For dads
For dads trying to get this right
Learn about foundational player development, college recruiting without the sales pitch, and tips to keep the game from coming between a great relationship between you and your son.
Relationship · August 20, 2026
The Hours in the Yard Were the Part That LastedI spent 16 years at CageRat helping players chase velo, get more reps, and find college scholarships. Looking back, the hours between fathers and sons were what lasted.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
Are You Good Enough for College Baseball?College baseball recruiting isn’t a secret. One question matters: is your son good enough for the level he’s chasing? Measure the 60, arm strength, and bat speed before you buy another service.
Development · August 21, 2026
The 3 Measurable Tools — Where Your Son Needs to BeFive tools make a baseball player. Two of them take a trained eye. The other three you can measure — exit velocity, arm strength, and a 60 — and those numbers tell you what the level he wants actually requires.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
5 Reasons High School Players Struggle to Get RecruitedCollege baseball recruiting gets noisy. Five reasons your son is struggling to find a school — tools, training, an honest evaluation, recruiting services, and grades — and what a dad can actually do.
Relationship · August 22, 2026
Whose Dream Is This? Love of the Game Comes FirstA lot of kids keep playing baseball because they were a little better and dad kept signing them up. Then the fire never starts. Ask him if he had fun. Love of the game is the first goal — before college, before another showcase.
Recruiting · August 21, 2026
How to Contact a College Baseball CoachYour son sends the email — not a parent, not a recruiting service. Three short paragraphs, a video they can open immediately, honest numbers, and his summer/fall schedule. Help him write it. He hits send.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
How to Make a College Baseball Recruiting VideoYou do not need a $2,000 Hollywood recruiting video. An iPhone, a parent, and about two minutes is enough: ten swings, ground balls from his position, and a 60. College coaches give you about 20 seconds.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
How to Be a Great Baseball TeammateCollege baseball coaches don’t just watch the tools. They watch whether teammates want to be around him. Baseball isn’t fun if he isn’t a great teammate — and a dad can teach that in the car after a game.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
How to Honestly Evaluate Your Son’s Baseball ToolsThe most important thing you can do as a dad is look at where your son actually stands compared to the college level he wants. Measure the 60, the arm, and the exit velo. Write the numbers down. Don’t build a school list off a wish.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
When Should My Son Start College Baseball Recruiting?There isn’t a date on the calendar that makes recruiting official. D1 coaches cannot contact players until August 1 of junior year. Until the tools are there, emails and camps are just spending money.
Development · August 22, 2026
Why Travel Baseball Took Over — And What a Dad Should WatchTravel baseball isn’t the enemy. A calendar with no backyard, no rest, and a kid who doesn’t want the work is. 8U rings don’t show up on a college board. The hours spent working in the yard do.
Development · August 22, 2026
Baseball Players Are Made, Not BornAnybody can play baseball. You don’t have to be born a certain size. If the goal is college, the work is moving the 60, the arm, and the exit velo — then get him in the weight room and stack the 20 minutes daily.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
Character Is What College Baseball Coaches Actually BuyUnless he’s throwing 95, a college coach wants to know what kind of person your son is. Hard worker or shortcut guy. How teachers talk about him. How he treats the kid who isn’t starting. The tools get him looked at. Character is how he stays.
Development · August 22, 2026
Hitting With Power — Train With a PointDon’t go into the cage just to get some swings in. Hitting power is barrel speed and hitting behind the baseball. Have a plan, count the reps, and leave before it turns into chopping wood.
Development · August 22, 2026
Arm Strength Is the Easiest Tool a College Coach SeesCollege coaches watch warm-ups. Long toss, then pull down. If the arm is below average, that is a plan you can work in the backyard — not a personality trait.
Development · August 22, 2026
Baseball Speed and the 60-Yard DashCollege coaches love the 60 because they can write it down. The game is won in the first three steps. Almost everyone can get fast enough to play if they treat speed like a tool instead of a talent they “just don’t have.”
Development · August 22, 2026
Hitting for Average Is an Approach, Not a PersonalityCollege coaches will take a kid who drives the ball in the gap every day over a kid who sells out for a homer twice a month. Hitting for average is hunting the pitch he can handle and staying through the middle.
Development · August 22, 2026
Defense Is How He Stays on a College Baseball RosterA below-average defender has to hit his way onto a college roster. That’s a harder ask than families think. Ground balls and fly balls are the most skippable work on a travel weekend and the most obvious on a coach’s eval sheet.
Development · August 22, 2026
Becoming a College PitcherFor a pitcher the evaluation is velocity, command, an off-speed he can throw for a strike, and movement. If he throws 75 and needs 90, cleaning up mechanics will only take him so far.
Development · August 22, 2026
Size and Strength Separate High School From College BaseballThe biggest shock for a freshman isn’t the curveball. It’s how much bigger the upperclassmen are. There is no excuse not to be in the weight room if the goal is college baseball.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
Academics Count in College Baseball RecruitingStudent-athlete is the name of the person your son wants to become. Freshman and sophomore grades are the foundation. Getting the degree is why he is going to college.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
NCAA Eligibility and the Sliding ScaleIf your son wants NCAA baseball, eligibility is a rules problem, not a vibes problem. Core courses, GPA, and registering with the eligibility center on time. A dad can own this without becoming his agent.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
The Truth About College Baseball ScholarshipsCollege baseball is an equivalency sport. Almost nobody is on a full ride. Academic money is often the real lever. Ask the four-year cost before he falls in love with a hoodie.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
College Baseball Visits and Offers: Slow DownA camp invite is not an offer. An offer is not a decision. Sit in a weekday practice and watch how they treat their own players. Your son should do most of the talking.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
How to Choose a College Baseball ProgramFit is playing time, a degree he’ll use, a staff he can trust, and a cost the family can carry. The right level where he can compete beats the wrong logo where he disappears.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
He Signed. Now Don’t Coast.The NLI is the start of the hard part. College summer will not be kind to the kid who treated senior year like a victory lap. Keep the yard work. Keep the plan.
Recruiting · August 22, 2026
Scouts, Advisors, and Why College First Is the Real PathCollege coaches don’t care how many wins you had at 13. MLB is drafting more college players because they want to see what he’s actually done. For almost every dad reading this, the honest path is build the player and find the right school.