Diana and Stephanie do a quick update on life, talk about the upcoming baseball season, and discuss  the hot topic of Alyssa Milano’s gofundme for her son’s Cooperstown baseball trip.

Apologies for the robotic-sounding audio on this one -- we were having some technological difficulties on Diana's end!

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Mentions:
Alyssa Milano GoFundMe story
NBC News Alyssa Milano
Episode 19 Moms and Baseball Fundraising Ideas

Diana and Stephanie discuss The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman.

• Words of Affirmation
• Acts of Service
• Quality Time
• Giving Gifts
• Physical Touch

They discuss what love language their teens speak. Take the quiz here to find out your love language, as well as your teens love language to improve the way you communicate.


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Holiday Gift Guide for Baseball Families

Youth 

• Kids Electronic Baseball Pitching Machine
• Crocs with jibbitz

• Blitzball Starter Pack

• WebGlove Training Glove

• Sliding mitt, Black Friday deals on elbow guards
• Baseball Lifestyle 101 clothes
• Baseballism clothes
• Personalized Number Charm Necklace
• Subscription boxes: Plate Crate, Inside the Batters Box, The Baseball Box, Sports Box Co.
• Camwood training bat
• Baseball cards - holiday mega box at walmart $25, Topps Value box 

Teen

• Bruce Bolt Batting Gloves
• Weighted Blanket: Black Friday Deal $34.87
• Necklace: Iced Out Diamond Chain, $16.88 with 20% off coupon
• Victus No. 2 wooden bat
• Oakley Men's Sunglasses: Black Friday Deal $118.95
• Blenders sunglasses –Black Friday Deal $41.30
• Number necklace (black friday deal - $7.91)
• Beats by Dr. Dre Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones: Black Friday Deal $99.95
• Gym Membership
• Batting Cage with HitTrax Membership

Adults

• Hooded Stadium Blanket: Black Friday Deal $29.58

• Hand Warmers Rechargeable- Black Friday Deal $24.99

• Portable Charger-Black Friday Deal $31.99
• Simple Modern 40oz tumbler $29.99
• GCI Outdoor Big Comfort Stadium Chair With Armrests $92.39
• GCI Rocker Chair Black Friday Deal $55.99
• Baseball diffuser necklace (charm - $8)
• Large (golf) umbrella Black Friday deal $20.90
• Weather pod $69.99 after $30 coupon
• Savannah Banana tickets

Gifts under $20

1. Bat tape: Lizard skins
2. Athletic tape in team colors
3. Pine tar grip spray
4. Hydration packets: Prime, LMNT, Liquid IV
5. Silicone wristbands with motivational words
6. Customized arm sleeve with initials or number
7. Eye black

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Stephanie and Diana discuss a poll from Parents and Baseball and share the honest truth about why we started down the travel baseball path.

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Diana and Stephanie sit down to update a bit about what our summer baseball season looked like and try to examine where the newfound feeling of baseball burnout is coming from.

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This episode we are reviewing the WWBA 2026 Grads Tournament with special guest, Patrick Malley. The WWBA 15u National Championship took place at East Cobb Complex and surrounding Atlanta facilities.

Location(s):

PG East Cobb Complex 

Hog Mountain Sports Complex, Flowery Branch, GA 

Alpharetta High School, Alpharetta, GA

North Forsyth High School, Cumming, GA

Rating

• Facility: 4/ 5 points 
• Tournament Management: 4/ 5 points
• Fees: 3/ 5 points 
• Restrooms: 5/5 points 
• Umpires: 3/ 3 points
• Concessions: 1/ 2 points 
• Miscellaneous: 4/ 5 points

TOTAL RATING: 24/ 30  (Triple)

Note: Our reviews are completely based on our own personal opinions, and we are not receiving any compensation or incentives for our reviews (and if we ever did, we would disclose that information).

If you have any corrections, please send them to us. 

-----------------------------------------
Moms and Baseball Tournament Ratings Scale (30 possible points)

• 28+: Grand Slam
• 25-27: Home Run
• 22-24: Triple
• 19-21: Double
• 16-18: Base Hit
• Under 16: Strikeout

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We all know how all the expenses from travel baseball can add up over the season, so today we are going to talk about why you are spending too much money on travel baseball, and what you can do to lower the overall cost.

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Mentions
Episode 019: Moms and Baseball Fundraising Ideas
Episode 026: Interview with Minor League Mom, Debbie Mikolajchak

Today we are talking about the inside scoop of college recruiting from a former Ivy League coach’s perspective. To help us with this topic we invited special guest Kayla Noonan. Kayla was the head softball coach at Columbia University for 14 years and she is sharing her expertise on recruiting, athlete characteristics coaches look for, and expectations as a college freshman.

