Most Valuable Agent with Matt Hannaford

The best youth coaches see things you miss from the stands. Kevin Quinn, the only coach Quaker Valley hockey has ever had, shows you what they are. Subscribe for weekly answers on travel ball, recruiting and the draft. MLB agent Matt Hannaford breaks down what a hockey coach with three state titles knows about player development, so you can judge your kid's team, coach and next opportunity with clear eyes.   WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why you get one role at your kid's games: coach, player or parent How your reaction after a benching can start an excuse cycle Why your kid won't get better just playing games The 48-hour rule Kevin gives every parent before the season When moving your kid down a level protects his development Why a D1-or-bust message can leave your kid feeling he let you down After Matt's episode with former NHL player Eric Tangradi, baseball families sent in a wave of questions about how much of the hockey travel world matches their own. Kevin Quinn answers a lot of them. He grew up in Canada, played seven years of junior and college hockey and watched his brother Dan Quinn go 13th overall in the 1983 NHL Draft. He founded the Quaker Valley High School hockey program outside Pittsburgh in 1997 and has been its only coach since, with three state titles and six Penguins Cup championships, while teaching in the Quaker Valley School District for 32 years. He was also on the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite staff that won the 2016 USA Hockey 18U national championship with a roster that had no Division I commits. Kevin starts with the money. Too many travel organizations take a lot of money from families on the promise that their kid will move on, and he calls it a bill of goods. He explains how he picks players for hunger over commitments, and why a team that only plays games won't develop your kid. Kevin has watched rogue hockey teams play 100 games in a season, and the young baseball players he teaches in gym class told him they just play games. Most of the hour is about you. Kevin coached his own sons, once had seven dads questioning him from the stands and built a rule every family in his program hears before the season: you can be the coach, the player or the parent, and you only get one. He walks through his preseason meeting, the 48-hour rule for emails, why ice time is a privilege and how a parent's sympathy after a benching hands a kid an excuse that stalls his development. He can also tell when a player in his office is repeating his parents, or an advisor the family paid at 15. Matt and Kevin close on perspective. Kevin explains why he pulled his own son back a level, why he admires Minnesota's high school model, why he wants kids playing lacrosse and travel baseball instead of one sport 12 months a year, and why telling your kid from day one that he has to play Division I sets him up to feel he disappointed you. Matt shares what he missed most after his playing days ended at Long Beach State.   TIMESTAMPS  0:00: Why a Hockey Coach for Baseball Parents 05:33: If You Knew Your Kid's Real Odds 12:49: Hunger, Favoritism and Coaching Your Son 21:12: The Coach, Player or Parent Rule 22:24: The Preseason Meeting and 48-Hour Rule 27:02: How Parents Feed the Excuse Cycle 33:07: When Your Kid's Coach Won't Talk to Him 39:00: Why Games Alone Won't Develop Your Kid 46:08: When to Move Your Kid Down a Level 51:44: Was It Worth It If He Didn't Make It?   Matt's free post-summer audit for families: https://mostvaluableagent.com/post-summer-audit  Send in your question: [email protected]  Watch the Eric Tangradi episode: https://youtu.be/huShTCqhyBY    ABOUT THE MVA PODCAST Matt Hannaford is an MLB agent who gives you the insider playbook on college recruiting, the transfer portal and MLB Draft decisions. The Most Valuable Agent Podcast helps parents and players navigate the system with confidence.   #YouthSports #TravelBaseball #YouthHockey #MVAPodcast  

