The Youth Baseball Edge Podcast with Rob Tong: Coaching | Drills | Strategy · Rob Tong: Youth Baseball Coach, Consultant and Training & Development Leade

Top Tips for 2024

·27 min·1 clip

Rob argues short hops are more predictable than long hops on youth baseball infields with cracks and craters.

1. The Youth Baseball Edge Podcast with Rob Tong, session 167, is a “Top Tips for 2024” episode about coaching youth baseball. 2. Rob Tong hosts the show and says its goal is to “separate misinformation from true information” and give “practical, actionable content.” 3. The episode exists to replace a planned guest segment with seven lessons learned from 2023, plus a bonus tip and a question about situational awareness. 4. Rob’s first tip is teaching position-specific details, because normal drills can miss important defensive responsibilities like a catcher backing up first base throws. 5. He suggests an optional 30-minute position clinic after practice so coaches can cover one position without cutting into the main practice plan. 6. Rob says YVE Practice Plan members will get cheat sheets for those clinics in the resources section starting this year. 7. His second tip is teaching life lessons, not just baseball outcomes, by using post-game speeches and a comeback from four runs down in a tournament championship game. 8. He gives a thermostat-versus-thermometer object lesson and says teams should “set the temperature” instead of merely reflecting chaos. 9. The third tip is base-running IQ on stolen bases, and Rob says he has never used a steal sign because he wants players to make decisions, not obey orders. 10. He says a coach once recorded him on a phone trying to steal signs, but the effort was pointless because no signs existed to steal. 11. Rob adds that caught stealings have a real cost, saying it takes about three stolen bases to make up for one caught stealing. 12. The fourth tip is to coach the team first and not shape decisions around parents who may want premium positions, better batting order spots, or more pitching opportunities. 13. He describes a late-inning tournament situation where he chose a slower pitcher over a wild one, then let the wild pitcher throw because the parents had hinted they might leave the team. 14. The pitch turned into a wild pitch and the family switched teams anyway, which Rob uses to argue against appeasing parents. 15. The fifth tip is to focus on short hops more than long hops, because youth infields often have cracks, crevices, ditches, and uneven dirt. 16. Rob says short hops are the one hop youth infielders can still get every time, and he recommends working on them during catch play as early as age 6. 17. The sixth tip is working intentionally with fixed-mindset kids by using stretch goal drills, team unity rules, and more encouragement. 18. He cites Bo Asher-Brainish from episode 134 and repeats, “you are what you tolerate,” when talking about enforcing unity rules. 19. The episode is delivered as a solo coaching talk with a long Q&A section, a practical tone, and several examples from games, practices, and parent interactions. 20. Youth coaches, select-team parents, and practice planners will get the most value, while listeners wanting game recaps or player interviews may skip it.

As heard by us

A practical 2024 coaching reset that turns mistakes into field-ready lessons.

Rob Tong treats a late season pivot as a reset button for 2024, and the episode stays grounded in that practical lane. He starts with a familiar self audit, then gets into advice parents and coaches can actually use: bring in catch play early, favor short hops over long ones,…

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Why you'd press play

A new-season coaching reset for youth baseball people who want practical fixes, not slogans.

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