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Mentions:

Highest Degree: Former Bay City All Saints standout Kayla Noonan finishes her ninth season at the helm of the Columbia University softball program

Today we are reflecting on our 15-years-combined experience of being a baseball parent and discussing all the things we have learned that we wish we knew when our kids started travel ball. Listen and find out what made our top 9 list.

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Mentions:
Episode 7: Moms and Game Day Essentials
Episode 100: Baseball and More from a 15 yo Perspective, Part 2
"Going Out to Eat" Interview

This is our 100th episode and we want to thank all our listeners for continuing to share and listen to our episodes. We are so proud and happy to create some great content for parents, coaches, youth athletes and anyone else that loves baseball.

Today, Stephanie interviews Keegan, her 15-year old son, to hear his perspective on some baseball topics. They discuss his favorite Little League memories, favorite tournament destination, and his thoughts on negative comments on social media, sports anxiety, his view on the new MLB rules, his goal of playing D1 college baseball, and more.

You can follow Keegan and his journey on Instagram @Keegan_m.15 or on Twitter @Malley_k
 

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We are so excited to welcome back special guest Susana Lluch. Susana is Alek Manoah & Erik Manoah’s mom who previously joined us for Episode 65 back in November 2021. Today she joins Stephanie and Diana to catch up and talk baseball--especially the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Mentioned:

• Episode 65

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Today we are discussing the dangers of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) including anabolic steroids, Human Growth Hormone (HGH), some energy drinks, and also some dietary supplements. We invited special guest Don Hooton, Jr. to talk about this important topic and why it is such an important topic to him. Don discusses the warning signs and the dangers of these drugs to parents and youth athletes.

For more information you can visit the Taylor Hooton Foundation and learn about nutritional supplement safety, the All Me Assembly programs, All Me podcast, and the All Me League.

And remember, there’s no substitution for hard work!

Mentioned:

Episode 97
NCAA Banned Substances
MLB Prohibited Substances List


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Today we are discussing why nutrition is the most important piece of the performance puzzle for athletes. Our expert is Sports Dietitian, Tavis Piattoly. He's been working in the field of high performance and Sports Nutrition for the past 21 years designing personalized nutrition programs for high school, college, and professional athletes. 

Additional topics we discuss are:

• What to eat before, or during, tournament games.
• Hydration for hot weather baseball, electrolytes, and beet powder.
• Some of the most  most recommend supplements for athletes include an Omega 3 FA, Creatine 3-5 grams per day, and a multivitamin with Vitamin D.
• Supplement safety.
• Eat 2 Win Nutrition App 

If you have any additional questions for Tavis, you can contact him through our page or by email at tpiattoly@mysportsd.com.

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Today we are discussing our opinions about travel baseball and whether the travel baseball market is oversaturated with baseball organizations? And if there are too many teams, does it matter? What would that mean?

On Deck:
We speak with a sports dietician about nutritional needs for young athletes.

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Mentions:
- The Shift, by Walter Beede
- Episode 14- DadsTakeover - Choosing a Travel Team
- Episode 61 - Should I Stay or Should I Go? 10 Considerations Before Leaving your Travel Team

Today Diana interviews Xander, her 15-year old son, to hear his perspective on baseball. They discuss his experience with travel/select ball, rec ball and his thoughts on possible regrets, parent pet-peeves, the possibility of playing college baseball, and more.
 

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Today we are talking about Damar Hamlin, commotio cordis and cardiac arrest, how it is relevant to baseball, and what if anything can be done to help prevent it.

We recently witnessed the clip of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsing after a collision with Bengals wide receiver in a NFL football game. People have speculated that Hamlin went into cardiac arrest from commotio cordis. Our understanding is that for commotio cordis to occur, the impact has to occur in the right place (right over the heart), at the right time in the heart’s rhythm, by an object of a specific size. In this case, an opponent’s shoulder. The treatment is immediately administering CPR,  and using an AED (automated external defibrillator) until medical professionals arrive.

The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE)
is an independent, non-profit organization that funded research to develop the world’s first performance standard to protect against commotio cordis in 2018. The performance standard applies to the protectors worn in the sports of baseball and lacrosse. Today, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and NCAA require all catchers to wear protectors that meet the standard. Some of these products can include a traditional style chest protector but may also include compression shirts and coverings that are more suited for positional players or pitchers. For a complete list of current products that meet the standard, visit Safety Equipment Institute, which is the only entity that certifies equipment to NOCSAE standards.

