New member, first tournamnet questions regarding pitching. 8U

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May 16, 2016
1,020
113
Illinois
The girls will be playing their first tournament Memorial Day weekend. One day tournament with 4 teams, maximum amount of games played would be 4 games in one day. There is also a 90 minute hard stop time limit, basically after 90 minutes the game is stopped and you go back to the score of the previous inning that is completely finished. I don't expect any of the games to go more than 5 innings at the 8U level. We have 2 good pitchers who both get pitching lessons and their mechanics are pretty good IMO, 1 decent pitcher and 2 inconsistent pitchers. So five girls that could potentially pitch during the day. 2 of those 5 pitchers are still 7 years old, actually the best pitchers is a 7 year old also. 30 foot mound, walks are allowed, no bunting. Those are the details.

My question is regarding advice in the amount of innings/pitches one girls should be pitching in one day at the 8U level. From my understanding underhand pitching causes less stress on the arm than overhand basesball pitching, I have always heard that the underhand motion is a more natural motion but I grew up playing baseball and I am still in the learning process of coaching fastpitch softball. The last thing I want is any of these girls to hurt their arms at the 8U level by over pitching them.
 

Top_Notch

Screwball
Dec 18, 2014
512
63
It *should* be quite apparent when the pitcher is gassed, especially at that level. There is no preset as it will depend on the girl. I've seen an 8 year old pitch 3 games and get better as she went. (Efficiency will play a large role in how long the pitcher lasts as well.) Others are gassed before the first game is completed. Just monitor speed and accuracy and don't be afraid to put in another pitcher when you see the signs. Also, you could always ask the pitcher and read their body language.
 
May 17, 2012
2,803
113
It doesn't matter if they can lift their arms to brush their hair at age 30. Those plastic trophies last forever.

Also that's a myth about under hand throwing being more natural (and less prone to injury). Every pitcher is different; just don't pitch them when they are tired. Just keep rotating them as needed. Don't let them throw 120 pitches in warmup before every game either.
 
Jun 11, 2013
2,619
113
Just never forget that they are kids. It's your job to protect them. Don't ask if they are too tired to pitch. The good ones will
never say they are.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Our first all-star team (8U) had two equally-strong pitchers, plus a couple of others who could pitch in an emergency. The two starting pitchers (one of them a younger-8U) carried us through 6 tournaments, including Districts and States, and I think the only time we went to a third pitcher is when we had a very large lead. If I recall, the most amount of games we played in one day was 4, and our starter girls both handled it well.

The younger of those two starters is currently playing 10U travel ball, and is destroying opponents with mid-50's speed. Unfortunately, the other quit softball after a bad experience with her 10U TB team.

As others have said, however, every kid is different, and the expectations of their performance should be judged individually. Some kids can seemingly go all day without fading much. Others go from awesome to terrible in 1 pitch.
 
Aug 29, 2011
2,579
83
NorCal
When we played 8U there was a limit of 2 IP per game but that was probably local tournament rules that vary. We had at least 6 girls pitch that summer varying from about 1 to 8 IP per weekend.

Your mileage may vary but as other have said, be smart protect the kids.
 
Jan 22, 2011
1,600
113
Any run limits per inning?

The 8u tournaments we played in had a rule where pitcher could only pitch 2 of first 4 innings each game, then could pitch 1 additional inning if game went more than 4 innings.

I had two good pitchers, and 3 girls I wanted to get game experience. In pool play we would pitch 1 of the top 2 2 innings, give one of the other three an inning, then close when the other of my top 2. In elimination play, I would go with with top 2.

I also scheduled three friendlies during the during which I gave each of my P3 through P5 one inning, then gave another girl 1 inning. My DD still gives me grief about only pitching her 1 inning in a friendly as a 7yo.
 
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sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,131
113
Dallas, Texas
From my understanding underhand pitching causes less stress on the arm than overhand basesball pitching, I have always heard that the underhand motion is a more natural motion but I grew up playing

There is nothing "natural" about the underhand pitching motion. No one "naturally" throw something 65MPH underhanded.

Underhand or overhand produces about the same stress. Stress in underhand pitching is on the bicep, while the stress in overhand pitching is on the elbow. The bicep, of course, can recover better from overuse, but that doesn't mean that the bicep can't be seriously and permanently injured.

There is especially a danger to the two heads of the bicep--the long head and the short head. The heads of the bicep attach the bicep to the shoulder. An injured pitcher will often complain about pain on the front of the shoulder, which indicates an injury to one of the bicep tendons.

Generally, a softball pitcher can pitch more than a baseball pitcher. How much more is debated. The experts tend to be in the 500-700 pitches per week, with no more than 300 pitches over two days. https://www.neorthohospital.com/patient-education/softball-pitching-limits
 
Last edited:
May 16, 2016
1,020
113
Illinois
Any run limits per inning?

The 8u tournaments we played in had a rule where pitcher could only pitch 2 of first 4 innings each game, then could pitch 1 additional inning if game went more than 4 innings.

I had two good pitchers, and 3 girls I wanted to get game experience. In pool play we would pitch 1 of the top 2 2 innings, give one of the other three an inning, then close when the other of my top 2. In elimination play, I would go with with top 2.

I also scheduled three friendlies during the during which I gave each of my P3 through P5 one inning, then gave another girl 1 inning. My DD still gives me grief about only pitching her 1 inning in a friendly as a 7yo.

6 runs per inning, unlimited in the last inning. Those are the rules for the part time travel league, that leaves a grey area in regards to the unlimited runs in the last inning when there is a 90 minute hard stop time. Coaches will have to discuss that rule before we start. Maximum of 3 innings pitched by a pitcher in a single game.
 

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