How many pitches in one day?
- Thread starter garyt
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
halskinner
Banned
- May 7, 2008
- 2,637
- 0
Gary, I have had 10 year old students that practiced 250 pitches a day and that did not include team practices or tournament games. They could throw multiple games in a day and no problem.
I have also seen 16u pitchers that could not throw more than 4 innings before losing the grip strength and the ball in the wind up.
The answers you will recieve will be varied from one end of the scale to the other.
There is no generic kid and no generic number of pitches.
I have also seen 16u pitchers that could not throw more than 4 innings before losing the grip strength and the ball in the wind up.
The answers you will recieve will be varied from one end of the scale to the other.
There is no generic kid and no generic number of pitches.
Here are some conservative guidelines: Softball Injury Prevention
The attached picture shows the recommended pitch counts.
The attached picture shows the recommended pitch counts.
Attachments
Last edited:
There is no number. It is all a condition od stamina. Once a pitcher is out of steam her mechanics go downhill and damage or injury occur. A girl that has really bad mechanics can hurt herself in a couple of dozen pitches. A girl that has great conditioning and good mechanics can pitch a lot.
For my 11 yr DD the number is 5 innings or around 100 pitches per day. After that she is tierd and loses form. I know this from watching her pitch 10 innings in one day. And do not want her to do it again. If she has some quick 3 and outs, she can go a little longer. Gives her an incentive. Limit is 10 innings in two days. When she did pitch 10 innings a day, she had a longer stretch and non throwing warmup routine. She only warmed up pitching a minimal number of throws to get ready. First inning was her warmup. Iced her down after, and no pitching for two days after.
I seen some girls who are only good for an inning or two.
For my 11 yr DD the number is 5 innings or around 100 pitches per day. After that she is tierd and loses form. I know this from watching her pitch 10 innings in one day. And do not want her to do it again. If she has some quick 3 and outs, she can go a little longer. Gives her an incentive. Limit is 10 innings in two days. When she did pitch 10 innings a day, she had a longer stretch and non throwing warmup routine. She only warmed up pitching a minimal number of throws to get ready. First inning was her warmup. Iced her down after, and no pitching for two days after.
I seen some girls who are only good for an inning or two.
- Aug 19, 2011
- 230
- 0
My 10yo dd would pitch ALL DAY if I let her. I limit her to an hour a day, usually in the morning, and she always wants to go out again but I distract her with hitting or fielding. She hasn't taken a day off since April. I'd like her to, but she's just miserable if she doesn't get to pitch. The problem, as I see it, is that testing to destruction on a sample size of one is not feasible. You don't know if it's too much until it's too late. I've never seen her grip or mechanics break down, I just don't want her hurt.
Totally, absolutely wrong. Pitching exposes kids to repetitive stress injuries. It doesn't matter how good the child's form is or how strong she is. Doing the same motion over and over again will result in injury to the child.
If you are correct then every single pitcher is injured, since they do the same motion over and over again.
Key word you use is "expose". Expose, does not mean "will".
If a kid only pitches to the limits of their conditioning, they "limit" their chances for injury or damage to the body. Their body can then fully recover within a given time frame, which varies. If they exceed those limits (as many kids do), their "exposer" to injury increases substantially.
A pitcher can become injured on a single pitch. It does not mean they will. Training on mechanics, stretching, conditioning and limits are all mitigating factors in an injury occurring. So the only way to eliminate the risk is to NEVER pitch.
There are vast differences between kids body types, muscles, conditioning, mechanics, recover time and training. These factors determine the risk. Understanding that helps determine the risk involved. No pitcher is immune to this risk, but it can be mitigated.
To make any statement that repetitive motion will result in injury, or that limiting a pitcher to 30 pitches per week will protect against injury, are both wrong.
Pitching (or any part of softball) is a risk. Understanding the conditions I listed above can help a pitcher mitigate that risk. But the risk will never be eliminated.
There are no "Absolutes".
It is like driving. The more you drive the greater the risk of injury. But we equip cars with seat belts, air bags, abs, etc. All to mitigate the risk. Adding defensive driving, skills training also decrease risk. Placing a unskilled driver, in a 1950's Plymouth, on a high speed metro freeway, with inclement weather. Well your just asking for it. Same principals apply to pitching.
My DD is in core training, to try and increase her pitch speed, but the best benefit is to reduce the risk of injury.
I agree with that, its to what degree of comfort your daughter might want to have after she is done pitching. Like when she is 30.
Garyt, what sluggers posted is the closest you will get to a middle of the road answer. Google overuse injuries in windmill pitching. Fastpitch is starting to learn from baseball but is still in the dark ages on this one. IMO coaches get that one workhorse and pitch them until they drop because nobody wants to chance losing a game for the sake of developing other pitchers. There is nothing natural about spinning your arm in a reverse circle hundreds of times a day. Do your own research and come up with a plan you are comfortable with and make sure the coach follows it.
- Jan 25, 2011
- 2,278
- 38
redhack,any repetitive motion can cause injury,typing on your keyboard all day can cause injury.slugger is right,conditioning and stamina might allow your dd to pitch longer,but that doesn't mean that after a while that injury won't occur because of over use.
halskinner
Banned
- May 7, 2008
- 2,637
- 0
In my experience instructing pitchers AND gong out to some of their games. What I firmly believe is that there is 'Pitching stamina' and there is general stamina.
The two cases I illustrated are at the far ends of the scale. The 10-year-old started pitching at 5 and worked her way up to throwing 250 pitches a day. She kept that workout routine until she entered college this year. She never had an injury from pitching. She could get to a tournament and throw several games in a day and never even reach the point of throwing a normal days practice.
In the case of the older pitcher, the only practice she ever had was the 30 minute training session with me once a week. She had great speed, for one inning. Then the speed dropped and she was usually replaced at the end of the third inning or in the 4th when 2 out of three either flew out of the circle or hit the dirt 3 feet in front of the plate.
I have been convinced for many years that you build up pitching stamina and your work ethics will dictate the level you reach.
It is because of that that I cane up with the saying "Pitching is like owning a piggy bank; The most you can ever expect to get out of it, is exactly what you have been WILLING to put into it!"
The two cases I illustrated are at the far ends of the scale. The 10-year-old started pitching at 5 and worked her way up to throwing 250 pitches a day. She kept that workout routine until she entered college this year. She never had an injury from pitching. She could get to a tournament and throw several games in a day and never even reach the point of throwing a normal days practice.
In the case of the older pitcher, the only practice she ever had was the 30 minute training session with me once a week. She had great speed, for one inning. Then the speed dropped and she was usually replaced at the end of the third inning or in the 4th when 2 out of three either flew out of the circle or hit the dirt 3 feet in front of the plate.
I have been convinced for many years that you build up pitching stamina and your work ethics will dictate the level you reach.
It is because of that that I cane up with the saying "Pitching is like owning a piggy bank; The most you can ever expect to get out of it, is exactly what you have been WILLING to put into it!"
Last edited:
