Weighted balls

Help!
I am getting conflicting info regarding weighted balls. My daughter recently left a B level travel team where she was the number 1 pitcher and got a lot of pitching time. We wanted to get her on an A level Team, where we knew going in she would get minimal circle time. Thought at a more competitive level that would be good for her.

I am telling you this so you know she is not pitching a whole heck of a lot. She has been pitching 4 innings on her School team maybe 2 times a week if that. The problem is the A level team has a warm up routine where they have a catch and then have a catch throwing the weighted ball for a while...

Due to HS players her travel team hasnt been playing on the weekend for the past 2 weekends. Last week she warmed up for her school team got through 2 innings and could not finish! Her Elbow!! She is 13yrs old will be 14 in a few months. We shut her down after that inning, so she hasnt practiced, just rested and iced it for a few days. it has been 5 days, says its feeling better but it doesnt start hurting till she warms-up to pitch, which she wont do till her schools play off game the end of the week.

We are going to request that she not throw the weighted ball on this team ever again for risk of damaging it for the rest of her life. Travel ball coaches how do we approach the coach or present this to him without risk of her getting even less playing time. Her pitching coach agrees she should never have been throwing that weighted ball, he uses it to strengthen her wrist not throwing at regular distance...Help!

Many tools can be dangerous if used incorrectly.

Having said that I would approach the coach, explain to him what happened, let him know you don't want to risk it again. Ask for an alternative exercise.

My DD doesn't use weighted balls any more due to risk of injury. Her PC has replaced the drills with weighted balls to long throw drills (from between pitching rubber and second base, then from second base).

I sold my set of weighted balls after I talked to Alan Jaeger, of Jaegersports.com. There is no use for them among women. You simply can't use them for overhand throw, because the shoulder in women is so complex, that the risk of injury is high. And you can't use them for the windmill, either.

I used to use them for short underhand toss, just for fun - but someone has to catch them and that is the problem. My DD broke my finger, inside my glove tossing me a weighted ball.

And, I agree to replace the weighted balls with long toss.

So, to vary lessons and make them fun, I use 11 inch balls, 12 inch balls, 14 inch balls and 16 inch balls. There is no added weight, but the pitcher has to concentrate on muscle memory, grip, etc.

Agree Screwball. Bill Hillhouse had some good advice on weighted balls.

Before you discount weighted balls please understand that there are different types of weighted balls. The cannonball which weighs a pound is way way to heavy to use so I would recommend nothing more than spin drills in your house with this ball. Then you have some that are 12oz, 10 oz, and some that are less. I have purchased all of them and would say that the only weighted ball I would use is the Worth weighted ball and it is 8.25 oz and in my opinion will not damage your arm. With that being said it is not a warm up ball, it is a training ball and should only be used after a complete warm up and should never be used if you experience any pain at all.

The second part of this is you need to be honest with yourself and if your pitcher doesn't have good mechanics I would not use any weights at all and would limit the innings.

Rita Lynn Gilman actually has a whole routine involving the heavy weighted ball. The info on weighted balls seems to be conflicted. It just depends on who you talk to and their opinion.

Cannonball and Schuttball Routine - YouTube

Have fun with that shoulder surgery and the pain your daughter will go through. That may seem a bit harsh but if you use weighted balls for throwing or pitching its going to harm your DD. You will do more damange to the micro fibers around her rotator cuff and that will result in inflamation. You can also damage growth plates that are not fully developed.

I can not endorse anything that puts abnormal stress on the shouder. Its not healthy for the player.
From a pitching coach that posts on this site. With young kids it is the long term effect.

I use them. No pitcher I've used them with has ever had a problem, short term or long term.

The ones I use are the Worth balls. I use two -- one that's an ounce heavier than a regular ball, one that's one ounce lighter. It's important to use both over and underloading if you're going to do it. I use them for off-season training. I wouldn't use them for warm-ups.

I use the routine Marc Dagenais, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, professional trainer with a focus on fastpitch softball, and owner of this site, recommends. I figure if it's good enough for Marc it's good enough for me. He's spent way more time studying how the body works than I have.

Screwball, if that's the case I sure wouldn't use them for underhand or overhand. Way too much weight.