Hi USSSA family,
Welcome back to Beyond the Scoreboard.
This is a big week for baseball.
MLB's biggest stars are taking the field for All-Star Week, while youth travel baseball is celebrating a milestone of its own.
Let's take a look beyond the scoreboard.
The best players in the game are taking the field this week. Here is something fun to remind your young athlete.
Every All-Star was once a nervous 8-year-old stepping into the batter's box for the first time.
While you're watching the Home Run Derby or the All-Star Game this week, try looking beyond the highlight plays.
Ask your athlete:
You might notice:
Talent may have gotten them there. But those little moments of character are part of what made them All-Stars, too.
Enjoy All-Star Week! ⚾✨
Youth travel baseball was on national television this last week.
Take that in for a second.
For years, moments like these were reserved for the Little League World Series. Last week, elite travel baseball took another step into the spotlight as the inaugural Ripken National Championships aired on CBS Sports Network.
Here's why that's a bigger deal than it might first sound.
For more than 20 years, Ripken Baseball has hosted tournaments and camps for young athletes across the country. But this year marked a milestone: the inaugural Ripken National Championships, where more than 250 teams and 3,500 athletes competed for the chance to reach Cooperstown, New York, and battle for the first true national championship in Ripken Baseball history.
And for the first time, those championship games were broadcast nationally, not just livestreamed.
Travel ball has quietly become one of the highest levels of youth baseball in the country, yet much of it has existed outside the national spotlight. This broadcast is a sign that's starting to change.
National networks are beginning to recognize something families have known for years: the competition is exceptional, the stories are compelling, and these young athletes deserve a stage that reflects it.
We don't expect this to be the last time, either. If the interest around this event is any indication, national broadcasts of travel ball are only going to become more common.
For USSSA families, that's worth getting excited about.
The next team taking the national stage could be your own.
THIS WEEK · CHAPTERS 6–10 ← Missed Ch 1 to 5? Catch up ↗
Three ideas worth carrying into the weekend.
One habit Phil Jackson never skipped wasn't a drill. It was the huddle.
Before the first ball was thrown, everyone knew exactly what they were working toward that day. Every drill had a purpose. Every player understood the goal. Then, before heading home, the team gathered one last time to reflect on what they'd accomplished and what still needed work.
Before practice, give your players a clear objective for the day. Tell your team: "Today's goal is ________."
Whether it's communication, hustle, encouraging teammates, or improving a specific skill, make sure every player knows what success looks like before the first drill begins. Then, before everyone heads home, come back together, and ask what they learned.
The answer might not always be a better swing, throw, or shot.
Sometimes it's confidence.
Sometimes it's resilience.
Sometimes it's a lesson they'll carry long after the season ends.
Maybe that's why Phil believed the huddle mattered just as much as the drills.
It's easy to spend an entire season chasing the next tournament, the next win, the final standings, or the championship. Just don't let tomorrow's goals steal today's memories.
Phil Jackson often invited people completely outside the world of basketball to speak with his team and challenge the way they thought about difficult problems.
Phil said all these experiences made the team stronger, not just as individuals, but as a team. One player put it simply: those gatherings made the team bond in ways no other team he'd played for ever had. It felt like they were part of something bigger than the game.
Who in your community has something valuable to teach your team? You probably already know someone who could expand your players' world with just 15 minutes at the end of practice.
Maybe it's a firefighter talking about staying calm under pressure. A nutritionist sharing game day fueling tips. A grandparent telling a story about perseverance.
Sometimes the most valuable part of practice isn't the practice at all.
NEXT UP · CHAPTERS 11–16
Hunter Klaehn approaches baseball with the same mindset he hopes to bring to a future career as a firefighter-paramedic: stay calm under pressure, work hard every day, and never stop pushing forward.
Whether he's making big plays on the field or serving younger children at his church, Hunter is already building the character of someone others can count on.
The ride home is one of the few moments each week where life slows down long enough to really listen.
You never know where the conversation will lead.
Whether they share a little or a lot…
Thanks to every family, athlete, coach, umpire, director, and volunteer who spent their weekend making youth sports something special.