Why Travel Ball Is Killing Community Sports | Tyson Ross on The Giving Game
5/15/202648 min
Former MLB pitcher Tyson Ross joins The Giving Game to talk about why youth sports are becoming inaccessible for everyday families — and what he’s doing to change that. Tyson opens up about growing up in Oakland, the life-changing impact of community baseball, and how his nonprofit, Loyal to My Soil, is working to bring free camps, equipment, and coaching resources back to underserved communities.
The conversation goes far beyond baseball. Tyson and Sophia talk parenting in the age of screens, raising grounded kids while living around professional sports, balancing competition with fun, and how modern youth sports culture puts pressure on families financially and emotionally.
Tyson also shares hilarious stories from his childhood, college life at Berkeley, his first car, staying on the family phone plan, and the realities of parenting as a former professional athlete. Most importantly, he explains why community matters more than trophies — and how even a simple social media share can help grow the mission.
Loyal to My Soil provides:
- Free youth baseball camps
- Equipment donations
- Coaching clinics
- Community outreach programs
- Opportunities for underserved kids to access sports
DONATE HERE
GUEST SOCIAL
- Instagram: @tysonross_38
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
In a world where athletes are known for what they do on the field, Sophie takes that off the table. She's asking the questions no one else will. No stats, no highlights, no safe answers. Just real conversations and one goal: raise as much money as possible for the causes that matter most. But there's a catch. The more you give, the more they give up. This isn't just a podcast, it's chaos for a cause. This is "The Giving Game."
Sophie Weitzel· Host0:31
All right. Well, welcome, welcome. Uh, my guest today is, um, somebody who has been using his platform for, for the good of the world and doing something that actually matters. Um, he's not just here to spill the tea with me. He is here to, uh, put something up on the line and see if fans will show up for him. He is a husband, a father, um, got a great sense of humor, super funny and chill guy. Um, I guess he played baseball for a few years in the Major Leagues for, like, eight years, something like that. So, um, Tyson Ross, welcome to "The Giving Game."
Tyson Ross· Guest1:08
Thank you very much. Happy to be here.
Sophie Weitzel· Host1:11
[laughs] Well, tell me a little bit about Loyal To My Soil. What kind of brought you here? What motivated you to come on?
Tyson Ross· Guest1:19
Yeah. I mean, for me, it really starts at the beginning. So I was a kid that grew up in Oakland, California. Uh, played baseball, uh, growing up down the street from the Oakland Coliseum in East Oakland.