Driveline Academy Youth Baseball Podcast

The Kardashian-ification of Travel Ball

A reality show about travel ball is coming, and the kids on it are about to become characters. Deven makes the case for why that is worse than it sounds, then pulls the game logs from his son's junior year to show what we are already asking of these players without cameras: 1,001 pitches, 223 innings caught, roughly 4,500 total throws, and a game frequency that beats an average D1 schedule. Plus the showcase invite they turned down in July, and why a senior-year football season is the right call.

00:00 Intro and rundown

01:20 Roadmap assessments and membership

07:23 Team Moms: Baseball

13:46 What travel ball became

18:48 No producer wants a .500 team

22:13 My son's game log

28:24 Games per 100 days

33:34 Using the word no

40:04 Football as a senior

44:50 Wrap

Links:

New Driveline youth memberships (for players 9–14) are live in Washington NOW, with Arizona and Florida coming soon!

- Assessments

- Group training

- 1-on-1 hitter and pitcher development sessions

Get started now: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ or (425) 523-4030. Tell them Deven sent you!

We Have Lost the Plot: Inside the Little League Cheating Scandal - with Maren Angus of Sports Illustrated

A ten-year-old. A division built for kids with disabilities. That's the loophole, and it isn't the worst thing in this story.

For the first time in roughly 20 episodes, host Deven Morgan brings a guest onto the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast: Maren Angus of Softball On SI, whose reporting drove the Tulsa National scandal from a single softball protest to disqualifications on both the softball and baseball sides, court filings, and two of Oklahoma's five charters demanding the removal of state and regional leadership.

Angus walks through the paper trail: falsified affidavits, altered GameChanger books, a hand-drawn state bracket, teams in travel uniforms, a $150 entry fee for a tournament that cannot charge one, a for-profit entity running USSSA events on the same fields, and a restraining order that lasted 48 hours. Morgan brings 11 years of coaching and board service to the structural read.

Angus expects class action. Neither of them thinks Tulsa is the outlier.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro & housekeeping04:32 Maren Angus, Softball On SI05:35 How it started: 2025 softball protests07:06 Volunteer org, brutal all-star paperwork10:27 Boundaries & the sibling choice loophole16:17 Rec ball on ESPN22:38 The Challenger division workaround30:22 Superteams & falsified affidavits39:26 Pay-to-play, unpaid bills, USSSA fields45:09 Altered GameChanger books, fake games50:42 TRO, court docs, admissions1:04:05 NCAA playbook & PEDs in kids1:09:19 Structure over hope1:15:16 Where to find Maren's work

Links:

New Driveline youth memberships (for players 9–14) are live in Washington NOW, with Arizona and Florida coming soon!

- Assessments

- Group training

- 1-on-1 hitter and pitcher development sessions

Get on the waitlist: ⁠[email protected]⁠ or (425) 523-4030. Tell them Deven sent you!

37,000 Miles: What Committing to Development Actually Costs

Eight years. Thousands of hours behind the wheel. And not one mile of it was for a game.

This week I add up what committing to my son's development - not the showcase circuit - has actually cost our family, and the comparison I land on still doesn't feel real.

Then: why Danny left the Academy team for a more competitive one, how his new team won the PG UBC, and the no-cost recovery rules that kept him healthy through the most brutal stretch of games we've ever run - 19+ games in 30 days.

A solo episode on youth baseball player development, surviving peak travel ball season, catching and pitching workload, sleep and nutrition on the road, and what recruiting really looks like for a sub-6-foot 17-year-old who has no choice but to stand out on skill.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro & housekeeping01:57 - New Driveline youth memberships09:10 - The 37,000-mile commitment to development14:26 - Why Danny moved up, and the Academy's development-first philosophy27:05 - Winning the PG UBC and learning to handle failure41:20 - The peak-season recovery playbook: sleep, nutrition, strength, saying no55:48 - Recruiting reality and honoring the goal01:02:17 - Closing

New Driveline youth memberships (for players 9–14) launch in Washington August 3rd, with Arizona and Florida shortly after

- Assessments

- Group training

- 1-on-1 hitter and pitcher development sessions

Get on the waitlist: [email protected] or (425) 523-4030. Tell them Deven sent you!

