Arm Care

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Jun 23, 2018
222
63
Texas
I have a 10 yo DD that has been pitching for 9 months now and starting to get where she is being used more often in tournaments now. This weekend she threw her 1st full game (4 innings) and a total of about 8 innings throughout the day. She was pretty sore Sunday morning. Just muscle soreness, no joint pain.

What do you recommend for care after a full day of pitching? We are still figuring all of this out, but most of all want to do it the right way.

I hear there is life after softball and she might want to use that arm then too. ;)
 
Feb 15, 2017
391
43
I would go about it a different way. Every kid is different, however a few questions....how often does she practice (ie what should her endurance look like), what do her mechanics look like? I can say after having been through 4 years of 10u pitching and learning alot from fellow DFPers that likely she shouldn’t be that sore after 8 innings. Unless they were 40-50 pitch innings. Mine had similar soreness but once we fixed mechanical flaws the only thing that got sore were her legs. Definitely should be concerned at that age about soreness as there are alot of years ahead but personally I wouldn’t get some sort of arm care routine going at that age before I made sure we didn’t have mechanical issues leading to the problem otherwise you will just be applying a wet bandaid.
 
Jun 23, 2018
222
63
Texas
Prior to this weekend, she had never pitched more than 2 or 3 innings in a tournament (weekend). This weekend was a 1 day, so all 8 innings were pretty close together. She was just flat out spent when we got knocked out. If she wasn't pitching she was on 1B or 3B.

She and I both know we have to work on her endurance. That is want I (maybe naively) was attributing the soreness to.

Between lessons, practice, and home, she pitches at least 3 to 4 days a week. Averages 50 to 100 pitches a session depending how much time we have.

I will see if I can find a decent video I can make a GIF out of. Didn't get any this past weekend.
 
Nov 8, 2018
774
63
I have a 10 yo DD that has been pitching for 9 months now and starting to get where she is being used more often in tournaments now. This weekend she threw her 1st full game (4 innings) and a total of about 8 innings throughout the day. She was pretty sore Sunday morning. Just muscle soreness, no joint pain.

What do you recommend for care after a full day of pitching? We are still figuring all of this out, but most of all want to do it the right way.

I hear there is life after softball and she might want to use that arm then too. ;)

Ice ice ice and could also use NSAIDS as well.
20/20 on and off with ice Saturday night and so day night. That should do the trick.
If she is sore a lot watch she is not using her shoulder on release.
 
Sep 28, 2015
150
18
Along the lines that coach bubbles was saying I would add that you will need to start watching pitch counts and get a feel for what amount is comfortable for your DD.

The amount per inning, time between games, and how deep into the season all plays a part in knowing their capabilities.

We all have seen our DD go too long and learn the hard way so don’t take any of this advice as a slight to you .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Feb 15, 2017
391
43
Prior to this weekend, she had never pitched more than 2 or 3 innings in a tournament (weekend). This weekend was a 1 day, so all 8 innings were pretty close together. She was just flat out spent when we got knocked out. If she wasn't pitching she was on 1B or 3B.

She and I both know we have to work on her endurance. That is want I (maybe naively) was attributing the soreness to.

Between lessons, practice, and home, she pitches at least 3 to 4 days a week. Averages 50 to 100 pitches a session depending how much time we have.

I will see if I can find a decent video I can make a GIF out of. Didn't get any this past weekend.

At 10u DD would pitch 2-3 times a week with warmup drills plus about 50-60 pitches. She wouldn’t experience soreness until she went 2 games each on back to back days. We would shut her down for 2 days and by Wednesday she had zero issues. By her last season she did 3 and 4 games back to back (I know....that’s why we left that team) and had NO soreness. What changed in there - only 2 things: 1. Got older and probably a little stronger. 2. Pitching coach.

DD was experiencing the pain you described in the fall and then not ever again spring/summer. I can’t say with certainty but rather speculate that the mechanical changes combined with the emphasis on pitching with the legs instead of the arm made the difference. Your DD appears to be better conditioned than mine based purely on the practice reps shared.

Honestly....Ive heard of very few “soreness” issues with 10u pitchers and I have a pretty large network of dads/coaches that talk regularly. If you can upload a video Id say you will get more than your money’s worth as there is a ton of knowledge on here. From one parent to another - PLEASE don’t just slap a bandaid on!
 
Sep 20, 2017
51
8
Definitely something mechanical. My DD also a 10 got used up all through 8’s never complained about soreness. As soon as she moved up 5 innings would wear her out and always had pain in her trap. Went to the video and found that she is pulling up with her shoulder after release. Kinda like a shrug. It all became clear. Now we are gonna spend the next 2 months trying to fixing mechanics. In my opinion which is not professional, as soon as they start pitching more than practicing they develop bad habits. Bad habits become engrained in muscle memory and are hard to get rid of. They go with what works because they get impatient, it takes time for them to develop there skill set, but most coaches don’t care and most parents just wanna see their kid in the circle. It’s a long road to college but she will not get there if she injures herself over 10u rec. Atleast that’s the lecture I got from her pitch coach... lol
 
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
Ice for Injuries:



Ice for normal sports activities:



Ice to improve taste of beverages and food:


Save your ice for coolers, water, juice, soda and other beverages...
 

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