All of you have made good posts and opinions. I have been on both sides of this fence personally this year so i thought I'd put my 2 cents in. My DD is her TB team's pitching mule. Would pitch all the 'gotta win' and championship games. A weekend would range from 15-25 innings depending on tournament circumstances. TB pitching since 8 with NO injuries ever, she is now 16.
She is like most on here, play travel ball every weekend and practice during the week. Last summer after winning a state USSSA championship she started saying the arm felt funny. Nothing ever popped, and she never knew 'when' it happened. Well she kept pushing forward, playing with the discomfort. But she was getting slower and slower and giving up some bombs that was unusual for her. I shut her down last fall and went to an orthopedic surgeon. After a dye test MRI, it showed a torn cartilage in the cuff. Even after she shut down she had tremendous pain for months. We went to doctors in 2 different states that specialize in sports medicine, I guess hoping one would have a miracle cure. One doc from Nashville and a second in Memphis both said there is a study going on in Florida about the repetitive damage from years and overuse of FB pitchers. ( I think I posted this a few months ago on here somewhere )
Over the 8 years of pitching i would let her go as much as she said she could, within the innings listed above. Now I'm looking at it very different. Did the coaches overuse her? Did I push too hard? Was it a freak accident? I'm not sure but it cost her 6 months of physical therapy, half her HS ball season, and a spot on a Gold Team this summer. ( I finally just told that coach that DD was not going to be strong enough to play and they'd have to find a replacement )
As a father I will be more cautious once we return to 100%. Just my 2 cents on this thread.
GD
She is like most on here, play travel ball every weekend and practice during the week. Last summer after winning a state USSSA championship she started saying the arm felt funny. Nothing ever popped, and she never knew 'when' it happened. Well she kept pushing forward, playing with the discomfort. But she was getting slower and slower and giving up some bombs that was unusual for her. I shut her down last fall and went to an orthopedic surgeon. After a dye test MRI, it showed a torn cartilage in the cuff. Even after she shut down she had tremendous pain for months. We went to doctors in 2 different states that specialize in sports medicine, I guess hoping one would have a miracle cure. One doc from Nashville and a second in Memphis both said there is a study going on in Florida about the repetitive damage from years and overuse of FB pitchers. ( I think I posted this a few months ago on here somewhere )
Over the 8 years of pitching i would let her go as much as she said she could, within the innings listed above. Now I'm looking at it very different. Did the coaches overuse her? Did I push too hard? Was it a freak accident? I'm not sure but it cost her 6 months of physical therapy, half her HS ball season, and a spot on a Gold Team this summer. ( I finally just told that coach that DD was not going to be strong enough to play and they'd have to find a replacement )
As a father I will be more cautious once we return to 100%. Just my 2 cents on this thread.
GD