Why the New Drop-6 Bats in HS Probably Won't Do What You Think

Recording from his deck with a borrowed gaming headset before an afternoon game, host Deven Morgan brings you the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast, Youth Bat Madness edition. He breaks down the new USA Baseball rule allowing USABat -4, -5, and -6 bats in high school play starting in 2028, and the fear that comes with it: let bigger kids swing lighter bats and pitchers eat harder comebackers. Deven explains why that's mostly unfounded, walking through coefficient of restitution, the trampoline effect off the barrel that's capped at 0.50 for both standards, so the pop shouldn't change. The variable that actually matters is swing weight, and it's the one the rule may have left open. Since drop weight only defines length to total weight and not where that weight sits, he lays out the loophole a bat maker could exploit absent a swing-weight floor: a -6 that feels like a -3, easier to swing but giving up nothing on the collision, the one real path to higher exit velocity. He closes on the bigger question of whether this is an equipment fix for what's really a development problem, and whether two years is enough to build the strength to handle BBCOR anyway.

00:16 – Welcome from the deck, borrowed headset and all

00:50 – The new rule: USABat -4, -5, and -6 legal for high school starting 2028

01:20 – The parent fear driving this episode: harder comebackers off bigger kids' bats

01:58 – The setup: exit velocity is capped, but there's a loophole

02:58 – What coefficient of restitution actually means and why it's capped at 0.50

04:32 – Swing weight, and why two bats can weigh the same but feel different

05:43 – The finger-balance test for reading a bat's swing weight

07:36 – The loophole: how a bat maker could build a -6 that performs like a -3

10:40 – What we don't know: the bats don't exist and the swing-weight floor is unconfirmed

11:28 – Why it's personal, and the contact-rate concern that actually has teeth

12:22 – The real problem: losing kids who can't handle BBCOR at 14

13:31 – The case for development over equipment

14:34 – The two-year window from 12 to 14 and what to do with it

16:00 – Bottom line, Dr. Alan Nathan's research, and where he might be wrong

19:38 – Signoff

Links:

https://t.co/R7TLVHE2EU

Remembering Rob Hahne: Without Him, There Is No Us

Broadcasting from "the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast," host Deven Morgan records on location from the Great Park in Irvine - a $1.2 billion youth sports complex that prompts a hard look at where the game is headed and who it's being built for. He's there because his son drew a Perfect Game UBC invite against elite arms touching 97–98, a showcase he frames as deep learning more than competition. The heart of the episode is a tribute to his friend Rob Hahne, who passed unexpectedly at 57 - the connective force behind the universal pitch count push and the ABCA work that made it real. Deven revisits their last time together at ABCA in Columbus and the gut-punch of returning to the field Rob built for the eulogy, then widens into mortality, the Michael Mann line "time is luck," and the end of Max Rojas's high school career. He closes with a teaser for new, more accessible youth training products and a reminder to tell the people you love them, because you have less time than you think.

Timestamps:

00:00 On location at the Great Park, Irvine01:00 A $1.2 billion youth complex and what it signals04:00 The "$20 hamburger" and the cost of youth baseball05:30 Access, affordability, and $300K in scholarships06:55 Why we're here: the Perfect Game UBC showcase07:40 Facing 97–98 and the deep learning of elite competition09:54 Losing Rob Hahne 11:00 Rob, universal pitch counts, and the MLB meeting12:18 "I'll never get to thank him again"13:00 ABCA in Columbus: watching Kyle watch his dad16:27 The eulogy and the field Rob built18:22 The stage of life where friends start dying19:21 Miami Vice and "time is luck"20:43 Max Rojas and the end of a chapter22:06 The Ted Williams treatment and why nothing lasts forever24:15 New youth training products coming28:00 Carrying it forward, for Rob29:37 Tell your people you love them

Links:

https://t.co/R7TLVHE2EU

Lead Offs For 9 Year Olds Are Insane and I Will Die on This Hill

In this episode of "the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast," host Deven Morgan takes listener questions and goes deep on the nuts and bolts of coaching young players — how to develop first-year kid pitch arms without overusing your two best strike-throwers, why ranking 7-year-olds is absurd, when leadoffs and holding runners should actually be introduced (not before 12), how to use Blast sensor metrics like bat speed and attack angle with youth hitters, and how to structure an 8–12 week competition on-ramp for a national team. The throughline: simple external cues, ball-flight-driven intentions, and equitable opportunity beat the professionalized, performance-first approach that's driving kids out of the game by ten. The episode closes with an emotional reflection on coaching Max Rojas for 11 years — from a seven-year-old to an 18-year-old signing with Tacoma CC — and an amazing Senior night experience.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro & Academy Tryouts Pitch05:50 Listener Feedback: More Nuts & Bolts, Less Doom & Gloom09:00 First-Year Kid Pitch: Why Tommy & Timmy Get Overused13:00 Step Backs, Kershaws & Simple Drill Environments for Young Hitters16:00 11 of 13 Pitched — Ryan Freeman's 10U Example18:20 "It Matters to Him" — My Wife Checked Me22:00 The Math Project Analogy: Turn Two Into Four, Six Into Eight26:00 External Cues for Young Pitchers: Find Home, Big Breath, Adjust Off Middle29:50 The Absurdity of Ranking 7-Year-Olds33:00 Equal Playing Time at 7–8 Rec: Equity Over Attendance37:00 Leadoffs & Holding Runners — Not Before 1244:30 Travel Ball vs. Rec: The False Keeping-Up-With-the-Joneses Narrative47:55 On-Ramping a National Team: 8–12 Week Competition Runway50:45 Blast Sensor Metrics: Bat Speed, Attack Angle & Adjusting Intention56:35 Max Rojas: 11 Years, Senior Night & the Last Time They Play Together01:03:30 Why All of This Matters — Producing Kids Like Max01:07:00 State Playoffs, the Last Page & What Goes By Like a Whisper01:12:25 Closing: Happy Mother's Day & Powered by Driveline