Disclaimer: we are not medical professionals so please consider that anything shared in this episode is NOT medical advice. We are just moms wanting to keep our kids as safe as possible while playing the sport they love, and doing some google research for you.

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Articles used for this episode:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/01/05/commotio-cordis-mitigating-risks/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445066/

https://www.sportsmedtoday.com/commotio-cordis-va-88.htm

https://www.chicagotribune.com/investigations/ct-chest-protectors-commotio-cordis-standard-met-20160408-story.html

https://nocsae.org

https://www.seinet.org/search.htmsection=SportsAthleticsandRecreation#sections=NOCSAE_collapse3,NOCSAE_Baseball_collapse31

Today we are sharing Stephanie's favorite episode of 2022, which was Episode 83: Moms and Pitch Counts.

-----
Today's episode we are talking about pitch counts and why parents need to be aware. Tommy John surgery is on the rise and not just for MLB pitchers either. Diana and Stephanie discuss Tommy John surgery, pitch counts and rest days, recommendations for parents to protect their youth players arm, and pitch count apps. One more tip discussed was NOT to use ice for muscle soreness or after pitching/throwing. Your youth player needs active recovery to help rebuild that muscle. If you want to hear more about recovery, check out our episode 24: Arm Care Advice, Part 2 with Dr. Ryan Brown.

Recommendations/Guidelines to follow:

• Make sure to properly warm up before pitching
• Avoid playing catcher while not pitching
• Players should not pitch in multiple games on the same day
• Monitor for other signs of fatigue
• No pitcher shall appear in a game as a pitcher for three consecutive days, regardless of pitch counts
• No overhead throwing of any kind for at least 2 to 3 months per year (4 months is preferred). No competitive baseball pitching for at least 4 months per year.

MLB Pitch Smart Guidelines

Little League Pitching Rules


Articles:

Tommy John Surgery Saves The Careers of Pitchers, But We May Need To Get Ready For A New Problem…

Experts Warn Parents About Recent Uptick In Youth Baseball Injuries

Apps:

• Gamechanger (free)
• Pitch X -Pitch Counter (free)
• Pitch Counter & Radar Gun (free)
• Pitch Locator Pro (fee)

Mentioned in Episode:

Episode 24: Arm Care Advice, Part 2 with Dr. Ryan Brown
Episode 83: Moms and Pitch Counts

For the last 2 episodes of 2022, we each pick our favorite episode to re-share. This is Diana's Favorite of 2022: Episode 73- College Athletic Recruiting with with Coach Renee Lopez. 

Coach Lopez is a 20-year coaching veteran, and an expert in the college recruiting process. She has served as the NCAA compliance director and has also learned the recruiting process from having worked as a high school varsity head coach for three years and a college coach for 14, in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA.

Coach Lopez has written a book, "Looking for a Full Ride? An Insider's Recruiting Guide," which has been featured on ESPN Radio & SiriusXMI.

We found Coach Lopez through the Facebook group, "Educating Parents of HS Athletes on the College Recruiting Process," where she and a group of experts are helping over 50,000 member parents navigate the athletic recruiting process. 

This episode is jam-packed with helpful advice from Coach Lopez, including the following:

• Common misconceptions about the recruiting process
• When/how should kids start actively working to get on a college coach’s radar
• Considerations when making lists of potential colleges
• The "broken leg test"
• How to contact a coach through social media
• What is the NCAA Eligibility Center and why should your athlete start checking his/her high school's core courses now?
  
  

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Today is Part 2 of our mini-series with Lisa Messey.  Lisa is back to discuss college baseball camps, which were vital in the process of her son Drew's verbal commitment to University of Louisville as a 2026 grad. In particular, Lisa shares her son's experience at the week-long camp at Vanderbilt University.

In addition, Stephanie shares her son Keegan's experience at the College Day Workouts he did with the Midwest Canes at the University of Cincinnati and Indiana University.

Finally, Diana briefly compares those experiences to a camp that Xander attended at D3 Alma College.

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Mentions:
Episode 90: Verbally Committing as a Young Player- One Family's Story
Episode 74: College Baseball Camps

In Part 1 of a 2-part series with return guest Lisa Messey, we discuss her son Drew's recent verbal commitment to the University of Louisville as a Class of 26 shortstop. Lisa walks us through what that process looked like for them, including the "why" and "how" of verbally committing as an underclassman.

Mentioned:
Episode 74: College Baseball Camps
Episode 73: College Athletic Recruiting with Coach Renee Lopez

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