pitchers

[Coachmom]

Pitching should not hurt. I also try to teach pitchers how to recover - but very few do that.

Amy what do you teach for injury or pain recovery?

 

[David Carter]

While I know Amy always has girls best interest at heart I am not sure that 50ish per game is practical unless you have 3 or 4 pitchers, lots of team have two and maybe someone just learning. I am sure I have seen more than an inning or two at 10U that must have been close to 50 pitches and I have rarely seen 10U innings that go say 10 or 15 pitches.

A 10U team with two pitchers on a 50 pitch limit could not finish most games, unless you have maybe a 60 minute time limit and 5 run limit which, especially in rec, is not a bad idea.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

These girls are rec (LL). There are both time limits and run limits. I only have control (somewhat) over my students. The last nine yo that I watched threw 19 pitches one inning, 11 the next, and then 7. I contend that nation wide girls are pitching before they are ready.
If the girl is having a walk fest, put in someone else. They certainly couldn't do any worse.

You cannot learn how to pitch by using poor mechanics and being wild.

As far as recovery goes, I am one of the "old school" coaches that advocates using ice, after the pitcher is done. It isn't exactly old school, since my DD's HS had trainers and they wrapped ice on her arm, at the game. MLB wraps the arms in the dugout, and professional softball does the same thing.

Wear a sleeve on your arm (like a sweatshirt or towel), while in the dugout, to keep the arm warm.

Prior to the game, warm up doing dynamic stretches, overhand throw and warm up pitching. (I see ALOT of girls go into the circle with no warm ups.)

Drink lots of water. Watch your diet and avoid a regular diet of the fast food burgers and fries.

Then, the next day after pitching, rest the arm when possible. Or find a day, when you can rest it. You can throw lightly overhand and do static stretches if you feel a little tight. Or play a different sport, like swimming, biking, etc. Take a little run, if nothing else.

I am afraid that I am seeing some of the major pitchers, that have carried the work load for 8 years, now run out of gas, this late in the D1 season. I wish that the coaches would throw pitcher #2, a little more, especially in meaningless games or games that you are run ruling someone.

Injuries are a different story. All I know about that is to use ICE - ice, compression, and elevation, and get a medical evaluation.

 

[Red504]

I've found my daughter (9 y/o) gets tired around 100 pitches. I would say as long as her mechanics are good she could probably go 4-5 innings max. For rec here they have a 3 inning max so it makes the decision easy. For all stars I had a girl throw somewhere in the 250 pitch range, but she was still throwing same speed and was consistent. Her mechanics were good and she didn't have any pain the next day. This was the extreme and think it was too much. Another girl my daughter plays with pitches rec and for TB. She was just diagnosed with tendinitis from over use. She is a good pitcher but mechanics aren't great. Softball pitching is a natural motion, unlike baseball.

 

[Rocketech1]

These girls are rec (LL). There are both time limits and run limits. I only have control (somewhat) over my students. The last nine yo that I watched threw 19 pitches one inning, 11 the next, and then 7. I contend that nation wide girls are pitching before they are ready.
If the girl is having a walk fest, put in someone else. They certainly couldn't do any worse.

You cannot learn how to pitch by using poor mechanics and being wild.

As far as recovery goes, I am one of the "old school" coaches that advocates using ice, after the pitcher is done. It isn't exactly old school, since my DD's HS had trainers and they wrapped ice on her arm, at the game. MLB wraps the arms in the dugout, and professional softball does the same thing.

Wear a sleeve on your arm (like a sweatshirt or towel), while in the dugout, to keep the arm warm.

Prior to the game, warm up doing dynamic stretches, overhand throw and warm up pitching. (I see ALOT of girls go into the circle with no warm ups.)

Drink lots of water. Watch your diet and avoid a regular diet of the fast food burgers and fries.

Then, the next day after pitching, rest the arm when possible. Or find a day, when you can rest it. You can throw lightly overhand and do static stretches if you feel a little tight. Or play a different sport, like swimming, biking, etc. Take a little run, if nothing else.

I am afraid that I am seeing some of the major pitchers, that have carried the work load for 8 years, now run out of gas, this late in the D1 season. I wish that the coaches would throw pitcher #2, a little more, especially in meaningless games or games that you are run ruling someone.

Injuries are a different story. All I know about that is to use ICE - ice, compression, and elevation, and get a medical evaluation.

With all due respect, no 10u pitcher should be icing her shoulder UNLESS she is injured. And if she is injured she should probably be seeing a doctor. My theory why Jennie Finch and other older pitchers ice their shoulders is they have recurring injuries from many many years of playing softball and because if this they need to ice the shoulder and arm to reduce possible swelling. A 10u should not be experiencing pain that would require icing.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I know some people disagree. But just as many people agree. There is no reason not to ice. The trainers at my daughters high school were from Northern Az. University. They are better qualified than me. The poster asked what I recommend. It certainly cannot hurt, anyway. I ice catcher's knees, too.

None of my girls are tight or tender in the shoulder the next day. I think it speaks for itself.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Here is a link to Cindy Bristro. Hey Coach, My Arm is Sore! « Softball Excellence

 

[Rocketech1]

I know some people disagree. But just as many people agree. There is no reason not to ice. The trainers at my daughters high school were from Northern Az. University. They are better qualified than me. The poster asked what I recommend. It certainly cannot hurt, anyway. I ice catcher's knees, too.

None of my girls are tight or tender in the shoulder the next day. I think it speaks for itself.

I have coached a lot of teams in tournaments with 8U and 10U pitchers (including my own DD) and I have never heard of a girl this age complaining that their arm or shoulder was sore the next day because of the amount of pitches they threw. On the flip side, I asked my DDs pitching coach when did she start icing and she said 10YO and she iced throughout her career. Her second year in college she blew out her shoulder, had two surgeries, and her career was done. Icing didn't seem to prevent this injury. She attributes her injury to her TB coach who would pitch her up to 5 games in one day. IMO, this is the real problem, over-use injuries, not whether or not a pitcher ices after a game or workout.

 

[Hit by the Pitch]

I know the conversation has switched a little bit but if she is playing against players her own ability an inning count should be OK. @5 innings a day seems about right to me, <10 innings weekend.


Our league limits 10U pitchers to 3 innings a game. Little bit to do with letting kids play and a little bit about keeping everyone healthy. It is a game limit so if it is a DH they could pitch 6 innings that day.