The SLIDE Podcast - National Youth Baseball & Softball Podcast

In this electrifying episode featuring Duke Baxter, get ready to be captivated by a journey through the world of coaching, respect, and inspiration. From the onset, you’ll find yourself compelled to charge through obstacles, fueled by Coach Duke’s infectious passion. With a keen focus on instilling respect from an early age, Duke shares invaluable insights for both coaches and young athletes, drawing from his acclaimed book, “Taking on the Title of Coach.” Every word uttered by Duke is akin to a precious gem, urging players not to “drop the mic” on their potential.

Central to the conversation is the profound concept of the 24-hour rule and the perennial debate surrounding the ideal age for travel ball. This episode is a masterclass in instruction, seamlessly blending entertainment and excitement, mirroring the dynamic persona of Duke Baxter himself. Prepare to be invigorated as Duke’s wisdom ignites a fervor within you, compelling you to step back onto the field with renewed vigor and purpose.

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In today’s episode of the Slide Podcast, coach Aaron and Bryson have a late night talk about baseball as we learn more about Bryson, the baseball manager for USC in Columbia. He started in high school playing and looking for schools to go to. That, along with the worries of getting recruited or not, lead to the stress mounting up. Eventually, he realized he was meant to be at USC.

Daily life for Bryson is on the pitch from 1:00 to 1:30PM to get things set up for the team and practice. Bryson says that the experience has helped make long-lasting connections with coaches and players. Next, Aaron and Bryson discuss the end of the season for Aaron’s team and why they don’t let the kids know the scores until the end. It’s about fostering camaraderie and teamwork and development over winning.

The two go on to talk about the similarities and differences of their childhoods in baseball and also learning to let go of losing games. Things have changed since the sandlot days and it is a shame that fields are controlled by the local government with nowhere for kids to just go and play without having to rent a field at a specific time, weeks ahead.

In the future, Bryson has thought about the possibility of coaching youth baseball but worries that his competitiveness with the younger kids could cause problems. You have to tailor expectations to the ages of kids. Teach your kids sportsmanship over competitiveness.

If you are thinking of becoming a coach, remember that kids follow the lead of the adults around them. Smile, have fun, and have patience.

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In this episode, we’re continuing our conversation with Addison, Riley, Julianna, Melody, Casey, and Bella as well as coaches Tanya Meder and David Steinman. We’re getting into athleticism, softball, and how to be the best player you can be.

Bella begins by talking about recovery and how important it is. Sleep is so important for recovery, and the team has a nutritionist that helps them with their diet, hydration, and vitamin and mineral contents. Then, David asks about skills training and how much time Bella and her team spend on it.

Tanya then talks about the biggest turn aways for players. It’s not just about playing, it’s about how you hold yourself, your character, and how you treat others. Grades are also important. If you want to go into sports, you need to work on your mental game and strength from the get-go. Bella writes in a journal as a way to work through her issues. Failure is part of the game, and you don’t have to be upset by it.

After, David adds that you need to know your team and be understanding of what players, especially kids, are feeling or going through. Bella then talks about balancing her social life and softball. Her teammates are her best friends, and while it’s difficult with to balance, they do make time for each other and activities.

When it comes to preparing for not only softball, but life, coach David makes the point to teach his players that teamwork will be a factor throughout their whole life. Understand that not everything is about you, and looking at the world around you will help you in life.

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We’re welcoming Addison, Riley, Julianna, Melody, Casey, and Bella, as well as coaches Tanya Medders and David Steinman, in this episode. Today is a must-listen for any baseball and softball players looking to gain more insight into the sports.

With several players from different teams on the show, we learn about the girls, the positions they play, and their favorite cereals. Then, coaches Tanya and David introduce themselves to the show. With introductions over, Bella discusses multi-sport athletes and why becoming one can benefit your overall game physically and mentally, no matter what you are playing.

Next, Tanya discusses what she looks for when recruiting new players. It isn’t only athleticism that matters, it’s also attitude and personality. The conversation also turns to social media and how it can impact reputation and recruitment. David also discusses the benefits of playing sports that you aren’t necessarily the best at but learning how to contribute.

David goes on to talk about the skills that young athletes need to nail early on in order to be the best they can be. No skill is too little or unimportant to learn. Practice really does make perfect. Next, the girls ask questions of Bella and the coaches while they discuss transferring schools, scheduling, and making time for everything.

After a quick round of softball trivia, the girls discuss Bella playing in the World Series and why people love to root against the Longhorns. Then, David asks Bella about her training routine and Bella discusses the kind of education she takes part in.

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In today’s episode coach Jen and coach Aaron are joined by Ryver Gray, a player on Aaron’s team, along with Dawson Taylor and John Michael Feld, who are college players and friends of Slide podcast team member Bryson Mitchell.

Ryver is 7 years old and is one of the winners of our Umpire appreciation contest. He loves to catch and play outfield and thinks baseball is a fun way to exercise. Ryver is also playing on another team in Travel Ball, where it’s a little faster and harder. His favorite memory of the game is hitting a home run. The best thing about Ryver is that he loves to play anywhere on the team; it doesn’t matter which position as long as he’s playing.

Dawson is a pitcher, while John plays a catcher for the University of North Greenville. They recently won a National Championship together. Greenville is a Division 2 school and played a Californian school in the championship. John started out playing baseball at around 3 years old. The difference between him and other kids was that his parents wouldn’t let him play all year in case he got burnt out on baseball.

The complete opposite, Dawson played year-round. However, they both played multiple sports. Dawson continued this through high school, whereas John picked one sport to focus on at age 12. When it comes to game prep, they will watch some film and break it down, but it’s more often one-on-one with the coach.

