How much is too much

[Mama B]

In the fall in the Midwest - we play ball in temps anywhere from 45 to 80 degrees. My daughter pitched two games, several hours apart the other day, and may be asked to do the same in coming weeks. Are we wrong to allow two games a day for a 12-13-year-old pitcher, who usually faces 3-5 batters in a normal inning? I'm getting different opinions here and wondered what some of you would say. The games are usually 5 or 6 innings in length.

 

[rdbass]

My 13 yo DD will be pitching 2 games this Sat. at a tourney. 1 game at 8:00 and 1 game at 1:45.Each girl is different.Some have no problem pitching 2 games in a day some do.Ask your DD how she feels/looks after or during the games.Most times its just once a day but because of only 2 pitchers and 3 games on this Sat. she was asked to go twice.We will see if she pitches the full 2 games.My DD plays soccer and basketball also at this time of year fall and winter, so she is in shape.

 

[Jojo]

I would have to say it would depend on a lot of things.
The weather, the intensity the girl throws and the girl herself.

Mine was a workhorse. We live in TX and she usually was the main pitcher, her 1st yr of 12U at 11 she pitched every game for her tournament team, up to 7 games in a weekend, in upper 90 degree heat.
I did have to find her another team the next year so she could share some of the load.

I did notice with her that she was slow to warm up and get in the groove. Her first game was usually her worse game, we used to call it her warm up game, then the 2nd would be better and her 3rd would be her best, then as she tired the 4th-5th were a little less intense.

She always wanted to be pitching but did enjoy sharing the load.
I know she would not be happy with just one game, 2-3 would be desired for her.

 

[chinamigarden]

2 games in a day, up to once a week? Yeah I think that is fine for a 13 year old pitcher. My girl, and many others, have done that and more. You have to watch your kid and make sure its something she can physically handle, as everyone is differernt.

Based on the batters faced and innings pitched that you mentioned. Assuming that your dd throws an average of 4 pitches per batter, which in my experience is fairly normal, each game would be under 100 pitches a game. 200 pitches a day with several hours of rest in the middle. Not too much for most.

 

[rowdy]

If you are a travel team that plays in big tournaments your pitchers have to be able to throw more than one game in a day. Like many have already said it is your job to monitor your pitcher and be on the lookout for warnings that she is too tired to pitch. The last thing you want is your ace to out of commission due to an overuse issue.

 

[Jojo]

Jojo: I am confused. Another post mentions your daughter had stress fractures in the back?

I would watch the overall pitch count for the week, which is 700 for 13. If you pitch 2 games on one day, the next day should be limited to one game (or vice versa). Monday completely off.

I think we need to be less bravado about this.

She threw A LOT as a 11yr old and had help at 12-13.
At 14 she was throwing tournaments with help, but what I didn't know was how much she was throwing as a freshman in high school.
Her high school had (3) teams, freshman, JV & Varsity, and her coach was making her pitch BP to all three teams during the entire practices, daily.
She was worried about telling me about it, because she wanted to impress the coach.

That was too much pitching, at the same time she was in a growth spurt.

Communication is the key, she didn't tell me how much she was pitching in school. She had to take off for a year. She had no more problems after that, and she learned how to regulate her practices and be more commutative to me and her coaches.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Our 9yo girls are limited to 7 innings in every 2-game set, which resets following the second game if we're playing 3-4 games on a tournament day. Against teams with weaker pitching, games are usually 4 innings, and against better pitchers, games will usually be 5 innings. I haven't been able to track pitches as accurately this season, but I am confident that neither of our main pitchers is being overused.

I only want my DD to play on teams where there is another solid pitcher, so that coaches won't be reluctant to pull her.