Post tournament soreness

Hi all,
Looking for advice for today. DD had first ever tournament (friendly) sunday,14u. Played three games, pitched 3 innings each game, avg 6-7 batters per inning, played various field positions otherwise. Personally, she had a good day, finished games felt good, no complaints. Woke monday, said mid-back(traps/ lats) was sore/stiff. evaluated as normal post exertion discomfort. last nite said she was still stiff, I thought OK, should start feeling better in morning. She complains this am still really sore, but nothing indicating an injury. The advice I am seeking is she wants to cancel a pitching lesson, that are difficult for us to schedule, due to not feeling "normal". While I am sympathetic to the discomfort, I feel working thru the recovery period will be helpful in (a) getting muscles back to feeling better (b) learning that she has a greater capacity for overcoming adversity than she realized. Have other had experience with less experienced pitchers getting sore as they transition to more competitive play and should I be Sgt. Hardcase and push her thru lesson?

when my DD started pitching 15+ innings per weekend this year, she was sore several days after the tournament. I always ask her to ice her arms, shoulder, etc. some folks think ice is not necessary, but that's our routine.

the first time, the soreness lasted days, but as she got used to pitching that many innings in a weekend, there was almost no soreness after a while. And DD DID go to her PC even though she was sore, BUT only you can determine if your DD is up for a pitching lesson. YMMV.

i would give it another day for your DD to rest out those muscles and make that decision then.

Was the amount she pitching during the tournament significantly more than she does during her weekly throwing sessions? If it was, you need to up the intensity of your bucket sessions. Maybe add some long toss at the end to help her work harder.

I would keep the pitching lesson and work on spins and mechanics if she is not comfortable throwing full speed.

Key here :

.......DD had first ever tournament (friendly) sunday,.......

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Even though she has been pitching, etc. she had extended playing time. Does she
work on conditioning outside of practice?

Thanks for quick input! This was significantly more than she has been throwing thru the fall and effort level was increased. No, despite my urgings she does not do conditioning indepently from team and IMO, the team has not done enough (of course, the coaches have a ton to work on, so priorities). As stated, first ever tournament, so effort level and duration was new experience. My feeling is that she is not injured and she needs to work thru soreness, because if were normal 2 day tournament she would have to perform next day. As a (old school) coach, I say suck it up, as Dad, I dont want to exacerbate discomfort.

DD pitches a good bit in our tournaments. Her lessons are on Mondays, which is inconvenient and I wish it were Wed instead but it is what it is. For regular soreness, we do not cancel. If it is beyond regular soreness we'll take the week off. I think we've done that twice.

No matter how late it is, she takes a bath with epsom salts after a tournament. We also force her to ice anything that stands out as being extra sore. The more tournaments they play the more their endurance builds up and this will be less of an issue. Plus doing conditioning stuff, which we do a lot of over the winter especially. We also have an essential oil blend for muscle pain that works really well. I can post a link if anyone is interested. And of course, a couple of Advil an hour before the lesson can be helpful.

Looking for advice for today. DD had first ever tournament (friendly) sunday,14u. Played three games, pitched 3 innings each game, avg 6-7 batters per inning, played various field positions otherwise.

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What I see a lot of is pitchers running out of gas after 4 innings or they are sore if they pitch longer. They are not in pitching shape, which is different than being conditioned. I've spoken to many pitcher's parents and they tell me their DD's will only practice for 30-40 minutes. The length of most pitching lessons. I tell them their DD needs to be able to practice at full speed for a full 60 minutes. They need to lengthen the practice sessions slowly in 5 minute increments till their DD can go 60+ minutes without feeling fatigued.

I also tell them to do simulated games so their DD gets used to the pitching/rest rhythm of a game.

Sparky Guy said:

I tell them their DD needs to be able to practice at full speed for a full 60 minutes. They need to lengthen the practice sessions slowly in 5 minute increments till their DD can go 60+ minutes without feeling fatigued.

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I don't know if this is necessary. Remember, most innings last 15 - 20 pitches and then the pitcher rests on the bench for 10 or 15 minutes during the half inning. Plus the game is a LOT slower than pitching practice because there are foul balls, time outs, base hits, coaches conferences with their batter, changing out a batter with a pinch runner, etc. You add the fact that most games are timed go on average 5 innings, the pitcher is throwing 75 - 90 pitches every hour and 30 minutes. To put it in perspective, my DD works fast in practice and will throw at least 100 pitches, including instruction time in 30 minutes.

To the OP, the reason your DD is sore is its her 1st tournament and has never pitched that much before. She will get used to it the more she plays in tournaments.

Lastly, for what its worth, DD has been pitching for 7 years and I only felt the need to have her ice her arm once when her idiot coach pitched her three straight game including a 9 inning ITB. She has never had any injuries pitching (knock on wood) even without icing. Ice reduces swelling for injuries and most all pitching sessions should not result in injuries. The reason you see professional pitchers ice in MLB and NPF is that they have prior, chronic injuries and the ice helps reduce swelling. I have even seen parents in rec league ice their DD who just pitched two innings in the game. Absolutely ridiculous....You want to help your DD after the game, have her cool down by jogging a few laps around the field to INCREASE blood flow, not DECREASE blood flow by icing.

Ok, not sure anyone has mentioned this but mechanics???? Bad mechanics can cause tightness and soreness.... Just a thought!

My daughter will be sore after a tournament after pitching 3-4 games over 2 days but its usually her legs and stomach muscles that hurt. She has never complained of shoulder, back or arm pain at all. I just give her an advil and she moves on. Give her a day or 2 to recover and see how she is doing.