Training 101 with John Fitzgerald
John Fitzgerald of Sports Vision Training explains the core concepts of vision training for baseball and how coaches and parents can help. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to teach pitching to 9-year-olds. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com introduces us to side lunge slides. Show notes
YBE 060: Intro to Vision Training with John Fitzgerald
John Fitzgerald of Sports Vision Training explains the concept of vision training for baseball and how it can help young baseball athletes improve their game. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about why advanced players do not put their entire hand inside their fielding glove. Show notes
Pro Tip: An Advanced Way To Wear A Baseball Glove
If your kids are wearing their baseball gloves the traditional way of sliding their hand all the way into their glove, they may benefit from a ‘pro’ way of wearing their glove.
Read the full articleYBE 059: Organizing Practice with Tug Gillingham
Tug Gillingham of Lincoln Park Baseball Academy chats about how to organize and structure baseball practices. We also segue into fungo golf and defending 1st & 3rd situations. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about why advanced players should not catch the ball in the web of their glove. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com talks about three different steal starts and which is best. Show notes
YBE 058: Handling Challenging Coaching Situations (Part 1) with Tug Gillingham
Tug Gillingham of Lincoln Park Baseball Academy discusses how to handle some challenges youth baseball coaches face. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to create a lineup that maximizes offensive output. And Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com shares an article about practice plans and post-game recaps (see below). Show notes
YBE 057: Efficient Practice Planning
Rob discusses the theory behind efficient youth baseball practice planning so you know what to avoid and gives some tips to help you plan for next season. Plus, Austin Wasserman of wassermanstrength.com shares his 2016 CatcherCon slides for the Wass Strength Training Tip Of The Week. Show notes
YBE 056: Favorite Drill Roundup
Rob rounds up the favorite drills of several coaches and former podcast guests in this Favorite Drill Roundup. Show notes
YBE 055: Building A Complete Player with Nate Trosky
Nate Trosky of Trosky Baseball explains what complete player development is—and how to achieve it. Plus Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv gives some tips to incorporate game pressure into practices in the Question Of The Week, and Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com discusses reverse lunge tips in Wass Strength’s Tip Of The Week. Show notes
YBE 054: Insider Tips From A (Highly Successful) College Coach with Tim Corbin
Tim Corbin, head baseball coach of the 2014 College World Series champion Vanderbilt Commodores, gets real honest as he shares some inside information on coaching and recruiting for a Division I college. Plus Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com discusses the importance of understanding youth athletes’ lifestyles in Wass Strength’s Tip Of The Week. Show notes
“Get Your Back Elbow Up”?
“Get your back elbow up!” Have you heard this at a game? Or maybe you’ve said it yourself? Why do we say this? And is it a valid cue for our young hitters?
Read the full articleYBE 053: Perspectives From A (Highly Successful) College Coach with Tim Corbin
Tim Corbin, head baseball coach of the 2014 College World Series champion Vanderbilt Commodores, shares his perspectives on young player development and being a collegiate coach. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com shares a video on youth squat patterns in Wass Strength’s Tip Of The Week. Show notes
YBE 052: 10 Lessons Learned From The World Series Champion Chicago Cubs
To celebrate the Cubs winning the 2016 World Series, here are 10 lessons I learned from these championship Cubs. Plus, Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com teaches band-assisted push-ups in Wass Strength’s Tip Of The Week. Show notes
YBE 051: The Making Of A Prep Prospect: The Hunter Greene Story with Russell Greene
Russell Greene, father of prep superstar Hunter Greene, explains how Hunter grew to become potentially the #1 overall draft pick in the MLB amateur draft in June 2017 and where they may go from here. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview, Plus Justin Stone answers the Question Of The Week regarding helping kids not give up on plays and Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com shares a water ball reverse throw drill in Wass Strength’s Tip Of The Week. Show notes
YBE 050: Overcoming Adversity: The Hunter Greene Story with Russell Greene
Russell Greene, father of prep superstar Hunter Greene, explains some of the significant struggles Hunter had to overcome on his way to being potentially the #1 overall draft pick in the MLB amateur draft in June 2017. Plus Justin Stone answers the Question Of The Week regarding glove sizes for shortstops and Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com takes us through Sever’s Disease in Wass Strength’s Tip Of The Week. Show notes
Cage Pro Tee Review
Cage Pro tees, with its breakaway tee topper and heavier base, are the new challenger to the Tanner Tee. How does the Cage Pro stack up to the Tanner?
Read the full articleYBE 049: Components Of The Elite Swing with Bobby Tewksbary
Bobby Tewksbary of TewksHitting.com shares what makes up the elite swing and more. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Plus, Wass Strength’s Tip Of The Week explains the final four youth performance principles. Show notes
YBE 048: Keys To The Elite Swing with Bobby Tewksbary
Bobby Tewksbary, founder of TewksHitting.com, shares some important information on how to strive towards the elite swing. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. Plus, Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about how to create interest in baseball among our youth. Show notes
Tanner Tee Review
Every youth baseball coach needs a tee. And every player needs a tee, regardless of age. What about the original Tanner Tee? What are the pros and cons? Would I recommend it? My review inside.
Read the full articleYBE 047: Strength Training Q&A, Part 2, with Austin Wasserman
Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com continues to answer your questions about strength training for youth baseball players. This is Part 2 of my interview with Austin. Plus, Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about the proper approach to stealing bases. Show notes
YBE 046: Strength Training Q&A, Part 1, with Austin Wasserman
Austin Wasserman of WassermanStrength.com returns to answer your questions about strength training for youth baseball players. This is Part 1 of my interview with Austin. Plus, Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about where to find instruction on fundamentals. Show notes
Insider Bat review
The Insider Bat is a muscle memory tool that diagnoses swing flaws, and is endorsed by Carlos Correa. Would I recommend it? My review inside.
Read the full articleYBE 045: More Batting Blindspots with Paul Niggebrugge
Paul Niggebrugge, founder of Be Your Best Academy, warns us about more hitting blindspots from a coaching perspective. This is Part 2 of my interview with Paul. Plus, Justin Stone of elitebaseball.tv answers the Question Of The Week about what advantage comes with having kids play up. Show notes