My DD has been trying out for several teams. She has had a lot of interest from teams but I'm trying to make the right decsion for her. Based on the 3 tryouts we've attended she was the better pitcher at all 3. Whatever we choose she will get a lot of mound time. Which is what we are looking for but I don't want ruin her arm. How much is too much?
10u Pitching how much is to much.
- Thread starter catmaster
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I'm speaking from a personal experience only. I am no expert on arm care for fastpitch softball. My DD (10) started pitching lessons NOV2015 at (9yr) and has been pitching 5-6 days a week since (Including Tourney Days). She pitched on average 10 innings every weekend. She never complained about soreness or anything, but I would ice her shoulder down if we had 2+ hours between games. I would also ice it on the ride home after the tournament. She was probably the #2 pitcher on the team but seamed to pitch more innings than the #1. I talked to several parents of 12-18 yr old pitchers and most of them never iced.
Not sure if that answers your question. I dont think she could ruin her arm if she is pitching with correct form and taking care of her arm as best as possible. Like i said ive talked to several parents whos DDs have been pitching for years on the Travel Ball level and they had not worries of arm injury.
I am curious to hear what an expert has to say on this.
Not sure if that answers your question. I dont think she could ruin her arm if she is pitching with correct form and taking care of her arm as best as possible. Like i said ive talked to several parents whos DDs have been pitching for years on the Travel Ball level and they had not worries of arm injury.
I am curious to hear what an expert has to say on this.
- Jul 15, 2016
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I am also curious on this. My DD is 9 and was the #1 pitcher for most of this past TB season. It was not uncommon for her to pitch 3 games on a tournament day. She loves it but I dont want her hurting anything.
Ideally a team has 3 pitchers - 2 strong and about equal and 1 who is developing. If the coaches have this and use them correctly, then there really should be no problem even with a busy schedule. Something like a 40/40/20 split in innings. A fourth maybe makes it 35/35/15/15 or something similar. In this situation, it should almost never become a 'too much' situation (and scrimmages we almost always start the developing pitchers)
The issue becomes when 1 pitcher is a clear #1 and the coaches use them 60-70% of all innings. And then pitches them 3+ games in a row on bracket day because he doesn't trust the #2 or won't take the chance of a loss to pitch anyone else.
So in choosing a team, I would strongly consider the team that has the best #2 pitcher and teams that look like there are two other girls who will be able eat up innings. There are plenty of innings to go around and not kill some poor young kid's arm because of a $10 trophy.
Let me add - the coaching staff is a major factor in this.
We have started a season with a clear #1 pitcher and what amounted to three #3 pitchers. Through work, sucking it up with some early season losses, and some committed players and parents, we ended that season with a #1 and two very competent #2's who were pushing the #1 for her prime pitching position.
We have started a season with a clear #1 pitcher and what amounted to three #3 pitchers. Through work, sucking it up with some early season losses, and some committed players and parents, we ended that season with a #1 and two very competent #2's who were pushing the #1 for her prime pitching position.
I am not sure I would base it on number of innings because in 10u, an inning can end up being 40+ pitches especially for the younger girls who are not that experienced. Really I would track it by # of pitches then you would need to estimate warm ups as well (if your team uses game changer or something similar this will make it easy). I don't think there are rules for number of pitches in softball like there is for baseball but I can tell you that in 10U, if my kid pitched 3 games in 1 day she was worthless the next day and couldn't move. I would probably keep it 2 games/day or under and I would be watching the pitch count carefully.
- Feb 7, 2013
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One thing to remember that pitching is a marathon, not a sprint so take it slow and steady throughout the season. IME, at 10U, 3 days a week of pitching practice of 30 - 40 mins is plenty and since 10U games are mostly timed, 2 games a day on the weekends is fine (somewhere around 100 - 125 maximum pitches per day). I never tried to have my DD pitch every day, but every other day (if at all possible) to give her body an opportunity to rest between pitching sessions.
BTW - maybe I go against conventional wisdom but a) she has only iced once in 6 years, and she has not had a problem or injury to her arm or shoulder; and b) I try to completely shut her down for two weeks, twice a year (end of the summer and end of December) and this seems to work well for her as she stays in pitching "shape" year round. Some like to work their DD hard for months at a time and then shut them down for 6 - 8 weeks but I don't buy into this routine at all, especially in warm weather states where you can practice year-round.
BTW - maybe I go against conventional wisdom but a) she has only iced once in 6 years, and she has not had a problem or injury to her arm or shoulder; and b) I try to completely shut her down for two weeks, twice a year (end of the summer and end of December) and this seems to work well for her as she stays in pitching "shape" year round. Some like to work their DD hard for months at a time and then shut them down for 6 - 8 weeks but I don't buy into this routine at all, especially in warm weather states where you can practice year-round.
Sounds similar to what I do. Off-season we practice 3x a week (never back to back days). Takes us about an hour to get through fastball and change-up and this year we'll be adding a drop ball. During the season we practice 2x a week with games Saturday and Sunday. At the end of the tournament season I give her a month off (only throws at try-outs and it's an abbreviated session) and a month between Thanksgiving and Xmas. After the rest, she comes back throwing harder and harder.
- Jun 12, 2015
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We like to shoot for about 2 games but sometimes it's more. Again depends on the # of pitches thrown, too. We practice about 3X per week, and we take off completely from Thanksgiving to New Years. We had to last year, because her elbow was bothering her. Turns out the rest was good, she came back faster and stronger. So that's policy for us now. No pitching at the end of the year. Having another strong pitcher on the team is important IMO too. And a coach who doesn't need to win so badly that he'll run a #1 pitcher into the ground, especially at this age.
