How many innings??

[GOINGDEEP]

This is a question that always comes up sooner or later at the ballfield. So I would like your input. How many innings a day and how many innings a weekend are a safe number for a travel ball pitcher.

I'd really like to know 14-16u, but all posts are welcome since we all have DD's at different levels.

 

[2bucketdad]

I don't think you can put a number out there that will be the same for every pitcher, My 12 year old is 5'7" 150 lbs and can go more innings effictively than my 14 year old who is 5'2" and 110...

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I don't think you can put a number out there that will be the same for every pitcher, My 12 year old is 5'7" 150 lbs and can go more innings effictively than my 14 year old who is 5'2" and 110...

So how many can they both go until they run out of gas? When do you say.......when?

 

[amanda_cake]

We say "when" when they walk enough people to put your team in a jam.

 

[Coach Al]

I don't think the question is how many innings before my pitcher starts a walking merry go round. I believe Going Deep wants to know the physical limit before a pitch will hurt her arm. To answer that I would say go on past history. Is her arm hurting for days after throwing a game? Has she pitched 3 games in a weekend before? How was she feeling on Monday last time? If this was an exact science I could give you an answer, but it isn't. All I would say it remember to ice the arm after throwing, try not to pitch back to back games if possible and sit her for the weekend if she has any discomfort.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I would suggest that you count pitches.

My 10 YO students in rec ball (2 years of lessons) seem to be able to approach 100 pitches, a day. Unscientifically, I would come up with a number a little higher than that for your DD.

 

[ifubuildit]

Some information to digest on this subject. Draw your own conclusions.

Coaches used to think their windmill pitchers could throw a complete game—then do it again the next day, and the day after that—all without risking pain or injury. But now, researchers say that line of thinking is a big mistake, and that pitchers are visiting doctors and physical therapists in droves complaining of arm and back pain.

Calling it an epidemic, Sherry Werner, Coordinator of the Human Performance Laboratory at the Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine, says that 80 percent of college softball pitchers miss some playing time because of arm pain. Equally startling, says Werner, is that the same problems exist for players in the 12 to 18 age group.

“Each year we see 20 to 30 pitchers requiring some type of shoulder or elbow surgery at our clinic,” says Werner. “And we have another 20 to 30 each year doing rehab in lieu of surgery.” For Werner, those numbers indicate that it’s time for coaches to start being proactive.

“For too long we’ve heard the myth that softball pitchers have a natural throwing motion and they can pitch as much as they want without hurting themselves,” says Werner. “As a result, we see an increasing number of players every year—many 18 and under—coming in to see us. Many need surgery and have shoulders that look like they belong to a 90-year old.”

The first of Werner’s research projects, released in April, studied 24 pitchers during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics by recording their throwing motions during competition. The second project, to be published soon, examined a population of 12- to 18-year-olds. It was conducted in a laboratory setting where 158 injury-free pitchers threw off a regulation pitching plate. For both projects, Werner and her team performed a full biomechanical analysis on each of the players, which entailed calculating about 100 different elements of movement, including stride length and arm speed, to measure how much torque and force they placed on their shoulders and elbows.

“The main purpose was to compare our data with what is out there for baseball pitchers,” says Werner, a former pitching coach at Penn State University who has studied and treated arm injuries for 17 years. “We found that the stress on a softball pitcher’s arm is very similar to a baseball pitcher’s, which is what we expected, based on how many injured softball pitchers we see at our clinic.”

Werner’s goal is for coaches to treat softball pitchers with the same caution used for their baseball counterparts, starting with pitch counts and extended rest periods. Werner recommends pitchers 12 years old and under throw no more than 60 pitches per workout or game. She recommends no more than 80 pitches for 13- to 15-year-olds, and no more than 100 pitches for athletes 15 years old and over.

Coaches should also strongly consider giving their pitchers more time off between starts and workouts. “If you pitch on a Monday, we recommend that you take Tuesday off—whether it’s a game or a workout—with no softball activity at all,” says Werner.

“We realize that once teams get into nationals, pitchers will have to throw two or three games in a day, then come back and throw one or two the next day,” she adds. “And as long as that happens once, twice, or three times a year, it’s okay. But it can’t happen every other weekend.”

For more information about avoiding overuse injuries, see “One More Pitch?” at: One More Pitch?

Good luck and use ICE after each session unless you have less than 4 hours between them. That includes practice and games.

Dana.

 

[Bryanr]

I would like more information on using ice after throwing. This may sound silly but do you just put ice in a bag and hold it on the shoulder? How long? Move all around shoulder? Thanks,

 

[ifubuildit]

Brynar,

A couple of ways to do this. The best is probably go out and get a Ice shoulder and elbow sleeve. You can get these on the web or at about any major sporting goods store. Worth the money and they run around 40-60 dollars. At least the ones I have seen. The cheap way is fill a couple of baggies with ice. Put a towel over the shoulder then wrap the baggies on the front and back of the shoulder. Saran wrap works great for holding them in place. We did this often for injuries when I was a wrestling coach. Leave them on for about 20 min then follow up with an anti inflammatory to help reduce the swelling in the tissue.

Dana.

 

[Jojo]

I have this same discussion with my pitching parents all the time.
With proper conditioning multiple games per day over a weekend should not be a problem.
I always ask they rest before the tournament and then the day after
Lighter workouts after a weekend tournament.

It is good question, when they are younger the more they pitch the better they get. It is a problem finding game time because there are so many pitchers wanting to pitch. As they get older they pitch with more intensity so they don't need to pitch as much, but by then the really good pitchers are hard to come by so they get more games.