Weeknight practices and weekend tournaments three hours away, and now your son's grades are slipping. An MLB agent explains why that report card is a baseball problem, and how slipping grades quietly cost players scholarships and draft money.   What you'll learn Why a college can't recruit a player who can't get into the school How grades affect leverage, scholarship offers, and even draft dollars Why "I'm just going pro" is a risky bet at 16, and what scouts actually ask How to make your son see grades and baseball as one and the same Who to bring in when your son won't hear it from you   In this episode Simone from Silver Spring has a 16-year-old whose grades are starting to slip between weeknight practices and weekend tournaments three hours away. Baseball matters to him, and it matters to her, but so does getting into a decent college. She wants to know how to keep travel baseball from swallowing the schoolwork, and when the schedule is just too much to justify. Matt Hannaford, an MLB agent, puts the stake plainly. Around August 1 of junior year, D1 programs can start recruiting, and part of that process is asking for a transcript. If the interest is there on the field but the grades won't get him into the school, they don't recruit him, it becomes go to junior college, fix the grades, and maybe we talk later. The awareness Simone already has is the advantage; the question is whether her son sees the same thing. He goes further into the money. A player aiming at the draft still gets asked where he's going to college, and "I couldn't get in because of grades" travels, it affects the money a team offers and the leverage a family has. In an era where NIL makes college players look like professionals, they are still student-athletes: fall below eligibility and you can't play, which means the grades were a baseball problem the whole time. Matt's practical close: make your son understand the grades are not separate from the game, and if he won't hear it from you, find the voice he will, a travel coach, a hitting or strength coach, a player who lived the consequence. On the bigger draft-vs-college debate, he's clear that the son's own buy-in has to be part of any plan, because he's the one who has to live it.   Timestamps  0:00: Grades slipping under the travel schedule 2:32: Aug 1 junior year: transcripts and D1 recruiting 3:25: How grades affect draft money and leverage 4:30: Grades and baseball are one and the same 4:52: Student-athlete, NIL, and eligibility 5:27: The voice he'll actually listen to 6:06: College or pro ball: how an agent advises families   Send in your question Have a travel-ball or recruiting question you want answered on the show? Submit it here: [email protected] More on recruiting for parents: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5H4dTL0Gs4tiHHxBq8it6LzYLvFB961X    #TravelBaseball #CollegeBaseball #BaseballRecruiting #MVAPodcast  

Your son used to live and breathe baseball. Now he seems exhausted, disconnected, or less excited about playing. Does he need a break, or is he losing his love for the game? In this episode, Matt answers a question from a baseball dad facing that exact situation and explains why the answer starts with understanding the player—not simply pushing forward with the plan. He discusses physical readiness, what meaningful commitment actually looks like, and why families need to make sure their baseball plans fit their son's goals and capabilities rather than simply copying what other families are doing. What you'll learn Why the fact that you're asking already tells you something How a growth spurt at 15 shows up as fatigue and aches, not quitting The difference between an expectation and an agreement, and why it matters here How to ask a question your son can't answer with just "I'm good" Why travel baseball is a tool, and how that reframe protects his love of the game In this episode Cody from Fargo wrote in about his 15-year-old who used to live and breathe baseball and lately just seems worn down and quiet about it. Part of him thinks the kid needs a break; part of him worries that if his son steps away he loses everything he built. He wants to know how to tell the difference between a kid who needs rest and one who's ready to walk away for good. Matt Hannaford's first move is disarming: you know your son better than anyone, and the fact that you're asking probably means he needs rest. At 15, a lot of kids are hitting a growth spurt, and that shows up as fatigue and aches long before it means they're quitting. So do not drop the player into a plan you already built. Start with what he's actually committed to. From there Matt teaches the distinction he uses with clients: commitment as integrity, treated like gravity, do you do what you say you're going to do. And the parenting version of it, the difference between an expectation you never said out loud and an agreement your son actually made with you. He even has players write the commitment down and sign it, so "yeah, sounds good" becomes something real. The throughline is the tool reframe. When a parent gets frustrated and wants to blame travel baseball, Matt pushes back: the tool can do a lot of good if you pull the right levers. Get clear on why you're doing this, do it, then monitor whether it worked, and let your son's honest answer about how he feels drive the next decision, not the other families' plans you're copying.   Timestamps 0:00 — The kid who used to live and breathe baseball 1:00 — Growth spurts, fatigue, and reading 15 3:07 — Commitment as integrity: like gravity 5:16 — Expectations vs. agreements 8:52 — The question he can't answer with "I'm good" 11:24 — Travel baseball is a tool: pull the right levers   Send in your question Have a travel-ball or recruiting question you want answered on the show? Submit it here: [email protected]    More for travel-ball parents: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5H4dTL0Gs4vlKfChWXK7jPepLxS2PYRr  #TravelBaseball #YouthSports #BaseballBurnout #MVAPodcast  

