infielddad-
Points taken!! I don't know the first thing about growth plates but will do my research. I can tell you that the travel coach was a very successful h.s. coach for years and now that his son is old enough to play he wants to be a part of this. He is very concious when it comes to overuse-medical issues. He stays in touch with all rec. coaches to look out for the kids' safety. He doesn't want to "undermind" the rec. program and wants all kids to put the rec. and community first. He says if he has to use a kid that's never pitched before in a travel game then he will. So I don't THINK overuse will be an issue. However, I am going to study up on growth plates and thanks for the advice!!!
Also, neither coach allows any breaking balls. It's really surprising to me how many pitchers we've seen throw them at this age level. What's more surprising is the ratio of fastballs vs. breaking balls. We lose our share of games from not being able to hit a breaking pitch but I pray these boys on opposing teams will still be able to throw when it matters several years down the road.