Are we asking too much at a young age?

[Proudmumof2]

My daughter is 10 but turns 11 July 28th. She is a small 10 standing at only 4'4". This is her first year playing 12u and her fourth total year total. This year she has been injured with bone bruises and pulled ligaments. I am almost feeling like I should have left her in 10u but we tried out and were not happy with the 10u teams she made.

Am I asking too much for her little body? She is solid muscle from the conditioning her coach makes them do but she plays in a very competitive league and often is catching 4-8 games a weekend, plus three-three hour practices a week.

She loves the game and is upset that she has to sit put another week. She was out for 10 days with an elbow sprai, well kindof. She switched hands for catching so she could still practice and just not bat. Now she is out as she dove to catch a wild pitch and slammed her knee into the backstop, breaking her leg protectors. Doctor said no walking until about Wednesday, then we will reevaluate.

This year has been a crazy year for injuries and I have noticed a lot of pill popping and braces, crutches, and casts at games all season.

So are we asking too much of the younger generation? It seems like 10 and 12 year old girls are being expected to play at a much higher level than what they were two years ago.

 

[55dad]

Three practices that last three hours each at 12U? Too much ball IMO.

 

[djcarter1966]

Not sure how happy I would be with my 10 yr old catching 8 games on the weekend The team should be using a backup catcher; when my DD was in Texas during the summer you almost physically could not catch 3 or 4 games on a Saturday afternoon in July.

Especially if you are 10yr old on a 12U team you should have another catcher, at that size I would have been really tempted to leave her at 10U since she obviously has not hit her growth spurt yet I remember at 12U (remember some girls are 13) a lot of girls well over 5 ft and 100lbs; unless this is a 11U only team.

Kids at this age are super resilient but you still have to always make sure you have recovered from injury before pressing forward or you just make it worse...a week or two off sounds like the end of the world but this is the perfect chance for the team to break in that back up catcher.

 

[riseball]

So if I understand correctly you want to know if at nearly 11 years old and catching 4-8 games a weekend and 3-3 hour practices if it is too much for her body? Duh! If she was 20 years old I would say absolutely, so at nearly 11 it is insanity. No catcher past or present is capable of catching 4-8 quality games in a weekend. Have her learn another position and at least 2 others on her team needs to step up and help carry the load.

 

[grcsftbll]

Seems like an awful lot to me. Our lives basically revolve around sports but I try to think long term. My DD is a pitcher so I think it's fairly similar to catching in that it requires more practice, and they seem to be more prone to injuries. After a bout of elbow tendinitis in the fall we have tried to take it down a notch. We want her to still be able to pitch and play when she's 16, and 18, and 20. We don't want her to have to quit by the time she's 15 because of injuries.

 

[JAD]

Am I asking too much for her little body? She is solid muscle from the conditioning her coach makes them do but she plays in a very competitive league and often is catching 4-8 games a weekend, plus three-three hour practices a week.

Catching 4-8 games per weekend? That is 2X more than I would recommend. Her knees will be shot before she makes it to 16U.

 

[wheresmycar]

I found it interesting you titled this post... "Are WE asking too much..."

As if there is some collective parenting organization calling the shots for your DD.

The real questions is... "are YOU asking too much?", and I think you already know the answer. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Burning out her spirit and/or her body will not allow her to ultimately achieve her goals.

 

[catchermama]

My DD is 12, 5'3", 140 lbs and catches about 3 games a weekend. If she does catch more than that it's usually split innings with the other catcher.

 

[let it be fun]

Both my DDs caught at a young age. There were situations (injuries or the other catchers out of town) where both of them had to catch way to many games on hot July weekends. However, there were always at least two catchers on the roster and usually a third who could catch in a pinch so catching 8 games in a weekend was the exception rather than the rule. If you add in three LONG practices where I assume your DD is doing some catching as well, that is a lot of wear and tear on the body. Recovery time needs to be built into any training plan and it sounds like your DD is getting some overuse injuries. Perhaps your DD's coach needs to learn a few things about how to manage a team. Does this coach throw the #1 pitcher until her arm is falling off as well? I personally don't think there is any need for that much practice during the season when you are playing all those games. Does the team plan to do that all summer? The kids need some time to be kids during the summer.

 

[Proudmumof2]

I am not sure what the normal amount of time is per game that most catchers catch. She has been catching since she picked up the mitt and has very rarely ever had a backup catcher. Normally it has been when she needs a break that they normally put in the next best they have available. However before this season, they rarely played more than 2 games a weekend as it was an All Star rec team. She has picked up throughout the years on tournament teams and it has always been because the team she picked up for had no catcher. A lot of the other teams out here are the same way though, one main catcher who catches all weekend, with a backup if needed.

Her team does have a back up catcher however this is her first year catching and she can normally only catch for 1 or 2 innings before needing a break. My daughter also knows how to play outfield and we have been working on second base during practice as it is important for her to know other positions.

I just assumed it was normal as many other teams around us have the same practices and game schedules, which is why I asked if we in general are asking too much. She has sat some this season but only two full games with her elbow strain and maybe 8 total innings other than that. They play 2-3 tournaments a month and play March thru August.