Open Letter to Pitchers' Parents

[Sftbll4ever]

However, I think pitchers' parents need to incorporate a fitness routine (weight training, core fitness, etc..), icing in between games, and monitoring your child.

Icing between games, probably the worst thing you can do if the kid is going to continue to play. That will cause sevre damage right there.

[NumeroUno]

I had heard that the worse thing you can do is ice a muscle and then come back and play on it the same day. Shouldn't icing be done only at the end of the day?

[bpowell]

Point taken! I will only ice at the end of the day. Thanks!

[Sam]

Sam - First I would like to thank you for posting. As a pitchers' Dad I can't imagine what I would do if this occured to my daughter (14U).

However, I think pitchers' parents need to incorporate a fitness routine (weight training, core fitness, etc..), icing in between games, and monitoring your child.

I will use your advice as a guide, however, I think with the above mention preventative measures, pitchers can pitch multiple games. My daugher has pitched multiple games and becasue of her fitness routine has not suffered.

I would be very careful, overuse is overuse...no matter what kind of shape your kid is in. The number of pitches is what damages the joint, not that the player's body is out of muscular balande due to the use of one arm over the other.

I cringe when I see people bringing up the "total body training" theory in order to prevent these overuse injuries....it doesn't work...it doesn't even make sense when you actually sit down and think about it.

Does anybody think that MLB pitchers don't work out their entire bodies? They are injured quite frequently...and they take off for half of the year. Think about it.

What are we doing to our daughters and why are we doing it?

I'm not trying to criticize you, I'm merely asking all of us to think....

[Madmun]

My daughters a pitcher (14U) and I only know what I have seen. It is not uncommon, at least in tournaments, to see the same pitcher over and over again in the same day with sometimes no break between games and other times with a few hours. I have always been told that as long as they are conditioned correctly they could do it because of the "Natural Motion" issue you have all stated.

Thank you for your post. It will make me more cautious and will clearly discuss it with Samantha Ford, my daughter pitching coach, at her next lesson.

[Sam]

My daughters a pitcher (14U) and I only know what I have seen. It is not uncommon, at least in tournaments, to see the same pitcher over and over again in the same day with sometimes no break between games and other times with a few hours. I have always been told that as long as they are conditioned correctly they could do it because of the "Natural Motion" issue you have all stated.

Thank you for your post. It will make me more cautious and will clearly discuss it with Samantha Ford, my daughter pitching coach, at her next lesson.

Beware any pitching coach that reinforces the old theorums about the natural motion and that your DD won't hurt her arm if she uses proper mechanics....its all bull.

I'm not saying what Ms. Ford believes or doesn't believe....I don't know her and don't pretend to know what she thinks....my statement is a general one pointed at all pitching coaches.

[ocdad]

Question for Sam.

During 1st year of 12's I had 3 quality pitchers, and did just what you suggested used each to pitch pool & went 1,2 for elimination usually trying to save #1 to make a run. What usually happened was bad seeding & poor tournament outings. Lost some good players, because not winning enough - told parents from day 1, we are a 1st year team I am going to work on development & would spread pitching time between all pitchers. Was not able to replace players with equal quality, so I have changed style to have better showing in tournaments. Pitching #1, 2 games in elimination bracket - one occasion 3 games if for championship. The time I pitched her 3 games I told the parents to cancel all pitching lessons for the week after 3 days rest just had her do light pitching (no hard throwing just go through the motion) & limited her use to 1 game following week.

Is managing her overall use during the season just as equal as just limiting her to 1 game per day like you suggest. Situation described only happened once, but I kept an eye on for like 2 weeks.

2nd question - I would think it would be better to pitch 2 games in 1 day give arm & shoulder time to rest (heal), stretch it back out. Instead of back to back days, is it the muscle in the shoulder that leads to these injuries? If so, I have always been taught to work muscles out hard 1 day let it rest the next so the muscle has time to heal & will improve strength. This is what I have done with my pitchers (except touranments).

