Hi Rob, Just wanted to thank you so much for all you do on the show! I’ve been an avid listener for years, and I’m one of those guys (coaches) who has a pen and paper handy, taking notes all the time. I’d like to make a suggestion for an upcoming show if I could. No matter how many times I try to convey to parents to not yell at their kids during games—or coach them from the bleachers, etc.—there’s always those who do. I make a big point to talk about it at our parent meeting at the beginning of the season, and I also send reminder texts throughout the season, but it still doesn’t work. What would be amazing is if you could bring on a guest who specializes in sports mental health—maybe even youth baseball specifically—and they could speak about the negative impacts of these actions. I would love to provide all my parents with a QR code or something they could scan that would take them directly to that episode, and require them to listen to it with their kid before the first game. You’ve built an incredible podcast over the past decade and with it, you bring credibility to what you have to say and who you chose to interview. I think an episode like this could go a long way with your listeners. Thanks! Zach

As parent whose sport was not baseball, I have learned so much by listening to these podcasts. I wish I had found Rob in my early days when I was coaching my kid’s rec team. Thankfully my son now has travel ball coaches, however travel ball is a crazy world. Even the “pro” coaches don’t know everything. My son has become a better player because of the tips I have learned here. Also, Rob and his guests have kept us grounded as to what is and isn’t important. Please keep the podcasts coming!

I just discovered this podcast and after listening to the latest episode I went back to the beginning. There is so much value in each episode and I’m not making it through very fast because each episode needs to be listened to multiple times to glean as much as possible. I really appreciate how Mr. Tong brings in guests with different perspectives and personal experience. If I were listening to the Travis Kerber part 2 episode back in the day of records, I would have already worn out the vinyl! I also appreciated the concept behind, and even some of the insights in the episode with John T. Reed. However, I don’t think he has the right approach, not necessarily in terms of baseball, but in his delivery. It was pretty off-putting to hear him call any coach who hasn’t read his book and isn’t doing things his way ‘morons’, and other terms like that. That said, Mr. Tong is doing a wonderful job and as someone who recently made the transition from youth (tee-ball through 6th grade) coach to middle school a-team coach (7-8th graders), I find this podcast and the guests invaluable. Thank you for your dedication!

Even though Rob’s not updating as much as he used to there are several podcasts that I have listened to multiple times. Hopefully Rob can keep giving us more if not I need someone to take this style and keep running with it.

Rob - Thanks for the new episode! Really good stuff. Looking forward to re-listening to the past episodes as I get ready for spring and this year’s baseball season. Thanks for all the time and effort that you have put into this podcast. You’re the man!

Thank you Rob for so many valuable nuggets along the way. Your interviews are priceless and the contributions to youth baseball are unmatched. I trust more coaches find your message and implement what you have curated. Amazing work!!

This podcast has taught me so much about baseball.

I’ve been an assistant coach for my young kids’ baseball teams for years now but finally took the leap to head coach for my 8 year old’s travel team. With that leap, I have been doing a ton of research into all aspects of coaching and Rob’s podcast has been the most eyeopening and helpful resource I have found. Through his podcast I have been exposed to many aspects of coaching I had not considered before and it has made me rethink things that I had been doing. I’ve learned valuable lessons from every episode including basic drills, how to deal with kids and parents, ways to better utilize coaching staff, how to better present myself, and so much more. Thanks, Rob! Keep it up!

I’m so grateful that I came across Rob’s podcast. I have an 8yo who is loving baseball, and on my own I’ve been prepping his mental game more than the physical. His interview in episode 18 with Justin Sua filled my toolbox with invaluable information to teach resiliency to my son and his team. I enjoy the wide scope of voices heard on this podcast and can’t wait to keep listening!

Rob, you do a great job of identifying needs then giving in-depth information to address them. Thank you for your efforts.

The show was suggested to me by a good friend. I’ve been listening to each individual episode when I have the time to pay attention and focus. Excellent content, very useful for all youth baseball coaches! Whether your child is in the early stages, or they are in the later years of travel baseball, you will not be disappointed.

I appreciate your work!

This is by far the best youth baseball podcast I’ve listened too. Rob does a great job asking questions and the content is more often than not practical things you can put into practice.

As someone who has never played baseball my knowledge for the sport was minimum. My son started playing and turned out he was good at! Since I was helping coach his teams I started researching different material on coaching and a lot of it was confusing. I stumbled upon this podcast and it has been very helpful and my go to for coaching my son and other players. Can’t wait to hear more great content!

