Put Me In Coach!
I am enjoying ESPN’s coverage each year of The Little League World Series. The uniforms, the chatter, the laughter, the tears and the spectacular plays have been so much fun to watch. What I like most is the honest ‘play’ part of it. Kids usually wear their emotions are on their sleeves and its all there to see in Little League. Pounding their glove after missing a ground ball, burying their face with their caps after a strike out to hide the shame and sometimes tears and their sweet celebrations of a home run or a victory…what a breath of fresh air!
But recently, The New York Times Magazine had a great article by Ron Berler about a disturbing trend that I’ve been noticing for years within the youth baseball community— young pitcher’s increasing injuries. Many Little Leaguers have high pitch counts, pitch too often and throw despite pain in the shoulder and elbow, because of this there’s a huge surge in elbow surgeries—especially ‘Tommy John Surgery’.
Many of these injuries are actually avoidable! I have coached various levels of youth baseball from Elementary School, Middle School, and high level Varsity Baseball with a couple of my pitchers drafted by MLB. And as a coach, I believe our number one priority is the safety and health of our players. This is before teaching skills and strategies or winning games or titles.
For this reason, I love working with young pitchers—teaching them the art of pitching, strategy and especially the PROPER MECHANICS to improve performance AND keep their arms healthy is gratifying work. Since throwing over-hand is the most unnatural movement in all sports, it is so important to monitor pitchers. Teaching proper mechanics on the mound, tracking pitch counts and how often a player pitches (this is challenging as some play for multiple teams) helps distribute the stress of pitching throughout their growing bodies, ultimately increases performance and maintains the health of these kids’ arms.
I wish all youth coaches would remember that the standard is not what the pros do or what parents want. Professional pitchers are highly trained athletes AND GROWN MEN who can put their bodies through more stress.
We are the responsible adults on the practice field and should have the young players’ health in the forefront of our mind. I hope the Times’ article sheds a light on these issues and helps put an end to these avoidable surgeries.
Enjoy Your Exercise. Enjoy Your Day.