I am just trying to get an understanding of the overall picture that leads to the injury - I understand as you have stated numerous times, to limit the use which I have done for the most part but seems impossible for me at this point in time since I only have 2 quality pitchers. I am searching for the 3rd, but with so many teams in Orange County/So Cal that is easier said then done.

[Sam]

ocdad,

Pitchers' parents control the teams as much as the managers. Parents that move their kids from team to team based upon the team's won-loss record are worthless egomaniacs who will happily forfeit their DD's longterm health for a couple of $4.95 trophies that will be thrown away within a couple of years.

It is important for the managers to have their eyes on the prize....and the prize is the improvement of the players on the team. If parents leave....don't let the door knob hit em where the good Lord split em....they aren't people you want to have anyway.

If you only have two pitchers, I would strongly consider dissolving the team. Continuing will only hurt the pitchers you have.

The injuries are caused by repetition. Personally, I don't believe that one game on back-to-back days is any different than two games one day and then one day off....to me, its the number of times the arm repeats the motion.

To parents: If your kid is improving, what do you care if the team is winning or not? Its all about the coaching they are getting...not the trophies.

[hotwheels]

ocdad,

Pitchers' parents control the teams as much as the managers. Parents that move their kids from team to team based upon the team's won-loss record are worthless egomaniacs who will happily forfeit their DD's longterm health for a couple of $4.95 trophies that will be thrown away within a couple of years.

It is important for the managers to have their eyes on the prize....and the prize is the improvement of the players on the team. If parents leave....don't let the door knob hit em where the good Lord split em....they aren't people you want to have anyway.

If you only have two pitchers, I would strongly consider dissolving the team. Continuing will only hurt the pitchers you have.

The injuries are caused by repetition. Personally, I don't believe that one game on back-to-back days is any different than two games one day and then one day off....to me, its the number of times the arm repeats the motion.

To parents: If your kid is improving, what do you care if the team is winning or not? Its all about the coaching they are getting...not the trophies.

That is very well put Sam....Anybody that has been in travel ball with the tons and tons of tournaments we all play each year......Is it really worth the risk? How many of you can name all of your BIG tournaments from 2 years or even 3 years ago....My guess is you can't.....Especially if it isn't State or Nationals or Regionals, etc.....One of the smaller TCS or USSSA tournaments.....I will bet you can't remember even 1/2 of them!

I remember 3 years ago when we were just starting and we entered a TCS tournament and I think it might have been in Hemet or Palm Springs. It was the very BIGGEST tournament we had ever been a part of and I remember how the parents and the coaches for that matter were talking about this and that and winning and blah blah.....We took second and got a really AWESOME plaque.....SO COOOOOL....I had a pitcher who couldn't throw the semifinal game because she was tired (Arm soreness from over usage the previous day and weekend)......I found that 2nd place plaque 2 weekends ago cleaning out my garage....cracked and filthy!.....I guess it was IMPORTANT! She had to miss the next 3 weeks for rest and wasn't really the same after that day....

[softball_parent]

For those of you who are saying my daughter is in shape and is doing OK the sad part is that you don't know until it is to late and the damage is done. You can't see inside the shoulder, some of the damage doesn't even show in an x-ray. I wish that someone had said to me what Sam is saying to all of you. Sam's daughter isn't a freak thing. It happens more than you realize. My daughter has 2 friends who were overused at the younger ages. Everyone thought is was wonderful that they could pitch 3 games in a day as 10s and 12s. Now they can't even lift their arms over their heads without pain. Every pitcher from my daughter's 16U team and that is all 4 have had surgery. They all had different pitching coaches. Some had started pitching at 6 years old and 2 didn't start until second year 14U. As I posted before we did all the preventative stuff everyone recommends including physical training, icing, finch windmill etc. The thing we didn't do was focus on strengthening the back muscles and watch the pitch count.