My 9 yr old DD is playing her first year TB. She had a tournament this weekend in which she pitched a LOT. Yesterday, she threw 3.5 games and probably well over 200 pitches. Probably over 250. Should I be worried? I see threads about pitch counts for HS kids, but what about little kids? She's worked hard to earn the #1 spot but I didn't expect her to throw that much in one day. We did ice her shoulder even tho she says she isn't sore. I also gave her icy/hot and aleve just because I wanted to make sure she was okay.
9 yr old pitching too much?
- Thread starter RandomDad
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How many games in a day? Assuming that she threw 3.5 games in two days, probably it isn't a problem--*IF* you give her a couple of days off (including no practice).
What she should do after a game is to do some cool down underhand tosses. I.e., have her play pitch and catch (*NOT* pitching) with her throwing underhanded. If she can't play pitch and catch underhanded, you need to teach her.
The icing is fine. (I'll avoid the debate about whether ice is worth the trouble.)
Do *NOT* give her aleve or any pain medication. Why? If her arm hurts, you want her to tell you it hurts. If her arm hurts, then you know she pitched too much.
What she should do after a game is to do some cool down underhand tosses. I.e., have her play pitch and catch (*NOT* pitching) with her throwing underhanded. If she can't play pitch and catch underhanded, you need to teach her.
The icing is fine. (I'll avoid the debate about whether ice is worth the trouble.)
Do *NOT* give her aleve or any pain medication. Why? If her arm hurts, you want her to tell you it hurts. If her arm hurts, then you know she pitched too much.
I think that is too many pitches. Geez, why are they riding one 9 yo? Is she also playing another position, when she isn't pitching? All consecutive games? You need to sit down with the coach, now and come up with some limits. Maybe 2 short games on Sunday, if she is doing well. I would be counting her pitches, for sure, from now on. Include her warm ups. Lets say that she is the best 9 yo around. I am guessing 125 pitches would be plenty, in one day. I am not certain about the back to back thing. Maybe someone else will speak up.
- Feb 3, 2011
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It isn't 1 tournament of riding a player's arm that does the damage, it's the repeated overuse for 150-200 games a year over the next 5 years that does it.
I'm not going to flip out because your coach did it this one time, but 3+ games back-to-back should be a red flag that this coach might be a little too focused on winning, regardless of the player's age.
I'm not going to flip out because your coach did it this one time, but 3+ games back-to-back should be a red flag that this coach might be a little too focused on winning, regardless of the player's age.
5.5 games over three days for a 9yr old (who I assume is playing 10U) is way too much.
3.5 games on a Sunday is also too much. I assume they did the 'best pitcher in elimination game' coaching strategy which probably means they only trust your DD to be able to win the game for them. That has to change or over time she will wear down and get injured.
3.5 games on a Sunday is also too much. I assume they did the 'best pitcher in elimination game' coaching strategy which probably means they only trust your DD to be able to win the game for them. That has to change or over time she will wear down and get injured.
agree with the others...3.5 games in one day is too much.
You are right and I'm going to talk to her coach. I just didn't know what to do in the moment. Like I said, this is her first year playing TB and I haven't been around the game too much. She'd been splitting time with another pitcher, but she was really locked in this weekend and he stayed with her. I'd seen college pitchers throw multiple games which are 7 innings. Her games all went 4 innings each due to the 1hr 15min time limit. I am going to start counting pitches like Amy mentioned above.
I chart pitches for my DD and know how many she throws throughout the day. When she was 9 200 pitches was about where her legs started to get tired but her arm was fine. We work by the thought that the more you throw the stronger you get. She is now 12 and can handle between 300-400 a day every day of the tournament and has never had any issues. You have to factor in weather, rest between innings, is she being run for when she gets on base besides just how much she throws. Track her pitches and you should be able to tell very easy after a couple days when she starts to reach her max and starts to labor. If she is not having issues and wants the ball that much it is only going to make her better. Just my opinion.
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