Reply to "10yo pitching question..."

quote:

Originally posted by Gingerbread Man:

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Son will probably be pitching every three days, Sat, Tues, Friday. Probably 45-50 pitches max including between innings.

On the off days, should he throw at all, or should he rest the arm all together.

I hope this is not a stupid question. I truly don't know what is best. I know resting the arm shouldn't hurt him, but is it actually better in some way for him to continue with some light throwing?

Thanks in advance,

Tim

deaconspoint

Pitching two to three times a week with days off inbetween is fine. Kid should throw on off days (every day he should be throwing some) at this age as to condition the arm. When i say throwing I mean that he should go out and play catch and get his arm in motion and warmed up.

My son has been pitching since he was 9 2-3 times a week with similar pitch counts you have mentioned. He has almost always thrown on off days when the weather permits. The arm needs to get used to the throwing motion to develop good muscle memory and strength and that only happens by repetiotion.

Ever been to a pro-ball game? You watch the players and they will work out with bands and excersizes and then throw for quite some time (30-40 minutes) most of which are relatively pretty hard throws. They will go out and do this every single day, they do not take a break. But, they are also condiotioned to go out and throw hard every day.

One of the interesting phenomenons about muscle and bone growth is that they both know each other and they will both work in harmony. It's kind of natures way of protection. By this I mean that you take your normal 10 year old kid and he will only be able to throw as hard as his skeletal development is established. The muscles will not directly overpower what the bones can handle.

This translates into this- Kids (9-10 yr. olds)start out throwing at velocities that do not overstress the muscles and bones. They are not really damaging anything by throwing. They may have some muscle fatigue from time to time which is absolutely normal. Kids at this age just do not have the veolcities that can do damage to muscle and bones. Most 10 year olds throw about mid 50's if they are good. Throwing every other day for three to four innings at that age is just not going to ever damage a kids arm. How many 10 year olds are in need of tommy john surgery? None! They just don't throw hard enough.

As kids get older, then you need to be better at conditioning their arms- to make them stronger and less prone to injury. Better care in warming up and stretching out as they get older before they start throwing in a game is the key.

My 13 year old still throws pretty much every day including pitching in either a game or bullpen every other day.

Let me ask you this- Do marathon runners after they get done running go and sit in wheelchairs or lay in bed for the next 24 hrs? No, they may rest but they are still very active and are walking or jogging around the very next day. This is because they are condiotioned for it. Just because you pitch on one day doesn't mean that you have to put your arm in a sling until you throw again (unless it truly is injured) two days later. I personally believe kids should learn how to throw so that they can throw every day whenever they want to without any pain or injury.

Kids today just don't throw enough (notice that I didn't say pitch). The throwing motion when playing catch is harmless and is actually beneficial to arm strength and longevity. Pitching at 100% effort is a max effort event and as your kid matures and starts to reach that threshold (about the age of 12-13) then you will need to get picky about how much he pitches and what he is doing to condition himself better for pitching events. There is a difference between pitching on game days and "just throwing" on off days and that should be remebered. Every kid who is properly conditioned could go out and make a 100 throws in a day every day forever without injury, but no one can go out and throw at 100% max effort everyday without some recovery from fatigue and stress.