Catching Up with Rob Crews
ISSUE #08 · SEPTEMBER 20, 2026 · ELITE IS A MENTALITY
|
|
Hey there,
Team USA didn’t just win in Oklahoma City this week — they punched a ticket to Australia and put themselves one step from an Olympic berth. Fall ball schedules are landing everywhere, a 30-year college coach is opening his season around something bigger than wins, and if your 2028 grad hasn’t been nominated for a national ranking yet, that window closes October 5th. Seven things below, plus a Houston date that’s one week out.
|
|
WHAT I'M READING, WATCHING & TRAINING
|
Maya Brady’s Three Homers Punch Team USA’s Ticket to the 2027 World Cup Finals
Brady went 3-for-4 with three home runs in a 7-0 run-rule win over China, while Karlyn Pickens and Rachel Garcia combined on a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts. Seven nations are through to Redcliffe, Australia next April, and the winner punches an Olympic berth to LA 2028. That’s what two weeks of not leaving anything to chance looks like.
Softball on SI · Open it ›
|
|
|
|
|
Every Class of 2028 Athlete Needs to Be Ranked — Committed or Not
A national ranking becomes a permanent credential that coaches and broadcasters reference for the rest of a player’s career, whether she’s already committed or still deciding. Nominations for the Class of 2028 close October 5th — if that’s your daughter’s grad year, this is a five-minute task with a long shelf life.
Extra Inning Softball · Open it ›
|
|
| 04 · COLLEGE SOFTBALL |
READ |
Ken Eriksen’s 30th Season Opens With a Cause Behind It
South Florida released its fall schedule — six home games from October 16 through November 13 — but the number that stands out is Eriksen’s own: 30 years, 1,214 wins, and a season closing with “The 33 Game” honoring former player Alexis Buchman’s fight with brain cancer. Fall ball isn’t just reps. It’s where a program’s culture shows up first.
USF Athletics · Open it ›
|
|
|
Breaking Out of a Slump, From Someone Who’s Been In One
Haylie McCleney’s five-part approach skips the pep talk: judge your process instead of your results, stay positive on purpose, journal your at-bats, give your brain real recovery time, and stay coachable even when your gut wants to fight it. Print this one and put it in the bat bag before the next 0-for-4.
Haylie McCleney · Open it ›
|
|
| 06 · HITTING & COACHING |
TRAIN |
Four Hitting Drills From the Coaches Who Actually Use Them
NFCA pulled these straight from its Coaching Tools Package — slap mechanics, contact-point identification, sequencing, and timing adjustments, each one built by a college staff running it every day. Pick one, run it for two weeks, and measure what actually changed before adding the next.
NFCA · Open it ›
|
|
|
Spin Rate Isn’t the Whole Story — But It’s Part of It
Higher RPM doesn’t automatically mean a better pitch, and this is a clean explainer on why: movement, deception, command, and consistency all have to show up together. Good primer to hand a pitcher who’s chasing a number instead of a result.
Fastpitch Flex · Open it ›
|
|
|
|
FROM MY MIC
Transcending Sport with Rob Crews
New episodes drop roughly every two weeks — conversations on player development, mindset, and coaching philosophy, plus the occasional monologue when I’ve got something to get off my chest. If it’s been a minute since you checked in, this is a good week to queue up whatever’s newest.
▶ Listen on Spotify Apple Podcasts
|
|
|
ON THE BOOKSHELF
Get Recruited — Rachel Coleman
A step-by-step walk through the recruiting process, not a pep talk about it. With Class of 2028 nominations closing this week (see #03), this is the right week to actually hand it to your player instead of just bookmarking it.
Find the book ›
|
|
|
WHERE'S ROB & WHAT'S COMING
|
Rake Sessions & Coaches Seminar
Houston, Texas · September 25–27
Elite Training Facility, 2012 Center Street. Coaches seminar Friday 7–9:30pm. Four player sessions Saturday and Sunday, $200 each, 10 hitters max — this is one week out and these fill fast.
Coaches Seminar — Register › Player Sessions ›
|
Also booking: Dallas, Atlanta, and Orlando this fall · Albany this winter · Nashville in January.
Want a Rake Session at your facility? Start here.
|
|
|
TWO THINGS THAT HELP
|
Rob Crews Inner Circle — $19/mo
Where I put the long-form work: daily thinking, training breakdowns, and the material that doesn’t fit in a newsletter.
Join the circle ›
|
|
|
Shorty Training Bat — $150
Part of the Swing Dynamics system — built to train barrel control and bat path in the same swing, not two different drills.
See the bat ›
|
|
|
|
Pick one thing off this list and actually do it this week. That’s the whole point.
Elite is a mentality.
— Rob
|
|
|
|
