Pitchers being overused

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Mar 29, 2017
155
18
Not sure where to put this, but here goes. The HS V and JV teams have one pitcher each. They have both pitched all the games for each team. V is at 10 games, pitcher is good friends with my DD1 and told her last night that her arm has been sore for days, but she keeps going. JV is at about 8 games I think. Pitcher was pulled last night after taking a line drive to the stomach. She was crying after warmups because her shoulder hurt that bad. DD1, who is on JV, said pitcher also told her that Doctor said she needs to stop pitching soon before she does damage to her shoulder. The Doc could feel problems with muscles in her shoulder.

JH V has used the same pitcher for 6 games now. Last week there were 3 games in a row. By the 2nd game, pitcher was telling my DD2, the other pitcher on the team, that her shoulder hurt. Pitcher 1 then was also crying after warm ups for 3rd game, because her shoulder hurt.

Now, here's where the parent part comes in. My DD2, as I said before, is the other pitcher on the JH V team. She has rarely seen the circle despite being, JH V HC's and AC's words, the best pitcher on the team. She was out for one game with an injury (line drive to knee in last game where she was able to pitch for 2 innings).

Our pitching staff to me, is to thin. There was no effort by the HS coaches to try and manufacture a relief pitcher to take some stress off the starters. The JH coach just overused the one pitcher and didn't use the players he has. I know what he is trying to do, give the other pitcher more innings since she is an 8th grader, to prepare her hopefully for HS JV next year. Problem is, she was left in when either we were getting spanked 0-10 or were up 10-0. To me, if you are getting beat that bad, just for the sake of saving your starter a little, pull her if you have another. If you are up by that much, pull her and save her a little.

All three mentioned pitchers are throwing HE. JH JV pitcher has hips almost completely closed on release, her fastball is about the same speed as my DD2's changeup.

Pitchers are also throwing live batting during practice for HS. JH has them throw about 30-50 pitches M-W-F at practice with games Tu-Th.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
When I hear about situations I like this I wonder where the kids' parents are. I've seen TB coaches who do this, run a #1 pitcher into the ground. Then they end up injured from overuse. I like to mostly stay out of the coaches' way but not if they're trying to get my kid injured.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
There is so much wrong here on so many levels. This is not a softball issue, this is a lack of common sense and poor parenting. Some folks need to step up their parenting responsibilities and say no more. Any parent that blindly puts the welfare of their DD in the hands of the coaches, athletic trainers, or anybody within the school system is a fool.
 
Mar 29, 2017
155
18
I have been thinking all the same things. If I know my kid is coming home saying how bad her shoulder hurts from pitching, I am going to make it a point to tell the coach she cant pitch for the next day at least, depending on how bad it hurts and how long it takes for the pain to go away.

I also have a hard time understanding how the trainers are not stepping in saying they cant pitch.

If a kid is crying during warm ups, how can you pitch her as a coach, thinking you are doing the right thing?

I have said from the beginning, to the coaches as I was an AC for the JH, we don't have the pitching (or catching) staff to be fielding JV and V at both the HS and JH. One pitcher and one catcher for each at the HS level is not enough. They should have made cuts (no one got cut from the team after tryouts, even the girls that had no idea what hand to put a glove on) and only have V at both HS and JH. The HC was dead set on "growing the program" to the point he has put the kids at risk of serious injury. There are schools in the area (with VERY strong programs) that have grades 10-12 on HS V and 7-9 on JH V. Cuts are made and those kids are told to go play rec ball, work, improve with the hopes of making the team next year. This is how we are facing teams that warm up 3 pitchers before the games.

This program has problems all over the place, but this has bothered me the most as it puts the kids at risk. I know one thing, my DD2 will not be pitching this much when she makes it to HS. If she even plays for school.
 
Last edited:
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
DD has been on both sides of this.

On the overused part I think it is the parent's responsible. If you give DD a ball and say go pitch, she is going to take the ball and go pitch.