Your son's travel program has him throwing basically year-round, and every headline about a teenager needing Tommy John surgery makes you flinch. An MLB agent explains how much throwing is too much and how to push back without being "that parent." What you'll learn Why arm surgery at 13 or 14 is not a reset button, what doctors actually tell those families The 21-day post-season shutdown rule and the micro-tears it protects (This is not medical advice) The questions to ask your coach about where his throwing plan comes from Why "more" is rarely the answer, and how fear of missing out drives overuse How to set a long-term health goal that changes what you do this season In this episode Renee from Bozeman has a 14-year-old pitcher whose travel program keeps him throwing basically year-round, and she keeps reading about kids blowing out their elbows before they even reach college. She wants to know if the workload is setting him up to get hurt, and how to push back without coming off as an overprotective mom. Matt Hannaford, an MLB agent, starts by validating the instinct: skepticism here is wise. He tells the story of a Major League manager who, as a travel coach, tried to slow a young player down, only for the family to leave for a team that let him throw more, and the kid got hurt. When a 12-to-16-year-old needs surgery, the doctors Matt has hosted, including Dr. Keith Meister, often say the fix is not surgery but putting the ball down for years, because the body is still developing. Then he gets practical. After a season a pitcher should shut down for no less than 21 days, injury or not, to let the small micro-tears in the elbow heal before they become a big tear. So the move is to get curious about the coach's plan: is it built on a real throwing program, from names like Eric Cressey or Jagger Bands, or is it "everybody else is doing it." Matt is clear that "more" is not a plan, and that the fear of missing out is what pushes good parents into overuse. He ends where he ends most of these: get clear on the goal. For Renee, success is a son who can play, compete, and develop while staying healthy. Name that, and the throwing decisions get a lot simpler.   Timestamps 0:00:00: A year-round pitcher and a worried parent 1:00: Why surgery young is not a reset 3:53: The 21-day shutdown and micro-tears (not medical advice) 6:42: How to question the coach's throwing plan 8:44: Why "more" isn't the answer, and FOMO 11:13: Set the health goal that guides every decision   Send in your question Have a travel-ball or recruiting question you want answered on the show? Submit it here: [email protected]   Links & Resources Matt's Post Summer Audit: https://mostvaluableagent.com/post-summer-audit   #TravelBaseball #YouthPitching #ArmCare #MVAPodcast  

You are paying real money for travel ball, the coach's son gets the prime spot, and you are left wondering if the whole thing is rigged. Before you pull your son off the team, an MLB agent breaks down how to tell favoritism from a development gap.   What you'll learn How to tell real favoritism from a coach's son who simply does the little things well The one question to ask the coach about your son instead of "why isn't he playing" Why treating travel baseball as a tool changes what you do with a bad summer How to run a post-summer audit on what you actually paid for The deeper question underneath playing time: is your son developing, and is he enjoying it   In this episode Vince from Buffalo wrote in with a frustration almost every travel-ball parent has felt. He is paying good money for his 13-year-old's team, the coach's own kid gets the prime position and the at-bats, and it has him wondering whether the whole thing is rigged from the start.   Matt Hannaford, an MLB agent, does not dismiss the concern, and he does not feed it either. Favoritism exists in travel baseball. It is also true that the coach's son might be one of the better players, or might just do the little things well: running balls out, backing up bases, throwing strikes. So the honest first move is to get curious about where your son actually stands, not how he stacks up against one other kid.   From there Matt reframes the whole situation through the idea that has resonated most with these families: travel baseball is a tool. If you treat it like a tool, the question stops being "why is that coach playing his son over mine" and becomes "what were we trying to get out of this summer, and did we get it." That is the post-summer audit Matt walks through, including the trap of expecting your son to get recruited from three events, or blaming the program when a college coach passed.   He closes on the two questions that actually move a player forward: is your real concern the coach, or a fear that your son is not developing as fast as you hoped, and underneath even that, is your son enjoying the process at all. Because if he is not, Matt is blunt about the ceiling that puts on everything else.   Timestamps 0:00 - The favoritism question every travel-ball parent asks 1:23 - Does favoritism exist, and when is it something else 2:24 - The little things: why the coach's kid may be earning it 3:30 - Travel baseball as a tool: the post-summer audit 5:07 - The question to ask the coach about your son 10:21 - The real concern: development, and whether he's enjoying it   Send in your question Have a travel-ball or recruiting question you want answered on the show? Send it to [email protected].    Links & resources More episodes for travel-ball parents: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5H4dTL0Gs4vlKfChWXK7jPepLxS2PYRr   #TravelBaseball #YouthBaseball #TravelBallParents #MVAPodcast