I picked up a baseball for the first time when I was 6 years old and didn't put it down until I was 19. Rec leagues, travel teams, club teams, showcases, college camps — I lived on the mound. In high school I had two MLB tryouts. I earned a spot pitching at a Division I program. Baseball wasn't just something I did. It was who I was.

During the winter training season of my freshman year, I tore my UCL. Back then — more than 20 years ago — Tommy John surgery was still largely reserved for professional athletes already in the majors. The procedure that's now routine for high school kids simply wasn't available to me the same way. I had to retire. At 19 years old, the game I had given everything to was over.

I spent the next two decades actively avoiding baseball. The sport I loved was too painful to be around. Then my son picked up a ball when he was six years old, and something changed in me. I dove back in headfirst — teaching him mechanics, watching him develop, falling in love with the game all over again. He's now one of the top pitchers on his travel and club teams, and if I'm being honest, he's already better than I was at his age. He has a bright future ahead of him.

But here's what keeps me up at night: he pitches for more teams, in more games, with less predictable rest than I ever did. The youth baseball landscape has changed dramatically, and the risk of overuse injuries has grown with it. I know better than most what it means to lose the game you love to an arm injury — and I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen to him.

I built Bullpen Report for my son. And for every other kid out there with Big League Dreams and parents who want to protect them. Using it over the last several months has genuinely changed how I feel on the sideline. I'm less anxious, more informed, and I know that every coach who works with my son has the information they need to make smart decisions. I can't guarantee that Bullpen Report will prevent an injury — nobody can. But I can tell you that just knowing my son is getting the proper rest has helped me sleep better at night. And watching him light up when he checks his advanced stats and analytics after a game? That part I didn't expect, but it's become one of my favorite things about building this.

Protect their arm. Let them play.