My 9 year old listens to your podcast every night before bed and insisted we leave you a review. I love it as well, we just wish the episodes came out more often! ;) Best youth baseball podcast out there! Keep up the great work and thank you! - Jennifer & Braxyn

I played HS and failed at JUCO. All the kids at JUCO were “Polished” players. Rob Tong has allowed me to learn what I didn’t know I didn’t know, and now I “Polish” the youth players skills. I highly recommend the two podcasts w Tyler Gillum. Those two episodes over and over might be the best of the bunch! Matt in Nixa Mo

Love listening. Rob is very organized and has great content. A must listen for anyone involved with youth baseball.

Great stuff man. Very helpful, I’m a assistant coach for a 10u team and found this podcast. I just can’t stop listening to it. Very helpful thank you

Hey Rob, Just want to say thank you for what you are doing. This podcast should be mandatory for all youth coaches. It is amazing the ideas it generates. And the forward thinking approach to coaching it fosters is exactly what we need up here in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut, where the little league numbers have been shrinking for years. Keep it up, we appreciate you. Josh

Asked to be an assistant coach to my daughter’s 8u coach pitch team, I was happy to help. For the following two seasons, however I was thrust into head coaching duties on several occasions. Frantically searching for some guidance I stumbled across the YBE podcast, and over time, our little team has become the cream of the crop in our local league at the coach pitch level. Thank you Rob, for all you have done and continue to do!

Rob Tong, Driveline and now, Speedball amongst so many other great resources for youth coaches. I’m in my third season coaching spring and fall ball in my local little league 8U coach pitch soon to be kid pitch teams. Rob and his guests just nail it with what is needed to take a ton of stress out of coaching kids really well with the best thinking out there. I’m so excited to add Modified Speedball scrimmages into our practices. Keep raking and mashing! Rob.

I am an assistant coach for a 10u travel team, this podcast is awesome! I have listened to every episode and it has helped me so much. It has helped me become a better coach and coach/parent to my son. I send our head coach different episodes to listen to all the time. I find myself listening over and over again as I catch different things the more I listen. I was wondering if you have someone to talk specifically about outfield training? I haven’t heard one on that, maybe I missed one, but it would be appreciated! Thanks Rob, keep up the great work.

I really appreciate this podcast. I have gotten so many helpful tips out of all of your interviews. Keep up the great work, and get Perry Hill back on to finish SS and 3rd base!

I’m listening to #120 with Mike McKinley...where did he buy his large /giant stopwatch to time infielders? Gotta get one🤩⚾️👍🇺🇸 Love the podcast - highly helpful.

So informative and inspiring! Thank you and keep them coming.

I love what Rob is doing here, and his values around teaching the game are on point. I’ve learned a lot, like in Episode 83, where Rudy Garcia described how he runs batting practice. I’ve started using his approach with my 11U travel team and love it. What’s missing for me is any description of how to bridge the gap for players who don’t have the funds to keep up, and the ways in which baseball is increasingly inaccessible in Black and Latino neighborhoods. While the interviews with some of the MLB dads touched on this, I would love to hear more from coaches who work with kids of color or who don’t have a lot of resources. I coach rec and travel ball in Harlem, NY, and we have kids of all races as well as socioeconomic backgrounds. Even when we offer financial help, it can be a real burden on working parents to get their kids to practice or buy all their gear. We also face real deficits compared to the suburbs around access to training and practice space, which is not an accident of history. That’s why on a recent episode when Rob spoke about doing machine work with his team I just felt like he wasn’t speaking to urban coaches. All of us who love the game can take some responsibility in making it equitable. I’d love to hear more perspectives from people who are working to make the game accessible for all.

Such great content and so entertaining. I started listening during drives in the car with my 9 year old, and we loved it so much we had to go back to episode 1 and listen to them all in order. Such a helpful support for him as he grows in his baseball skills!

Absolutely love this episode and it's one that should be heard by absolutely every baseball family out there!

Enjoy the podcast. Started from the beginning even though I just found it in 2021. Rob likes to ask the right questions to the interviewee and it just works. Like the multitude of different topics.

I’ve found this podcast to be a tremendous help in shortening my learning curve as a coach. The host as well as guest, seem to be genuinely interested in progressing youth baseball and developing players. It’s not all about the W. I’ve been coaching for about 5 years, without any previous experience, and learned more in the first few podcast than I could have hoped to in another 5 years. Great content and insights.

This podcast is pure gold. I just discovered it and have already listened to 6 episodes on strength training topics. Along with Eric Cressey’s podcast this will be my go-to podcast on long car rides to games. Good validation that my sons have been training wisely the past two years with strength training and focusing on skills that scale

I am new to managing a House Team, this podcast has given me some great tips and advice. I find myself listening to some episodes over and over to get the details down! Keep up the great work Rob!

I have only recently found this podcast, but I’ve been sharing it with as many other youth baseball coaches and parents as I can. I love the wide range of topics discussed, the honest reviews of products, and the great interviews with people from all areas of the game. This podcast has prompted me to seek out more information on several topics, especially arm care. Thanks for taking the time to put this together for the greater good of everyone involved in youth baseball.

