Driveline Academy Youth Baseball Podcast

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 wi...

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 e...

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...

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-yea...

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 initia...

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...

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...

91 MPH, Earned Not Given: Inside the PG Main Event Showcase In this deeply personal episode, host Deven Morgan pulls back the curtain on his son Danny's first-ever showcase—the Perfect Game Main Event in Fort Myers. What follows is a ground-level breakdown of the entire experience: battling illness on the trip, navigating a 3 a.m. Pacific wake-up, catcher throw-downs, 60-yard dash testing, and...

Dear A-Rod, Please Come to Driveline: See How Data Helps Kids, Not Hurts Them Deven opens with a deep dive into training ball flight over swing esthetics, explaining why paying attention to batted ball outcomes (line drives between 10-18 degrees) matters more than visual checkpoints. He breaks down gravity, drag, and descent angles to illustrate why "swing level" coaching sets kids up fo...

"I Have Failed You": What Augie Garrido's Rant Actually Teaches About Coaching Kids Deven recaps the ABCA Youth Summit in Austin, revealing Pitch Smart 2.0 is actively being developed by MLB with universal pitch counts and app-based reporting. The coalition includes PBR, Perfect Game, and Little League, with cross-platform tracking for workload, coach certifications, and ejection his...

Sandy Koufax Retired at 31 and We're Still Letting 14-Year-Olds Go 121 Pitches in Fall Ball Deven opens with Pitching Ninja's video on Yada Sensei—Yamamoto's trainer—and his tree analogy: focus on the trunk (core, proximal segments), not the branches (arm positions, extremities). He applies this to youth coaching, calling out PE teachers demanding point-at-target finishes instead of te...

"What's Happened, Happened": World Series Lessons About Competition for Kids Fresh off the most chaotic World Series of his lifetime, Deven dissects game seven's critical moments to extract actionable lessons for youth players, coaches, and parents. He opens with new Driveline youth assessment packages, then dives into Shohei Ohtani's masterclass in mental discipline—giving u...

Geno Suarez Shanked Grand Slam Proves Your Kid Needs Bat Speed Training We first take a deep dive into MLB's new Amateur Recovery Period (October 15th-January 15th), breaking down why the league is using its leverage to force rest and development time for high school players. The episode pivots to Shohei Ohtani's transcendent postseason performance (two 116+mph batted balls, three homers, pumping...

Bunting Sucks, WWE is Baseball, and 8 Million Kids Nobody's Serving Episode Description After a two-month hiatus, Deven Morgan returns with a raw, reflective episode covering the whirlwind July-August travel season that tested his family physically, financially, and emotionally. He recounts Danny's first 90-foot home run (and the alleged fence-climbing mission to retrieve the ball), tourna...

Zero Yelling, Zero Over-Use: The Kid-First Blueprint In this milestone show, host Deven Morgan marks “the world’s most dangerous youth-baseball podcast” hitting triple digits and quickly pivots from fanfare to substance. After housekeeping items he lays out Driveline Academy’s “no yelling, no over-use” coaching culture, explaining how a pro-level development system is adapted to keep kids both com...

Game-Theory Coaching vs Kid Development Host Deven Morgan kicks things off with quick housekeeping—new discount code, what’s on tap—and then reads a heartfelt email from a parent whose son thrived at a recent Driveline Youth Camp . The note sets the stage for a deep dive into why the Academy launched youth-only programs and how age-appropriate “snapshot → train → retest” cycles build confidence in...

Velocity Gains Without the Pain | Retaliation Doesn't Belong In Youth Baseball Host Deven Morgan packs Episode 98 with equal parts humor, hard data, and hard-won perspective. He opens with “housekeeping”—AxeBat discounts and a peek inside Driveline’s product-design war room—before riffing on the dubious genius who green-lit chocolate-blueberry hydration powder . From that springboard Deven lay...

Nine Years Old, 324 Pitches—Time to Draw the Line After a week off to shake a nasty bug, host Deven Morgan is back on “the world’s most dangerous youth baseball podcast” with his most passionate episode yet. Deven opens with quick hits—AxeBat and 3A Athletics discounts, new Driveline Academy camps—then dives into a heartfelt recap of his son's High School team's postseason run and the powe...

Intent Is The Silver Bullet | Listener Q&A In this episode of the Driveline Academy podcast, host Deven Morgan discusses various aspects of youth baseball, including new training initiatives, the importance of mental and emotional support for young athletes, and answers listener questions about coaching techniques and injury prevention. The conversation emphasizes the need for intent in traini...

In this episode of the Driveline Academy Podcast, host Deven Morgan discusses the importance of youth baseball training, the alarming issue of excessive pitch counts, and the need for universal regulations to protect young athletes. He emphasizes the significance of creating a supportive environment for players, learning from mistakes, and understanding the impact of competition on youth developme...

Gamification in Training, Happy Stories & You In this episode of the Driveline Academy podcast, host Deven Morgan discusses various topics related to youth baseball training, including the launch of the Driveline Academy Camps, the recent ban on thumb guards in Little League, and the importance of gamification in training. He shares listener feedback highlighting the positive impact of Driveli...

We'll Ban Thumbguards But We Won't Ban Pitcher Abuse Host Deven Morgan explores youth baseball development, covering Driveline Academy updates, Little League rule changes, and in-season training strategies. Key discussions include optimizing swing mechanics while preserving natural athleticism, simplifying coaching approaches, and the critical issue of overuse in youth pitching. The podcast addres...

The Man In The Arena "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;...

The Difference Between A Shark Attack and Watching Your Child Pitch In this episode of the Driveline Academy podcast, host Deven Morgan discusses the emotional complexities of youth baseball, particularly focusing on the anxiety parents feel when their children are pitching. He uses the analogy of a shark attack to illustrate the perceived dangers of performance anxiety in both parents and young a...

Presenting My Universal Pitch Count Concept to MLB & USA Baseball in NYC In this episode of the Driveline Academy Podcast, host Deven Morgan discusses the importance of universal pitch counts and reporting to ensure player safety. He emphasizes the need for systematic changes in youth baseball to prevent injuries and improve the overall experience for young athletes. In this conversation, Deve...