Daughter seems fatigued

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May 1, 2015
12
0
Hello all,

My daughter is in her second season of pitching and is 7 years old. She has done a great job for our team this year and is our top pitcher. She took a break in December for about 3-4 weeks after fall ball and began practicing/conditioning her arm again in January. Our season started in early March and she had thrown an average of 4-5 innings per week. She has pitched really well until about the last two weeks. She is still pitching good, but seems to be laboring more and is having a harder time hitting her spots. Her pitching coach and I have decided to give my DD some time off, which my DD does not want. She wants to pitch, so I have told her we need to make sure she does not get injured or overwhelmed with exhaustion. How long do you think a pitcher needs off to regain that focus on the mound and feel fresh after going hard for four months? My daughter is likely to make the all star team as a pitcher and we will begin games is little over 3 weeks. I am thinking of giving her about week off. Is this long enough? Or too long?
 
Last edited:
May 9, 2014
474
0
Umatilla, Florida
I would say, as a parent, go with your instincts if she seems worn out give her a break. She will go thru times of not pitching great whether she's tired or not, which is good for you if there is something you want her to work on now is a good time to bring it up, she's not going to want to change it while it's going good. But if she's wore out give her a break
 
Jun 7, 2013
984
0
At seven years old, your DD is very young. Pitching is quite a demanding position and at seven years old I think, obviously, your DD is working too hard. My DDs, who are 14 and 16 and very good pitchers but who may not have the drive to continue onto college ball, seem to work at it a lot less than most pitchers on this forum. This past year from October thru February, I think they pitched for 12 hours. They did pick it up in March with the onset of the school season and will be working hard through the end of July--still not every day and not more than 30-40 minutes of practice at a time.

My DDs didn't start pitching until they were nine years old. I think at seven years old and well beyond, the emphasis should be on having fun. Anything serious shoudn't start until much later IMHO.

Good luck!
 

JJS

Jan 9, 2015
276
0
It could look like fatigue, but actually just be a growth spurt. Sometimes when the girls grow both their speed and accuracy are down for a while until they get used to the longer limbs, and different release angles.
 
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
I understand your concerns. I would have had some kind of break down if someone would have restricted my ball playing. Remember that we used to play, unsupervised and out in the street, every day.

And we played on the playgrounds at school.

Are you in an area, that goes year around?
 
May 1, 2015
12
0
She played 8u as a 6 year and began pitching as a 7 year old last fall, after beginning lessons last May.
 
May 1, 2015
12
0
I would say, as a parent, go with your instincts if she seems worn out give her a break. She will go thru times of not pitching great whether she's tired or not, which is good for you if there is something you want her to work on now is a good time to bring it up, she's not going to want to change it while it's going good. But if she's wore out give her a break

I am planning on it. She will take the next three games off for sure.
 
May 1, 2015
12
0
I understand your concerns. I would have had some kind of break down if someone would have restricted my ball playing. Remember that we used to play, unsupervised and out in the street, every day.

And we played on the playgrounds at school.

Are you in an area, that goes year around?
yes we are in Southern CA.
 

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