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

YBE 168: Select-Level Coaching At Rec Levels with Grant Cowan

·47 min·3 clips

Cohen says a rec practice of one coach pitching and nine kids fielding “literally turns my stomach.”

1. The Youth Baseball Edge Podcast episode 168, “Select-Level Coaching At Rec Levels with Grant Cowan,” focuses on raising rec-league baseball coaching standards. 2. Rob Tong hosts the episode, and Grant Cohen is the guest, serving as a McKinney Baseball and softball association board member and marketing director who works on coaching curriculum. 3. The episode asks whether rec-league coaches can use select-level training methods without losing the reality of volunteer coaching and limited practice time. 4. Cohen says rec-league players deserve high-level coaching, and he pushes back on the idea that “bad coaching is acceptable in rec leagues.” 5. He also warns parents not to assume select or travel baseball automatically means better coaching, because he sees misinformation at those levels too. 6. Cohen distinguishes between elite travel teams that fly in players from across the country and more local select or travel programs in Texas. 7. He says families need to think through time, cost, and opportunity cost before deciding on travel baseball. 8. His example is blunt: five games in a weekend can mean 16 to 18 hours at the ballpark. 9. Cohen argues that offseason work is where players actually get stronger and throw harder, not during packed tournament weekends. 10. He describes practice structure as a template built from dynamic warmup, base running, catch play, defense, offense, and competition. 11. He says the first 30 to 40 minutes of practice can be standardized so coaches are not starting from scratch every week. 12. He credits catch play as the most important drill, and he says coaches should modify it every week instead of treating it as casual throwing. 13. He notes that rec teams often waste 10 to 15 minutes when kids arrive early and just lob balls around without a plan. 14. He says a cell phone camera in slow motion is one of the easiest and cheapest tools a parent or coach can use. 15. Cohen says he no longer teaches mechanics directly, especially for younger players, and instead looks for rotation, sequencing, and getting the bat through the zone early. 16. He names corrective drills such as offset open, step back, and hook-ins work for players who rotate poorly or lunge at the ball. 17. The interview is practical and conversational, with Rob Tong asking follow-up questions about practice planning, hitting, defense, and coaching philosophy. 18. Cohen’s delivery is direct and experience-based, with phrases like “give up their ego at the door” and “literally turns my stomach.” 19. Rec coaches, parents, and youth-program directors who want a concrete practice framework will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for game recaps or a casual baseball chat may skip this one.

As heard by us

A plainspoken reminder that rec league practice works better when the start is already organized.

Grant Cowan and Rob Tong spend this episode on a familiar youth-baseball problem: how to keep rec league practice organized without draining the easy energy that makes kids want to stay engaged.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Make rec practice feel coached, not improvised.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Youth Baseball Edge Podcast with Rob Tong: Coaching | Drills | Strategy