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Rocky
290 Posts |
 Posted - 03/27/2009 : 11:45:20
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With the weather outside I figured I would start a post about baseball since there wont be much played this weekend.
For younger players I hear 2 different schools of thought:
1-throw as much as you can, when we were kids we threw rocks tennis balls pine cones, footballs, and everything else we could get our hands on. We were outside all the time, no video games no MTV no Ipods or any of that mess and our arms were stronger for it and you didn't see many kids hurting their arms back then.
2-throw a couple of times a week and let your arm rest and rebuild to gain the strength back. Do rec ball players have less arm injuries than travel ball players?
I tend to lean toward throwing less. We are all taught to stay away from lifting weights until we hit puberty, what is the difference between tearing down muscle fibers lifting weights and throwing a baseball. Lifting weights requires a few days rest to rebuild those muscles and science is showing now even more days rest is better than we thought.
What do you think.
Is it the year round baseball, year round throwing, is the ball too heavy for kids? I heard football players (quarterbacks) don't have arm injuries? Maybe it's the improper technique
Chime in on this one |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2009 : 14:49:15
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I think there is a difference between pitching too much and throwing too much. Personally, I think you CAN pitch too much, but I don't think you can throw too much. The problem with pitching is that there are coaches out there who will have a kid pitch beyond fatigue where mechanics start to suffer. The other issue is not getting enough rest between pitching outings. On the other hand, I don't think you can do enough long toss (really just playing catch). I am not a scientist or any kind of expert, but I believe that you build up a stanima to be able to throw alot and possibly hard.
My son is now 15 yrs. old and pitching high school varsity as a freshman. He started playing baseball at 7 yrs. old. Since he was a toddler, he loved to throw things. We have a vaulted ceiling in our living room with a big wall on one side. He would throw a ball at that wall for hours and catch it. He would throw a ball against the garage door forever. I eventually taped a strike zone on the door for him to throw into. We would go out to the fields and play catch all the time. He would play catch with his friends. I think you get the point. He threw constantly.
Today, he has no problem throwing 90+ pitches in a game. He went 6 innings, 90 pitches on Monday night and said he felt good enough to go another inning. Here is the important thing, he will not pitch again for another week. He will take the day after the start off and not throw at all, then do long toss at least every other day before his next start. He has never had arm issues.
Another important point to make is it is important to have sound mechanics for pitching. If mechanics are not sound, chance for injury increases. If you are serious about your son pitching, get him to a reputable pitching coach. Make sure he is fundamentally sound. Make sure he does not pitch past the point of fatigue, and make sure he gets plenty of rest between outings.
Another thing is, I understand the concept of pitch counts. However, they are not a cure all. The problem is, one size does not fit all. There will always be kids who can go beyond the limit without any problem. There will also be kids who will not be able to get to the limit. A coach and/or parent needs to be able to judge and evaluate each kid individually and determine what their limit is. A coach also needs to be able to make the decision to take their "stud" out when they have hit that limit regardless of what the potential outcome of the game might be. Believe me, we have lost a number of games by taking out a pitcher who was tiring. Below high school, no one will know or remember that game. The health of the kids is way more important than whether or not you win that tournament game at 14 or below. |
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ronicard
117 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2009 : 18:44:40
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I would have to disagree with the argument that you cannot throw too much, personally. An article on travelballselect makes an interesting point along these lines that throwing too many fastballs appears to be more dangerous than throwing a few curves.
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Edited by - ronicard on 03/28/2009 16:29:28 |
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Rocky
290 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2009 : 20:40:09
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Excellent Reply bballman: ThX
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2009 : 16:40:42
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ronicard, I think throwing fastballs would classify as pitching. I did make a distinction between pitching and throwing. ASMI has also taken the stance that throwing a fastball puts more force on the arm than a properly thrown curveball.
I think the difference between pitching and throwing is that, generally speaking, pitching in a game you are throwing closer to all out than you would playing catch or long tossing.
There is a whole school of thought out there with the belief that kids do not throw enough now a days. That is the reason major leaguers cannot go more than 100 pitches or so in a game. I don't believe any of these people think you should pitch beyond your limits or that you shouldn't get plenty of rest between starts. Just that in order to be able to pitch to higher pitch counts, you need to condition your arm. Just like you don't just go out and run a marathon. You build up to the point where your body can handle that level of competition. By the way, Nolan Ryan is one of those who are advocating for this belief. |
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panther
38 Posts |
Posted - 03/29/2009 : 00:17:17
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| I think there is just not many people that are suppose to be pitchers. They do not grow on trees. There is not enough pitching for this many travel teams at ages below 12. Plus the poor pitcher next day in practice throws a hundred balls to first from SS or some other position. My brother pitched a long time and never hurt his arm. Started pitching at 8 and pitched until 18. Pitched a million innings in summer ball and high school and never got hurt. I think he was just meant to pitch. Probably helped that he was lefty and could not run and just played first when they let him play a position. |
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Throw more or throw less to save the arm?
