How much pitching time?

[DaveWI]

I'm looking for advice on how many pitches my daughter should throw or how much she should be allowed to push her self in her first(this year) 12u TB tournament. She is in her second year of 12u. The tournament is 4 pools of 3 teams. Two pool games determine the seeding for brackets. The first seed in each bracket gets a buy in the first round. So if they keep winning in the bracket play they could play a total of 6-7 games. One game Friday night, 2-3 games Saturday, 3 on Sunday if they keep winning. The teams in the tournament are all strong to fairly strong teams for this area of Wisconsin. Our second pitcher has hurt her arm and can't play. Our third pitcher can't make it Saturday, we do have two other pitchers on the team but they would be at a much lower level of experience and are on the team for their other attributes. Their pitching speed is much slower and there will be a lot of walks. My daughter has pitched 4 rec games so far this year, 3 innings each. She throws about 350-400 pitches a week for practice. Do we save her during pool play and focus on bracket play, do we pitch her till she gets fatigued then pull her, she's 5'5" 110 lbs and very athletic, she won't honestly tell me she needs to come out. She once pitched a 16 inning game and still looked strong at the end, but was sore the next day mosty her legs and glutes and her finger tips. She sometimes has some minor pain at the top of her tricep after a lot of pitching. Should we just split time with the pitchers we have? It is a travel ball team. She has three weekend tournaments in a row, but our other two pitchers will be available for the two after this weekend.

I don't want to baby her but I don't want her to over do it either. I'd appreciate any advice from this forum. Sorry about the length of this post.

Dave

 

[joemcq51]

If its 2 into 2, you need to rest her in one of the pool games. You could split the pool games also. I'd try to win at least one. During the elimination part of the tournament, you need to keep a close eye. There is no reason you can't start your DD in multiple games. You would need to pull her if you get a lead or fall behind, to save her for the next game. I would assume there is a time limit. Probably 1:15 or so. That is 4-5 innings a game. 7 games max spread over 3 days with a pool game off to rest. You are looking at 30 innings in 3 days. That is alot for a 12U. If you can get her a little break, you can probably get 20-25 innings out of your DD. Consider using a dh for her and drink a ton of water. Hope this helped a little.

 

[starsnuffer]

It honestly depends on the games.

She could end up facing a team that swings at the first pitch for easy 1,2,3 innings, or she could be in one of those games where you're playing defense for 20 minutes an inning. You'll be able to tell how she's doing by watching her pitches.

-W

 

[abbygale]

With one pitcher, I would hope they would pull out instead of spending the money. And I would start speaking up immediately. Letting your daughters mechanics break down is a step backwards for both her and the team. Just my opinion. If she is a stepper she might last longer, a leaper, no way.

 

[DaveWI]

joemcq51 thanks for the reply. This gives me something to go bye.

 

[DaveWI]

starsnuffer I will be watching and hoping for easy innings. My fear is knowing when to pull her and trying to make the most of her available pitching time. Abbygale she is a leaper. I'm in a position to pull her or play her as much as I want. What are the signs of a pitchers mechanics breaking down. Is it giving up more hits or walking more batters, leaning? She's the type who will just keep going without complaining, I've told her it's important to tell me truthfully how she's doing.

 

[DaveWI]

Is there a ball park figure I should use for number of pitches thrown for each day or total for the whole weekend.

 

[sluggers]

My daughter has pitched 4 rec games so far this year, 3 innings each

I have a feeling that your DD does not have a good pitching form. I haven't seen any rec ball pitcher outside of California that has good form. Without excellent form, she is at risk if you over pitch her.

Also, you are not going to win this tournament with a kid pitching who is pitching her first TB game. There are going to be some really good TB teams playing, and they are going to pound her. You aren't going to be playing 7 games. Most likely, you will play 4 or 5.
Pitch her Friday in the first game. If she wins, pitch her again in the final pool game on Saturday. If she loses, pitch one of the other kids in the final pool play. You are not going to win the pool anyway.

If she wins the first Saturday game, then you win the pool, you get a bye, and she can pitch the last game on Saturday as well. Then, Sunday, pitch the other pitcher first, and then rotate between the two pitchers.

If she loses the first Saturday game, pitch one of the other pitchers in your first elimination game. Then, have your DD pitch the final game on Saturday.

If you pitch her every game and every inning of the tournament, you might seriously hurt her. So, don't.

What are the signs of a pitchers mechanics breaking down.

In a good pitching motion, the hips open. The arm goes by the hips, the ball is released, and then the hips close.

When she tires, she will start closing the hips before the ball is released and then "drag" her arm with her upper body. When she starts doing that, she will be at risk to really hurt herself.

You might also see a "chicken wing" with the right elbow (assuming she is a rightie) flying out and away from her body.

 

[DaveWI]

Sluggers thanks for the reply. Just to clarify, this is the beginning of her third year of pitching on a travel ball team. She has good form and is an excellent pitcher. Her form isn't perfect but she continues to work on perfecting it. This is her first travel ball tourney this year. Most teams in this area are just beginning their travel team tourneys. I like your train of thought on which games to pitch her in and was thinking along the same line as you. However I just found out that our third pitcher will miss not only Saturday but Sunday as well.

 

[NVfishing]

My DD was throwing 2 out of every 3 games we played the last few years. The only problem was getting into the championship games where she was tired out. As far as breaking down while pitching. If the balls start going into the dirt, can't hit spots, and a drop in velocity. It always seemed like my DD would throw best in the 2nd game. 3 games in a row was a little to much.