Today we’d like to introduce you to Leo Young.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I spent the better part of the 1990s coaching at Tallahassee Community College, where we were ranked in the top five nationally and made three trips to the postseason. During that time, I had the opportunity to work with elite players like Brian Cox — a First Team All-American at Florida State University who played in the College World Series and later signed with the Atlanta Braves — and Ryan Freel, who went on to play nearly a decade in Major League Baseball for multiple organizations.
Beyond those names, I’ve coached and worked with countless high school, college, and professional players over the years, helping them climb to their next level.
Drawing from those experiences, I wrote a book called BASS: Barrel Accuracy and Swing Strength — The Path to Elite-Level Hitting, which is a collection of the drills, approaches, techniques, strategies, and methods I’ve used to help hitters progress through the ranks.
But over the last several years, I began to notice a negative shift happening in our game.
The foundation that once made baseball a training ground for life — discipline, teamwork, perseverance — was starting to erode.
The system was becoming more about money, exposure, and short-term accolades, and less about real development and character building.
That’s why we launched Sore to Soaring.
Sore to Soaring is about restoring what matters most — building better athletes, better people, and stronger futures through sports.
We believe that the lessons learned between the lines aren’t just about baseball; they’re about life, career, leadership, and resilience.
And we’re committed to making sure no athlete — regardless of their background — gets left behind.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road — not even close.
One of the biggest challenges has been fighting against a broken system that too many people either ignore or benefit from.
Over the last decade, we’ve seen youth baseball shift from a community-driven development system to a pay-to-play business model.
The real problems have been clear:
Cost: Youth baseball has become a financial arms race, shutting out countless talented players whose families can’t afford the escalating expenses.
High School Coaches Being Pushed Aside: The very coaches who were once the backbone of long-term development are now being bypassed for short-term travel teams chasing trophies and exposure.
Injury Epidemic: The explosion of year-round summer ball has led to an alarming rise in injuries at younger and younger ages. We’re burning kids out before they even have a shot at reaching their full potential.
Collapse of Local Baseball: In our region alone, Little League participation has dropped by 47% — a brutal statistic that shows kids aren’t just leaving baseball; they’re losing access to the lessons and life skills that sports uniquely provide.
This isn’t just about the game — it’s about what kids are missing out on when they don’t play:
Discipline
Leadership
Teamwork
Resilience
Accountability
Skills that employers desperately want — skills that aren’t taught in a classroom but are forged in competition, training, and mentorship.
In underserved communities, the impact is even worse.
When baseball disappears, the opportunity for real personal development disappears with it.
That’s not a sports problem — that’s a future problem.
Building Sore to Soaring meant stepping directly into these challenges — not looking for easy solutions, but building a model that puts the athlete first, keeps costs reasonable, and connects sports to bigger opportunities in life and career.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Sore to Soaring isn’t just another baseball program — it’s a full development system for athletes and future leaders.
We combine advanced baseball training with physical development, recovery oversight, mentorship, and financial literacy education, preparing young people for success both on and off the field.
What we do:
Train athletes to compete at higher levels — safely, efficiently, and sustainably.
Develop coaching interns into future mentors, teachers, and leaders.
Integrate real-world skills like financial literacy, leadership, and career preparation directly into the athletic process.
How our program works:
Fall: Players and coaching interns train in a structured system focused on skill development, strength, stability, and recovery, under the guidance of professional coaches and physical therapists.
They also take financial literacy courses taught by local business leaders, covering bookkeeping, accounting, taxation, and career preparation.
Spring: Players and coaching interns return to their high school teams to compete and implement what they’ve learned.
Meanwhile, our staff focuses on rebuilding local park programs — introducing updated formats and structures designed to attract young players and families back to their communities, restoring the local baseball culture that’s been lost.
Summer: Players rejoin our no-travel summer development program — focusing on safe, progressive physical and skill growth, avoiding the injury risks of the traditional travel circuit.
What sets us apart:
Affordability and Access: We remove financial barriers to open doors for more families.
Health-First Approach: Athlete health and workload management come before trophies or exposure.
Life Skill Development: We deliberately teach leadership, resilience, accountability, and financial literacy alongside athletic training.
Long-Term System Building: We’re not just developing players — we’re building leaders, future coaches, and stronger communities.
What matters most to you? Why?
At Sore to Soaring, what matters most is becoming the trusted epicenter — the first and only place athletes, coaches, parents, and families turn to when they want it done right.
In a world flooded with misinformation, dangerous shortcuts, and overpriced hype, we are building the clear, reliable hub for correct athletic training, real player advancement, responsible exposure, and true life skill development.
If you’re serious about growth — whether you’re a player, a coach, a parent, or a family — this is where you come.
We combine elite training, structured physical development, injury prevention, financial literacy, and leadership education — all taught directly by successful community business leaders who understand what it takes to succeed both on and off the field.
Sore to Soaring is where commitment meets opportunity — and where talented, hardworking athletes get the tools they need to advance in sports, career, and life.
We are not just a program.
We are the community center for serious development — rebuilding what youth sports was always meant to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://soretosoaring.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soretosoaring
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soretosoaring
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-young-3228a42a2
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@soretosoaring