I've listened to every episode, some multiple times. One of my favorite podcasts, look forward to every new episode

If you want to help your child and team be competitive and go about it, the right way, this the podcast for you. You need to listen to this podcast. Rob Tong has the most knowledgable guests and offers insight better than any other podcast. Update: February 2021. All is starting to be right in the world again. Rob Tong is back!!

Found this podcast 2 seasons ago and have forwarded so many episodes to my players parents and their coaches. So much here it’s hard to pick one favorite-but can say I have listened to many of them multiple times-it has helped me be a better rec league coach and travel ball parent. Personally-My son has evolved from a coach pitch lower level batter to hitting .700 in travel ball and a starting pitcher (not selected by his dad but by his travel ball coaches) Because of covid we found our fall Rec League in disarray-and they somehow placed a player with cognitive challenges on our team- he was a strikeout at every plate appearance and had to wear protective gear and have a player with him in the outfield just to stay safe. We also had a kid who had told by his past coach not to hit but only to bunt- Using development as our definition of success we were able to put a bright side on the situation for our challenged player and turned our professional banter in to a line drive hitter against teams who when they saw him in the line up positioned themselves for the bunt...we went on to win the majority of our games and make it to our recleague championship Thank you Rob for what you are doing for the sport and for kids who just want to be a valued part of the team - even if that means just one plate appearance or a big out in the field - where they shine, help the team and provide a much needed respite for their proud parents in the stands. Sincerely - Covid negative and positive coaching in the ATL

I am late to the game but have listened to several shows trying to catch up. This is a great show for any baseball fan but especially for those involved in youth sports.

I’ve been a youth head coach for 5 years. As a parent who didn’t grow up as a baseball kid, I got into it when my son expressed interest. As a coach this has given me a new perspective and set of tools to work with the kids in a more structured focused way. There’s something substantive for everyone at every level here. Thanks Rob!

Rob does a great job interviewing from a parents and coaches perspective. Perfect podcast for those of us that live in reality when it comes to baseball and what to expect for and from our children.

Consistent quality content delivering both depth and breadth of baseball knowledge. Thanks Rob, keep it coming!

I’ve been completely enthralled with the podcast since discovering it. I am a 10U coach with two younger boys still progressing and the detailed information in this podcast has helped me focus my efforts on more aspects of coaching that I hadn’t previously considered. I’ve always been a relationships based coach and I am loving the podcast to give me more information to work with as we approach our upcoming spring and summer seasons. Thanks for the great resource!! Go Drillers!!

A must listen for any coach, parent, or coach parent. Rob is in essence just like any of us as he’s just another lover of baseball with the tough task of trying to find the answers to the questions of an ever evolving game. What makes it even more relatable to most is that he’s also a coach and a parent. He has great guest on the show and does an even greater job of squeezing the most out of the time he gets with each guest by asking great, important, and probing questions. I’ve learned so much and listen to many episodes more than once. Not conforming to the here-say and old “tried and true” methods he really goes above and beyond in trying to separate misinformation from true information and in giving us practical and actionable content. Thanks Rob! Keep up the great work!

I’m so grateful for the honesty that’s shared in every episode. It Doesn’t matter what kind of parent, Coach or player you are they cover every aspect and answer every question that you’re to afraid to ask! They also give you perspectives that you may not have ever considered. Everyone will be a better parent, player and coach by listening. #mindblown

Such a great podcast that I found recentley. Rob, you ask all the questions I am wondering myself and you facilitate the conversation with the guests with a great tempo. Perfect for taking in all the quality info. Keep it up my friend, your doing a good thing and we appreciate it. Thanks Rob! Ken

First heard your podcast on Baseball Outside the Box, I love both you and Pete for asking hard questions and challenging the way we coach, thank you, Darrell

I have been coaching baseball since tball and the information rob presents and the guests that he has provide incredible depth and insight into so many great aspects of baseball coaching and training. Thanks rob

Love this podcast. Tons of great discussions and advice for coaches and parents at any level. Rob does a great job of asking the right questions and putting things into context. I am definitely a better coach and parent since I starting listening.

A lot of depth and knowledge but not to the point of overwhelming for people to listen to. Even you pull some of the highlights of each show and share with your baseball player it will help him or her get better and understand the whole baseball process

Number one man!! Aloha Rob!! Love your podcasts and apply them to youth that I'm in touch with here. I have gained so much knowledge from you and your resources... I can ish I could travel 10 years back and start my coaching journey with thiw podcasts.. Keep them coming!!! Mahalo from Hilo!!

I highly recommend this podcast to any parent or coach participating at any level of youth baseball. I feel I am much more prepared to serve my players and parents by tuning in. Great job, Rob!