Little League pitchers

FreddySuggs, I agree with you completely,,,,, but how do you get little league coaches to do it?

Again, I said above instead of having an inning rule, have a pitch count rule. There again, that don't help protect kids who play rec ball mon-fri and travel ball on weekends, which many are doing now. It comes back down to parents and having coaches who will care about the kid, unfortunately we all know this don't always happen.

I guess back to my original question, the same question that the announcers on TV had last night,,, what about these 12 year old pitchers PITCHING this much at this young age? As much as mature pros? Surely pitching even 7-8 months a year will take its toll on a 12 yr.old arm by the time that kid reaches 17.

I just thought that was a very good question about a topic that unfortunately so many parents simply are not thinking about when little Johnny is a hotshot pitcher at age 12.

ThrowHeat22,,,,,,,,, thats what I'm talking about, I like to hear stuff like that, just wish it was more universal.

 

Too much and not enough!

Too many games at the youth ages and not even instruction and development in the fundementals of the game. Kids this age need to be spending more time learning the proper fundementals of the game and building strong healthy arms. Instead many are trying to get there by playing game after game , tourney after tourney , month after month , year after year.

Kids at the youth age are not physically ready to take the strain of throwing in game situations on a constant basis. Instead of working on the game and building a strong healthy arm they are playing on a constant basis and there is no time to work on the game. The kids with the best arms at a young age are the ones at the most risk of injury. Why? Because they are the ones constantly called upon to get the win for the team.

Some people are too concerned with winning that mythical national championship and getting points towards that national ranking. Then when it matters the most the kids arm is all used up. Then when it matters they realize that they did not spend enough time working on what was really important. But they always can look at the trophy case and the pictures as a reminder of how great their kid once was.

Some of the absolute best arms I saw when my son was 10-13 are not even playing now. Many never toed the hill in hs and some did not even play in hs. When you are playing and pitching every weekend and then once or twice during the week on your "other" team when are you going to have the time to work on throwing fundementals or the basic fundementals of the game?

Its just too much for these young kids. People believe if they dont get Lil Johnny on that "Team" he will get left behind. No , make sure he is doing what is important by building a strong healthy arm and not over using it in game situations. Let him play enough to get the experience and just enough to keep him hungry to play some more. This year round game circuit for youth players is not good.

 

THANK YOU Coach27, and I completely agree with everything you just said. I just wish there were more of YOU coaching at the youth level, because I'm sure you get to see a lot of "tired" arms when they finally arrive on a HS campus.

I can name countless ACE little league pitchers who don't ever throw a single pitch in HS because "if" they are still playing at the HS level, their arm is done and other kids have passed them by, talentwise.

Again, what the announcers were talking about is with the explosion of travel ball and young kids playing more and more nowadays more than ever before, while its helping the hitters and fielders, unfortunately its going to hurt the pitchers.

 

share the blame

where do the travel leagues (AAU, others) fit in all this need to play / pitch less? have they reduced the temptation to play year-round? still putting on tournament after tournament. do they have pitching rules to limit the work?

 

I'll give props to Coach 27 here... Working on core strength, speed and quickness will benefit... NOt that I think 10 year olds need an all out weight program, but this would benefit older players.

As far as young athletes go, why not let them play other sports, have fun, be a kid, and mix in a little quality instruction as well? Wouldn't hurt them to hit the books a little too!!

 

I dont know about you guys

but I remember when I first was introduced to "fall ball". I was told it was going to be a time of the year when it was going to be all about instruction and a time when kids could focus on the fundementals of the game. It started out that way. A lot of instruction and practice time. A time to work one on one with the kids and a time to teach the finer points of the game. Then someone said "Lets just have a limited game schedule." The next thing I know is its a full blown schedule.

Some people just want to play games games games. The pitchers throw throw and throw some more. Tourney after tourney and you have to have arms to play. My son played on a AAU team. The first summer he played we were told the schedule would be every other weekend during the summer. Before too long it was every weekend. Then the fall came around. "Oh we are only going to play 1 weekend a month and practice the rest of the time and instruct. That did not last very long. The next thing I know we are playing 3 weekends or 4 weekends a month.

I was at a tourney in Concord one weekend and finally had my fill. I noticed that the parents were more excited about the games than the players. The kids were beat down. Every weekend on the road. Every time they came to the field it was game game and more games. There was no instruction time no BP no infield work no practice in the game. Arms were tired but we were winning trophies left and right. I let it be known that was it for me. And I let it be known why.