Links:

https://t.co/R7TLVHE2EU

The Step Back Man Swing System, Pitch Count Horrors & Choosing the Harder Thing

In this episode of "the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast," host Deven Morgan uses Mike Trout's new step-back load to launch a takedown of one-system hitting instruction and tee-obsessed youth development — if one of the best players ever is adding new moves mid-career, what are we doing grooming 10-year-olds for aesthetic perfection? He then dismantles Mark DeRosa's claim that Kevin McGonigle's bat speed "can't be taught," arguing that rising velocity thresholds across baseball prove elite output is far more accessible than conventional wisdom admits. "This Week in Pitch Counts" returns with horror shows — a 14U kid throwing 168 pitches across two days, a 75-pitch one-inning outing in April — contrasted with coaches in Georgia who proactively coordinated workload across a player's two teams. The episode closes with a personal reflection on parenting a junior through his high school season: the highs of a 13-K complete game shutout, the emotional weight of recruiting timelines, and a couch conversation where his son, facing a step up to national-level summer competition, simply said "I'm ready" — a moment Deven values not for baseball, but for what it reveals about character.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro & Housekeeping: Tryouts Now Open03:40 Step Back Man: Mike Trout's New Load & the Myth of One Swing09:20 Why Young Hitters Get "Bodied" by the Bat — Engine Before Skill11:00 The Tee Problem: Blocked Reps vs. Perception-Action Coupling14:00 Train Parents to Flip, Not to Coach Mechanics15:20 The Grocery List of Swing Flaws — Who Cares If He Catches Barrels?19:30 "You Can't Teach That" — DeRosa, McGonigle & the Walled Garden of Performance26:00 This Week in Pitch Counts: 168 Pitches in Two Days34:45 75 Pitches in One Inning — "It Ain't Little League Elbow, It's Who-Cares-About-Your-Elbow"38:15 Doing It Right: Distributed Pitching & the Walt Schiller / Rodney Dickerson Example48:00 Junior Year: Complete Game Shutout, Recruiting Pressure & Learning Over Fear01:01:50 The Parent Signal: Accountability for How We Treat Poor Performance01:05:00 "I'm Ready" — Choosing the Harder Thing01:07:00 Aging, Perspective & What Character Reveals01:11:50 Closing: Roman Reigns, Tryouts & Powered by Driveline

Links:

https://t.co/R7TLVHE2EU

Pitch Smart 2.0: From Ranting on Twitter to the MLB Boardroom

In this episode of "the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast," host Deven Morgan returns after an extended hiatus to deliver a packed update spanning youth baseball policy, sports science research, and the deeply personal side of coaching his son. Deven details the remarkable progress of the Pitch Smart 2.0 initiative — a multi-year coalition effort alongside Rob Hahne and others with the ABCA Youth & Travel Baseball committees, and Major League Baseball — to establish universal pitch count standards and centralized workload reporting across all youth baseball leagues and tournament providers. What started as an idea has culminated in a meeting at MLB headquarters in New York where every major provider in the room signaled their commitment to join the voluntary coalition, a moment Deven describes as "surreal." The episode pivots to a deep dive into Driveline's groundbreaking weighted ball study on youth athletes — the first of its kind — which replicates prior ASMI findings and confirms that heavier balls reduce joint stress because movement speed decreases, framing weighted ball training as fundamentally a resistance training mechanism rather than a risk factor. Finally, Deven shares a raw, reflective segment on parenting through his son Danny's junior season — from a grand slam in the first game to a hitting slump that led to a late-night session at Driveline, unpacking the "see it deep, be flat" approach and ultimately arguing that baseball's greatest deliverable isn't trophies or college offers, but the perspective and problem-solving skills that come from not running away when things go wrong.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro & Housekeeping

