3 days rest

Don't pitch.
I am sure that you are a fine pitcher, but I would consider you more of the horse instead of the ace.
No level or stage is worth it, you can't let them them use you like that. You won't be pitching come your senior year.
Sorry, not to discourage you, but you should know if you have read all of the many posts here, over use is NOT a good thing.

J H,

I have to agree with Tiger Paw Mom. It sounds like you are being asked to pitch more frequently than what is considered healthy ... because the pitchers who were pitched more frequently than is healthy, are out of commission with arm surgery.

It can be exciting to be thrown into the role of staff ace, and it is possible that you could make it through the year without serious injury, but it would probably catch up with you sometime during your HS career.

Some reputable sites like asmi.org (American Sports Medicine Institute) publish pitch count recommendations - you should read them, show them to your parents, and discuss what is safe for you. A simple rule of thumb for high school pitchers is:

For each game pitch thrown, you should have a minimum of 1 hour of rest before pitching in a game again. So if you threw 24 game pitches yesterday (Thursday), you might be able to pitch safely again today. If you threw 90 pitches Thursday, you might be able to safely pitch again on Monday (if your arm feels healthy, of course). But keep in mind that these are minimum rest periods, and since you are still fairly young, you should not try to push the limits!

Good luck to you.

quote:

Both captains of my team had off season arm surgery

Perhaps you should consider that the reason that TWO of the older pitchers on the team had to have surgery was because of overuse/abuse by the coach.

If you were my son, you can be sure that I would be keeping a very close watch on pitch count and rest days. I would go so far as to suggest that you share your concerns with your parents. Your parents would certainly have the right to discuss this with your coach whereas you may/probably feel intimidated to do so.

You are a sophmore, and obviously talented. Please do not put your future, your dreams, goals, and aspirations in the hands of someone who does not care about you, only cares about winning the next game!

Thanks to all for the responses.

I presented these points to my dad who liked the 1 hour per pitch concept. I briefly acted as a devil's advocate, trying not to keep him from seeing only the negative aspect of the situation.

To give a little more background, each of the two captains had arm surgery. One of them was a late-season call up during his freshman year (like I was last year). He soon became the starting catcher. He participated with several travel teams over the summer and perhaps overthrew in several showcase events. He also wasn't necessarily smart himself, he wouldn't stretch properly and would get out there and start just heaving the ball 80 mph during warm ups before getting warm. So all the blame there can't go to coach.

Our other captain has been a starter on varsity since his freshman year. When he didn't pitch he played right field, and just destroys anything at the plate. I agree that coach overused him, several games with three days rest, 100+ pitches, etc. He played with Bayside this summer and said he pitched a lot and that's where he feels he hurt his arm. The question is, was it gradual or sudden? Probably a combination of both.

The first had labrum surgery, the second had reconstructive elbow surgery, but we just say Tommy John Surgery.

Looking at the other side, coach is the first to admit that his weakness is with pitchers. He puts a lot of faith in his pitchers, and trusts what we say and our decisions. Also, in the second occurrence, he and I are two very different pitchers. He is a power pitcher throwing 88 mph, I am a LHP and I'm crafty throwing probably 80. Not that that matters at all in terms of arm injuries, but the gas always lights up coach's eyes.

For the most part I'd say that coach leaves it up to us. He definitely isn't stupid with the arms on the team, and though of course he takes some blame for the injuries, he certainly can't take all the blame in my mind just because of what they did in recooperation and elsewhere, etc.

~Josh

I really suggest you and your parents read this report:

http://www.asmi.org/SportsMed/youth/PITCHCNT.PDF#search='asmi%20pitch%20count'

There is a simpler form of the info that you and your parents can use to monitor the situation.

http://members.cox.net/tucsonnichols/pitch_count.htm

My son was in a similar situation this year - a coach, knowing that he was the experienced pitcher on JV, told him that he was going to be pitching multiple times a week. After a conversation, he kept the pitching at a reasonable pitch count level - but I still track based upon these guidelines.

No one is blaming anyone, the responsibility rests with coach, parents and player.
But what happened to the other pitchers happens everywhere, you pitch a lot in HS, and you want to pitch during summer when the coaches and scouts are out looking, because they are NOT going to be there at HS games. It's accumulation, no matter where you put in the time, HS, summer, college.
So the decision lies with you, armed with the advice given to you and information available.
Once you get to college (if one is lucky to make it) and on a team, and a coach is paying part of your tuition, you pretty much have no say in what happens. The coach expects you to come healthy, if you need to take time for surgery or recovery in college, you then have to fight your way back, possibly a year or two after you arrive to get back into the game. I am seeing most of the freshman at my sons school that have come hurt struggling to get back into the mix.

So ultimately, your future rests with you.

JH, you seem like a bright enough young man. Go back and read your post, the coach will overuse anyone who can get the job done. Assuming you're still a minor, this would be a great time for your parents to ask for a conference.