I've watched the data for years, have 2 DDs that pitch. Here are some guardrails that I think are based on university of florida orthopedics data. They are slightly conservative but I've found pretty on point even for my daughter with great form. I've had to set boundaries, discuss with coaches and watch us lose 10u-14u championship games we know we could have won by letting them pitch just one more but all with the long view in mind and I wouldn't change a thing. As they gets older they can safely pitch more and we are letting them.
Three other things.
1. Make sure your daughter knows the importance of communicating pain even in critical games so she doesn't push through true injury. Soreness the next day especially where severe is evidence of micro trauma that will eventually lead to injury if repeated consistently.
2. Proper warm up and form are absolutely critical. Motions that move the shoulder around stiffly vs letting the arm swing are triggers. Shoulder stability prevents injury and as a nice side effect, builds speed (via IR/whip off a fixed inception point)
3. Most injuries occur early in the season when the pitcher is not acclimated to the load. Take a full month off (maybe 2) each year but make sure you build into tournament season with higher loads and rest/recovery. First tournament should not be an exponentially higher load.
I've watched so many girls flame their arms out at 10u-14u. Play the long game. The 10,000 hour rule (conceptually not literally) absolutely applies in pitching but that is achieved over 10 years when done properly. There are no shortcuts. 4x a week 100 pitches at a time with a focus every session seems to me to be the magic formula. Strength/stretching as they age.
https://www.andrewssportsmedicine.com/for-patients/injury-prevention/softball-injuries-prevention
Three other things.
1. Make sure your daughter knows the importance of communicating pain even in critical games so she doesn't push through true injury. Soreness the next day especially where severe is evidence of micro trauma that will eventually lead to injury if repeated consistently.
2. Proper warm up and form are absolutely critical. Motions that move the shoulder around stiffly vs letting the arm swing are triggers. Shoulder stability prevents injury and as a nice side effect, builds speed (via IR/whip off a fixed inception point)
3. Most injuries occur early in the season when the pitcher is not acclimated to the load. Take a full month off (maybe 2) each year but make sure you build into tournament season with higher loads and rest/recovery. First tournament should not be an exponentially higher load.
I've watched so many girls flame their arms out at 10u-14u. Play the long game. The 10,000 hour rule (conceptually not literally) absolutely applies in pitching but that is achieved over 10 years when done properly. There are no shortcuts. 4x a week 100 pitches at a time with a focus every session seems to me to be the magic formula. Strength/stretching as they age.
https://www.andrewssportsmedicine.com/for-patients/injury-prevention/softball-injuries-prevention
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