From that point on I broke the year down into segments. Summer was about playing games and having fun. The fall was about working on getting better both at the game and on the things that make you a better player. Once in awhile maybe a tourney. But the focus was on getting better. The winter was a time to work on the core , agility and strength. Man shut it down on the arm for Petes sake. The spring was a time to play HS ball. The young guys need to be on a solid throwing program getting ready for the summer.

This is just my opinion I am no expert. But you know I love ice cream. But if you eat it 24 hours a day 7 days a week even I would get tired of it. To me its not the kids. Its the parents and "coaches" that dont get it. Too much of anything is not a good thing. It is a fact that you have kids playing AAU or USSSA "early bird" tourneys in March and they dont stop until late November. How can a 10 year olds arm handle this year after year? When do they just be a kid? When do they work on getting better at the things that will make them better?

I love baseball. I love to watch kids play the game. But I love being at the field and having the time to teach and instruct. And I love being at the field when there is no game to play. Giving kids time to enjoy just working and the game and having fun working at the game. Every time you go to the ball park there doesnt have to be a trophy on the line , does it? JMHO

 

Where Are The Parents

I stopped by a ball park recently to visit with a friend. While we were talking, a dad and his son went out onto the field. After warming up a few minutes, the young fella went to the mound and began to throw to his dad. We walked over to watch while my friend and I continued our conversation (nosey us). We introduced ourselves to the dad - asked where the kid played, etc. We spent about 30 minutes with the budding young star - basic pitching mechanics. Best 30 minutes we have had in a while. Seems the dad was "sick of travel ball" and no instruction!

 

Coach27, I have a very similar story, and your exactly right about fall ball. When my oldest son played his first fall ball, it was just like you described, we figured it would be a time to "just get" extra BP in game situations, no pressure on winning, relaxing, let other kids pitch or play positions who wanted to try something new, or for those who were solid at their positions just work on things. That lasted about 2 innings into the very first game, from then on it was WIN WIN WIN. Then AAU comes up with this bright idea to hold tournaments every weekend somewhere in NC and we are traveling every weekend to some end of this great state, mounting huge motel bills. But we were winning trophys, and we were (according to AAU) building up POINTS for their end of season state tournament or nationals (wow).

I too realized the adults were more into the travelball than the kids. Young boys at 11,12,13 may truly love baseball, but they have other interests too. When my oldest son entered HS as a freshman, he was ready for the varsity baseball team, he had played everywhere he possibly could 9 months a year for about 4 years in a row prior to his 9th grade year. That year he told me right before the school year started that he wanted to go out for the HS football team because his HS is a pretty decent football school, he wanted to be a part of that. I told him "he was crazy", I didn't want him (a baseball player) to get hurt. I thought about it and gave him my blessings, but I held my breathe everyday during football season about him injuring his baseball body. He began lifting weights, he got so much stronger, played HS football 4 years, I mean he started and played (not sitting on bench) yes HIM, my baseball player was playing football at a "football school".

Guess what I realized, during each of the following springs during his HS career, he had his best seasons ever playing baseball. He was happy, he was in great shape, and he was sharp, not burned out on one thing. Just my personal experience. Unfortunately many young dads don't mean no harm, but they have no idea what they're doing, have heard many many stories like yours from other dads over the years.

 

I have to say that I am lucky that....

...my son's high school baseball coach (Greenville Rose's Ronald Vincent) will encourage his players to play other sports in the fall besides fall baseball even if there is a conflict with fall baseball practice and games. My son is a pitcher on Rose and he runs cross country in the fall and misses some baseball practices and games due to meets (RV is smart enough to know that a lot of running in the fall is good for his pitchers in the spring). Our starting catcher plays soccer for Rose (goalie, isn't that fitting for a catcher) in the fall. Other players have done other fall sports including football and winter sports (basketball). I think the change in pace from one sport to another is good for the kid, mentally as well as physically. People may disagree with this especially if injuries happen in a secondary sport that may cause a kid to miss time in his primary sport but with his multiple state championships over the years, I trust RV's judgement.

 

As a parent of kid who will play 11u this fall, I read with interest. My son has pitched since 8 years old and I worry about him playing too much and pitching too much. our coaches have really come around after complaints from parents about their sons pitching too much. They try to limit pitch count to 85 pitches per w/e but sometimes its a little more or less. We had one kid that went to doc this year and was diagnosed with partial tear of his tendon in elbow. I remember a game when a kid was getting rocked and was completely gassed on the hill and had 2 strikes on hitter and two outs in the inning when the parent demanded that his son come out immediately. The coach took him out but he was pissed. You have to do whats right for your son. It seems like the ones that can throw strikes most often are the ones that pitch the most. From this past March to August, my son pitched in 18 games and had 49 innings and faced 227 batters. Does that seem like a lot for a 10yr old? I will say it was less than last year.