02:28 Pitch Smart 2.0: The Coalition & MLB Meeting

14:55 Workload Science: Acute-to-Chronic Ratio Explained

22:40 Going Around the Room — Everyone Says Yes

28:20 What's Next for Pitch Smart

30:30 Youth Weighted Ball Study: Key Findings

38:40 Weighted Balls as Resistance Training

44:30 Parenting, the Lighthouse Metaphor & Danny's Season

50:50 Late-Night Driveline Session: Diagnosing the Problem

58:00 Baseball as a Life Skill: Don't Run Away From the Fire

01:03:00 Perspective Over Plastic

01:08:00 Closing & What's Ahead

Links:

https://t.co/R7TLVHE2EU

Cosplay vs. Competition: 7U Signing Day Insanity

In this episode of "the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast," host Deven Morgan returns for another Youth Baseball Bummer Power Hour to tackle the growing trend of "cosplay" in youth sports. Deven offers a scathing critique of signing days for 6 and 7-year-olds, utilizing the developmental theories of Jean Piaget to explain why professionalizing the experience for single-digit ages is a psychological "ticking time bomb." The conversation pivots to a proposed systemic solution for the youth coaching crisis, arguing that the current "pulse-only" requirement for coaches must be replaced by a teacher-like certification and a centralized repository for safety and compliance. Deven also celebrates the "disruption" of Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas as they expand into youth tournaments, challenging the traditional 90-foot game to either prioritize fun or lose its market share to "Banana Ball." Finally, the show concludes with a deep dive into five months of HitTrax data, proving through "Player 1’s" 3,000 tracked swings that development is not a "wishing contest" but a result of consistent stimulus and falling in love with the work.

Timestamps:00:00 Intro & Housekeeping01:20 Discounts: AxeBat code & Youth Assessments code03:00 6U & 7U Signing Day "Insanity"10:40 Professionalization as "Cosplay"15:30 Piaget & developmental psychology in youth sports21:30 The Coaching Solution: Certification vs. the "Pulse"27:00 Systemic fixes: Centralized reporting & pitch counts36:15 Savannah Bananas & the disruption of youth baseball40:24 Banana Ball vs. tradition48:00 The only two goals: Fun/Engagement and Skill Building50:40 Hitting Deep Dive: 5 months of HitTrax data53:00 Tracking 3,000 swings: The ROI of showing up57:45 Why development is not a "Wishing Contest"01:10:00 Closing: Deeds, Not Words

The Next Time Might Be the Last Time Your Child Plays Baseball

In this episode, host Deven Morgan delivers a comprehensive ABCA convention recap and gets personal about what it means to coach his son—possibly for the last time. The bulk of the show tracks Deven's ongoing mission to establish universal pitch count standards and cross-organizational reporting, from presenting directly to MLB and USA Baseball, to navigating the politics of getting Little League, Perfect Game, USSSA, and private equity-backed leagues to buy in. He breaks down new MLB data showing 34% of Tommy John surgeries from 2010–2022 were performed on players 17 and under, reinforces the case for a "coalition of the willing," and recaps his speaking slot on the MLB Arm Care Panel. Along the way, Deven takes a swing at lacrosse marketing ("America's oldest sport"—miss me with that), unpacks the multi-sport vs. single-sport debate by emphasizing that athletic development must accompany skill work, and announces a podcast-exclusive 25% discount on Driveline youth assessments. The episode closes with an emotional reflection on coaching Danny into third base during a recent scrimmage—connecting that moment to a nine-year-old version of the same kid sliding into the same bag years earlier—and a reminder to every youth coach: the next time might be the last time.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:45 Housekeeping: AxeBat code DL20

02:05 NEW: 25% off youth assessments (code: PODCAST)

04:30 Lacrosse "America's oldest sport" rant

08:35 ABCa recap: universal pitch counts & reporting

12:50 Presenting to MLB & USA Baseball

15:15 Coalition of the willing & Youth Summit progress

18:00 Pitch Smart 1.0 politics

21:55 Pitch Safe app & Pulse workload data

27:30 MLB updating pitch guidelines

28:55 New data: 34% of TJ surgeries are 17-and-under

30:00 Coaching in the HitTrax cage with AxeBat

33:10 MLB Network filming & Arm Care Panel prep

35:25 Youth Hot Stove panel recap

38:30 Multi-sport play deep dive

45:10 College recruiting: athleticism vs. skill

46:15 Scrimmage story: last time coaching Danny?

48:45 The triple—"to me, to me, to me"

52:30 Flashback: nine-year-old Danny, same bag

58:40 The next time might be the last time

1:03:45 "This Week in Pitch Counts" returns

1:05:20 Outro