John and Dawson want kids to understand that it takes a lot of work to be in the big leagues. Don’t be upset if you can’t be just like them when you start. Practice every day and have fun.

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In this episode, Jen and Aaron are joined by Mat and Megean Wolf. Mat Wolf is the Savannah Bananas’ trick pitcher, while Megean will share all about her experience going on the mound during a professional baseball game.

Megean started playing softball when she was nine, and became competitive quickly thereafter. She played in college in Oklahoma City on scholarship. She had no intention of playing as part of the Savannah Bananas, but one day she caught the attention of the club, and they asked if she wanted to join.

Mat was excited to have Megean join the team. Megean was the one who encouraged him to try out for the Bananas in the first place. Learning more about pitching and being able to pitch at a Bananas game was a fun highlight for her.

Mat used to coach high school baseball, and he’s now a firefighter in Oklahoma City. He’s always been a goofy person who likes to have fun, and he’s always been passionate about making other people laugh. He played baseball in college, and now he gets to pick that dream up and live it out with the Savannah Bananas.

Performing on the baseball field can come with a lot of pressure. Megean’s dad was really hard on her growing up. When she or Mat are struggling out on the field, she reminds them their identity is in Christ, not in the game. Remembering who you are as a person can help you stay grounded when it comes time to play.

Find out more about the Savannah Bananas:

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For this episode, Jen and Aaron are joined by Mark Helsel from US Elite Baseball along with the newest member of the Slide podcast team, Bryson Mitchell. Mark is joining the show today to talk about player development.

Despite not growing up surrounded by baseball, Mark was obsessed with baseball and helped found US Elite Baseball about 17 years ago. Back then, travel baseball was much smaller and much more specific. His son was 12 and wanted to play in the SCC at that time, so Mark formed a team of other kids, 100% of whom got scholarships.

It took dedication and hard work, and it also took a love of what he does to get the program to where it is today. Mark credits Rob Bruno from the Norcal program with mentorship and helping to build the program. Coaching Little League is a huge responsibility that takes care and attention. To help him, Mark has created the 10 Commandments of Youth Sports.

These rules are a way to help parents with kids in youth sports positively support them. For example, do not talk about the game immediately after. Instead, wait for them to be ready. Another big one is to allow them to fail. You can’t learn if you don’t fail. The pressure to win and be perfect can be devastating for a young player.

Today, youth sports is much more of a phenomenon, with a lot more factors involved. Things like money and parental involvement have become much larger parts of the experience, and it can cause fractured relationships. Mark has training programs for his players, coaches, and parents that they have to complete before they can attend.

Find out more about US Elite:

https://uselitebaseball.com/

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On today’s podcast, coach Jen and coach Aaron are joined by two guests: Cayden Crosby and Asher Parker. Cayden is part of the Underclassmen 6U team that won their division’s state championship, and Asher is in the 8U team who also won their championship.

Cayden is from Diamond Head, Mississippi near the Louisiana border. Cayden is a 6-year-old player for the Underclassmen who has been playing Little League since he was 3. Cayden tells us his favorite position to play is First, partly because of his favorite player Freddy Freeman. He goes on to tell us about his pre-game warmup and his favorite part of ball practice.

Next up, Cayden tells us why he loves baseball and how he loves games because he gets to be out on the field longer. Cayden started the year in T-ball, but is now in Coach’s Pitch which he likes much more. We find out all about Cayden’s first home run and why it was so special before he tells us about the nine rings he has won so far.

Asher is also from Mississippi, and tells us about his team’s 25 wins this season. Asher started playing T-ball at 4, hitting his first home run at 6 and playing with the Underclassmen in January. When he grows up, Asher wants to be a professional ball player for LSU. His favorite major league team is the Cubs.

In 9U, the kids start to pitch, and Asher has already played some 9U games. The most important thing for Asher is that he gets to play with his friends outside of school in baseball. Besides baseball, Asher likes to go fishing and has also been involved in playing football.

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This time we’ve got Andy from GameMill joining us. We’re going to be hearing about all things Little League World Series 2022.

Andy and his company are bringing a Little League video game to the world, the first official one in 10 years. He was also a part of that previous release, and always wanted to create another. The talks began 2 years ago, and from there, they sought a licensing agreement with a team. The project grew from there.

The goal was always to make a game that encompassed all the rules and regulations of Little League baseball without losing the element of fun. The developers went on-site to capture every detail of the real-world stadiums and locations that appear in the game. They wanted to not only appeal to Little League players, but also to video game fans by creating gamification modifications.

When it comes to designing the game, Andy takes us through the process of collaborating with the teams to build the world and style of the game. The target demographic for the game is players aged 8-12, but they also wanted it to have a wide appeal. It was a fine balance between intuitive play and the reality of playing baseball.

The game allows for 4 players to play together at once with local co-op play. There are lots of different play modes and unlockables to keep the experience fresh and replayable. Andy tells us about his favorite game of all time, and why it was important to create a safe way for kids to play the game with their friends. He also talks about his own walkout song and how they’ve been integrated into the game.

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Join The S.L.I.D.E. Podcast as we embark on our biggest challenge so far. The Savannah Bananas are kicking off their new season this week but took the time to join us for a little game of Jeopardy. Grayson Knight from @baseballpodcastsarefun joins us as a guest host / gameshow host.

Malachi Mitchell, BananaBabes, Dalton Cornett and Dakota Albritton joined us to talk through Baseball Trivia. We got a chance to talk about what makes The Savannah Bananas special and why fans are drawn to Grayson Stadium to watch baseball.

The game show was a close battle, but big swing at the end of the game…. Go listen to find out who wins!!!!