I am new to this board and have posted a few comments but mostly I just lurk in the background and see how other coaches respond to issues I have had to deal with in the past. I have found a number of posters here to be quite knowledgeable and a few I have asked advice of myself. The majority of the responses I have found to be quite in depth and accurate as far as my knowledge allows me to evaluate them.
The one thing that I have not heard, although some have alluded to it, is a response saying “NO, don’t do that, your daughter is too young”. Why is that? Does anybody out there believe in “Too much, Too soon”? There have been posts that have mentioned, some quite extensively, the limitations to the growing body but nobody seems to want to say that, for example, a 10 year olds body is not ready for the stresses involved in throwing junk pitches. Some of these young pitchers may have all the talent and ability to start trying to throw some of these pitches but their developing bodies do not need this kind of stress on them on a regular basis while they are growing. Parents have asked questions and outlined their daughters practice schedule that includes workouts of some level every day of the week. This should not be happening even at the high school level never mind with pre-teens. Where is the line drawn where we say this is enough for now, your health is more important then that starting position or a possible scholarship 8 – 10 years from now?
Now, don’t get me wrong. Most responses I have heard have answered the questions posed honestly and accurately, for a fully developed and experienced pitcher. I would like to know how the experienced coaches out there determine when their younger students are ready to start throwing with the energy required to produce junk pitches on a regular basis. I have not only seen the possible results of doing too much too soon but I am also a product of this practice. There is one family in my area with three awesome pitchers and every one of them had shoulder surgery before she graduated from high school. I understand that there is more involved in this equation such as proper mechanics, conditioning and supervision by an experienced pitching coach but I am just looking at age and body development in this question. The question is: When do we say that your body just isn’t ready yet, lets work on control or location or other skills a little longer until your body catches up?
I realize most of the coaches out there are working with the older more advanced girls so this may not be an issue for them but I hope some of the coaches that work with the younger, newer pitchers may be able to offer some insight here. There is a lot of data published by the orthopedic community concerning youth baseball but softball is just beginning to be studied and there are few results out there. Some published material is available concerning the elite level pitchers and injuries but youth softball has been lumped in with baseball to date.
The one thing that I have not heard, although some have alluded to it, is a response saying “NO, don’t do that, your daughter is too young”. Why is that? Does anybody out there believe in “Too much, Too soon”? There have been posts that have mentioned, some quite extensively, the limitations to the growing body but nobody seems to want to say that, for example, a 10 year olds body is not ready for the stresses involved in throwing junk pitches. Some of these young pitchers may have all the talent and ability to start trying to throw some of these pitches but their developing bodies do not need this kind of stress on them on a regular basis while they are growing. Parents have asked questions and outlined their daughters practice schedule that includes workouts of some level every day of the week. This should not be happening even at the high school level never mind with pre-teens. Where is the line drawn where we say this is enough for now, your health is more important then that starting position or a possible scholarship 8 – 10 years from now?
Now, don’t get me wrong. Most responses I have heard have answered the questions posed honestly and accurately, for a fully developed and experienced pitcher. I would like to know how the experienced coaches out there determine when their younger students are ready to start throwing with the energy required to produce junk pitches on a regular basis. I have not only seen the possible results of doing too much too soon but I am also a product of this practice. There is one family in my area with three awesome pitchers and every one of them had shoulder surgery before she graduated from high school. I understand that there is more involved in this equation such as proper mechanics, conditioning and supervision by an experienced pitching coach but I am just looking at age and body development in this question. The question is: When do we say that your body just isn’t ready yet, lets work on control or location or other skills a little longer until your body catches up?
I realize most of the coaches out there are working with the older more advanced girls so this may not be an issue for them but I hope some of the coaches that work with the younger, newer pitchers may be able to offer some insight here. There is a lot of data published by the orthopedic community concerning youth baseball but softball is just beginning to be studied and there are few results out there. Some published material is available concerning the elite level pitchers and injuries but youth softball has been lumped in with baseball to date.