(None of my business unless DD is being overused, they can overuse other pitchers as much as they want.)
 
Last edited:
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
Thanks for this thread.

DD 3 missed a few games being out on vacation, but since then she has been the ONLY JV pitcher.

She pitched Monday (only 6 innings won by run rule), 7 innings Tuesday, 6 innings yesterday (won run rule), and was scheduled to pitch today, and the team has a double header tomorrow.

The coaches requested that today's game be rescheduled, so it was.

It appears the coach is making an effort to make sure DD 3's arm is not destroyed.

EDIT TO ADD: The coach just had the girls hang out Wednesday, and are having a potluck dinner tonight instead of practice.

Yes, I have complained about this coach, but let's give the devil her due. She doesn't want to wear out her kids.
 
Last edited:
Feb 13, 2013
53
0
Been thru this with both daughters. Each situation was a little different but each were dealt with in a similar manner. DD1 had a sore elbow from pitching. We mentioned to the coach she needed some time off to rest or she would be out permanently soon, coach had her rest for a couple of days and she was back to normal. DD2 had a sore back from pitching over 200 pitches in one game, errors upon errors and they left her in( wish I would have been at that game). Informed the coaching staff she was injured and would need a week off to recover. Coaching staff tried to go around us when we were not present, their mistake is that relatives in attendance knew the situation and put a stop to it. Wish I would have been there to see that take place, heard it was a site to see. It did not end with them trying to put her on the mound, they put her in another position on the field. First throw she made her back was hurting. Took a week off and some therapy and she was good to go.

HS coaches will abuse a pitcher until there is nothing left to abuse, see it happen too many times. Parents its up to you to monitor your daughters playing time and any possible injuries. If your daughter is complaining of pain there is a reason for the pain. After rest and the pain still exists seek medical attention, not the athletic trainer unless they have proven medical experience. I will never trust the trainer at my DD's school, lacks the basic knowledge to treat even minor injuries.

My dd's team has been blessed with more than one pitcher this year. So over pitching is not a concern with the coaching staff basically going with a set pitching rotation. With almost certainty I can determine with game my daughter will pitch in, unless in the previous game a pitcher was unable to pitch a complete game. However with now entering the second half of conference season the coaching staff will make a change if a pitcher has not pitched against a team, that could mean they will not pitch on their day in the rotation to make that happen.
 
Feb 7, 2013
3,188
48
In general, I see more overuse with travel ball teams as some teams will pitch their #1, two or even three games in a row in bracket play on Sunday. Most HS games are 1 or 2 games a week. All the HS varsity teams in our league pitch their #1 every game. Most travel ball pitchers should be able to handle that light HS work load pretty easily. With that said, if a pitcher thinks she might be injured, she and her parents should shut her down immediately and see a doctor.
 
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
I agree that TB is more of a risk.

There have been several times when DD 3 has basically had to pitch entire tournaments, except for a few innings off.

Second year 12U DD 3 was the only starter on the team by the end of the season. So she started EVERY game, and usually the entire game. She left that team.

First year 14U DD 3 was one of two starters, and the relief pitcher wasn't nearly as good as the starters. At one point the other starter was injured, so DD 3 was overused. For some reason, the team went on a bad losing streak around that time. Looking back at it, the team would've probably won about as many games if they had used their #3 pitcher, instead of a starter who was completely worn out.

This year the team does have a real #3 pitcher. Not as good as the two starters, but the #3 pitcher can start some games, and pitch in relief. If one of the starters can't pitch, she can fill in well enough.
 
Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
I can say that DD high school is a rarity where they have 6 pitchers on varsity and 3 on jv. Normally dd would start against the non conference teams and the bottom ranked team in their conference with #4 #5 and #6 coming in to finish the games. The other 2 pitchers take turns starting and finishing against the higher rank teams in our conference.

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,477
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top