Workload

[radness]

In preparation for long days we can develop endurance.
(Not all do)

Often pitchers and catchers are requested to extend what would normally be an average day on the field. knowing that happens
players can overextend themselves in one day and cause underlying injury.
Do too fatiguing muscles... which need recuperation

Then with the continued rigor of the schedule, not have proper time to heal/rest that can develop into worse situations.

It can be an interesting conundrum when people rely on the coach to make smart decisions.
Instead of the player / parent voice and communicate a limitation in advance.

Especially because there are some players who are more physically prepared to have longer endurance days and weekends then there are some other players who are not as physically prepared.

Suggest players Speak up ahead of time is really important!
What you can handle...
So a coach can prepare by having enough roster players.
*Simply Coaches don't always know individual players limitations.
In travel ball there really aren't limitations. So people need to use communication.

 

[_MIA_]

Curious as to how Andrews came up with the specific pitch count numbers, anybody know? Qualitatively what he is showing makes sense, but I am interested if he (or anybody else) has published actual data which supports the specific numbers he listed.

 

[radness]

Little fun...

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Curious as to how Andrews came up with the specific pitch count numbers, anybody know? Qualitatively what he is showing makes sense, but I am interested if he (or anybody else) has published actual data which supports the specific numbers he listed.

Click on the printed version which has the sources cited. Click here: https://www.andrewssportsmedicine.com/sites/default/files/2016-11/Softball_InjuryPrevention.pdf

This seems to be the direct source for the pitch count numbers: Interval Throwing Research

 

[_MIA_]

Click on the printed version which has the sources cited. Click here: https://www.andrewssportsmedicine.com/sites/default/files/2016-11/Softball_InjuryPrevention.pdf

This seems to be the direct source for the pitch count numbers: Interval Throwing Research

Looks like that paper was aimed at building programs for rehab and off-season programs.

I could only read the abstract for a few of the cited sources but I didn't see any data correlating specific pitch count number with injury.

This paper followed a low number of pitchers and did collect some data but only for HS kids.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3474308/pdf/ijspt-07-548.pdf

I am sure Andrews has data (whether published or not) to back up the specific pitch count numbers, just curious as to where he got it from.

 

[_MIA_]

I think an interesting study, and one which would be useful in terms of practical application (and fairly easy to conduct), would be to track pitchers and how performance dropoff ( in terms of velocity for example) correlates to injury. For example to see if a pitcher who continually pitches beyond a certain percent dropoff (5%, 10%) is more inclined to get hurt than somebody who only pitches up to a smaller dropoff in performance.

Obviously not perfect, since you can get hurt just from performing at a peak level repetitively, but something to consider.

 

[Strike2]

The ignorance absolutely amazes I agree. When you have people on here that seem to know more about this subject than very accomplished orthopedic surgeons.

The doctors only see those who have problems. Those who see everyone may have a different opinion.

I have seen pitchers over-worked, but it was far more over a longer period than the pitch counts discussed on that website. While I agree that rest days after a tournament are vital, the number of pitches a FP player can throw over a game, day, or weekend depends much on technique and physical conditioning. A bit of common sense on the part of both parents and coaches goes a long way. It's not that hard to tell when a pitcher is wearing down.

 

[Rick M]

This is such an individual thing, it’s hard to set down any kind of guidance.

When DD was in 12U, she was the #2 pitcher behind a big, strong kid who threw HE style. That other pitcher completely destroyed her shoulder by 14U because she was so strong, and the stress was compounded by bad mechanics.

DD, on the other hand, has solid mechanics and was throwing a good 10 mph less than #1. When #1 went down with the first of many injuries, DD had to pick up the slack and routinely threw 300 pitches a weekend for a fall season. She experienced no pain and has had no lingering effects from a brief period of heavy workload.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Northball]

A pitch count assumes all pitchers are the same. A well conditioned, prepared athlete using great mechanics can safely get in a lot more pitches than a non-conditioned, ill-prepared pitcher using crappy mechanics. More often than not, the pitchers going to orthos would fall in the latter category. The counts would be derived off these pitchers, and if they become mandatory, then the pitchers who do things right are being punished.
More emphasis should be on mechanics, monitoring the pitchers, and training them to listen to their bodies.

 

[_MIA_]

More emphasis should be on mechanics, monitoring the pitchers, and training them to listen to their bodies.

If you have a competitor, the bolded won't work (in games at least..). Just ask Grady Little