Send us Fan Mail Father’s Day brings up the best memories and the sharpest grief, so we talk honestly about losing our dads and still feeling them in the way we coach and live. Baseball stays the thread through it all, from youth tournaments and tryouts to what we think the pro game is getting right and wrong. • remembering our dads through church, coaching habits, and family time • baseball friendships that feel like real family • Midwest Prospect League recap, scouting pre...

Send us Fan Mail A humid day at the field turns into a full reset for how we think about coaching when a routine batting practice pitch slips and clips a kid. The player is okay, but the moment sticks, and we get honest about guilt, the “yips,” and the pressure of being the adult who has to stay calm even when you feel sick to your stomach. That leads into the bigger question we keep coming back to all summer: what actually helps players get better, and what just looks good from the stands or...

Send us Fan Mail A random ballpark heckler can be funny, but youth baseball drama is not. We start with a White Sox Cubs weekend, field access, and what it’s like meeting names like Harold Baines, then we pivot into the conversations that parents and coaches actually wrestle with: playing time, “daddy ball,” and how to keep a team culture from getting toxic when emotions run hot. From there we get into college baseball eligibility and the proposed “five-for-five” rule. If every player gets f...

Send us Fan Mail We dedicate the show to Cookie and share why she meant so much to our baseball family, then we shift into the realities of coaching, competing, and growing through a long spring. We break down tournament lessons, the playing time conversations parents get wrong, and the base running details that quietly decide close games. • remembering Cookie’s impact and the standard she set • tournament recap from Super Select to championship runs • how age groups and ros...

Send us Fan Mail The fastest way to ruin a good team isn’t a bad swing, it’s a bad mindset. We start with a little real life color (blue jays, cardinals, and the kind of Monday mood that only baseball can create), then get honest about coaching, expectations, and why relationships matter more than any “magic” adjustment. When a talented player is in a slump, we talk through what actually works: building trust first, creating pressure on purpose, giving a kid one clear job, and knowing when a ...

Send us Fan Mail Baseball doesn’t care about your lead, your label, or your ego and that’s why it’s such a good teacher. We start with some clubhouse-style banter (songs stuck in your head, Yankees rules, and the comedy of modern fandom), then we get into the real meat: how teams fall apart when they relax, and how coaches can build a culture that doesn’t blink when momentum flips. We unpack youth baseball coaching through a weekend lens: the joy of opening weekend, the frustration of sloppy...

Send us Fan Mail You can learn a lot about a team from what it does when the weather is awful and the calendar is messy. We start with pure life talk and food debates, then slide into the real question: why do some high school baseball programs jump on spring break trips while others stay home and hope the field dries out? For us, it keeps coming back to one thing. The head coach sets the experience, and the players feel that standard every day. We get into what spring break baseball t...

Send us Fan Mail Spring baseball brings cold weather, big emotions, and a fresh push to build better players inside the dome and outside in the elements. We talk youth development, new training tools, and the mindset it takes to compete when conditions and distractions get loud. • early season game stories and what really decides close losses • what a director of youth baseball handles day to day • why five-run inning limits help development in youth baseball • new Sp...

Send us Fan Mail The best coaches talk about people before they talk about pitches. We sit down with Nazareth Academy legend and IHSA Hall of Famer Lee Milano alongside his son Dom Milano, the head baseball coach at Harper College, for a wide ranging conversation on baseball leadership, player development, and the habits that actually last when the season gets hard. Lee shares why opening day still brings real energy, and why coaching is inseparable from teaching. We dig into the hard moment...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with IHSA Hall of Famer Don Erickson to trace a coaching life from a 23-year-old head coach to a field that now bears his name. Along the way we unpack culture, practice design, travel vs high school ball, and why memories beat medals. • starting at Revis at 21 and learning on the fly • mentors, AD dynamics, and evolving leadership • building empathy through parenting and diverse teams • assistants who complement, not clone • minute-by-minute practice planning an...