Listen — Chat By The Pitch
Chat By The Pitch
Ian Babcock has published 180-plus episodes since December 2022 — most of them 40 to 60 minutes with a club director, a coach, a sport psychologist or a parent who has been through it. What earns the pick isn't just the interviews. It's the infrastructure around them: chatbythepitch.com runs an open tryout listing board and a camps and clinics board, plus a written companion, The Sideline Read. For a club director, that's a free distribution channel you can post into — not just another thing to listen to.
Start here: "Why Pay-to-Play Youth Soccer Is Failing American Players" with Alex Lubyansky, the XbotGo AI-camera episode, and The Cappis Family on raising a pro without pushing. Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify · chatbythepitch.com. Ian was the subject of this week's FACEOFF — read it here.
Chat By The Pitch isn't paying us and we take no commission. Ian reviewed our Q&A with him before publication.
Coaching — LeadTheGame
LeadTheGame
Sam Powell is the founder of LeadtheGame and believes the real ROI of youth sports isn't measured by scoreboards or scholarships — it's measured by who athletes become. After nearly 20 years helping people develop leadership in high-pressure environments, she now helps parents, coaches, and organizations recognize what athlete behavior is really communicating so they can intentionally develop the performance behaviors that improve performance today and build stronger leaders for tomorrow.
leadthegame.org · LeadtheGame's Locker Room on Substack · the parent-and-coach track opens with a free 20-minute Next Move Assessment.
Gear — Training
TaloViz Training Basketball
A weighted training basketball built for ball-handling work — heavier than regulation so dribbling reps carry over to game speed.
The honest part: A focused tool for one job: handle work. It will not fix your jump shot.
$34.99 — code CoachBoard5 takes $5 off
TaloViz provided a sample ball for review.
Tech — Video
Trace
An AI camera that auto-films youth soccer matches and cuts them into player and team clips without a parent on the sideline holding a phone.
The honest part: Subscription on top of hardware — budget for the full cost, not the sticker.
Hardware plus an annual subscription; pricing varies by team plan.
