Did you school have many pitching injuries?

If he doesn't listen after seeing his pitching staff dwindle because of injuries nothing will phase him.

You probably wont get your coach to listen, so that may be a lost cause. Sounds like you need to take things into your own hands and develop a plan of action between starts.

We had one injury last year. Senior pitching district championship and hurt his arm in the first inning. He has had Tommy John already and retweeked it, or whatever. Another guy really hasnt been injured per se, but throws about 10 mph slower then he used to.

The high school to the west of us had their 1 and 2 starters have elbow pain this past summer. The 1 hasnt thrown a baseball since Memorial Day weekend. Both were actually abused by their high school coach, and threw about 90% of their teams innings between the two.

There is one thing that all four of these guys have in common. Growing up playing travel ball, all 4 were the "big time stud" pitchers and threw a ton of pitches every year growing up. This may be a new situation that high school coaches will have to deal with that they didnt have to deal with before.

The parents of those kids need to speak up and let the coach know their son won't pitch under those circumstances. I know it sounds petty, some may even consider it to be whining....but a kids health should come first. When it comes to his HS team, I do not stick my nose in my kids business but I monitor the use use and health of his arm very closely, as should these parents if their kid is hoping to play beyond HS

IMO most of the wear & tear on young Pitchers happens between the ages of 9-12. The Injuries happen when the pitchers range between 15-18 as a rusult of damage cuased when they were much younger. As a Parent you must keep track of Pitch count & rest between starts. I've seen MANY Dads watch their Sons pitch game after game during 9-12 year old Rec seasons & Allstars & because they are succsessful the Coach will throw them until they cant lift their arm. I made a comment to a Dad on my sons Allstar team a couple of years ago regarding his Son throwing four games in a row in four consecutive days. I know the pitch count had to be close to if not over 200 pitches in 4 days. Dad said to me "He's the Coach" On another occasion I witnessed an Allstar Coach have his Son throw 123 pitches in a 6 inning game at 11 years old. I know there are many of you that have similar stories so this is nothing new. I may be over protective but the only thing in my Oldest Sons Baseball life that I would interfere with (I have not had to) taking care of his arm & preventing over use.

If the coach doesn't have a throwing program for his pitchers, and your son is a pitcher, you need to develop one with your son and get him to follow it. Throw with him, or get him to throw with a friend. Find a catcher on the team to do bullpens with him. Make sure your son is doing what he needs to stay in shape and be ready to pitch.

As far as the coach goes, I would not approach him as to how he handles his pitching staff as a whole. If he is abusing your son by having him throw too many pitches, or too many innings, then I would say something about your son in particular. I don't think a parent should get involved with the coach unless it directly involves their sons health and safety. Have your son do what he needs to be ready to pitch on his own if the coach isn't doing it.

One kid I remember having arm problems in our high school was a kid who threw a curve improperly from the time he was a preteen. When the kid was thirteen I mentioned to his father he could have arm problems in the future if he doesn't change his mechanics. I was told he wins and mind my own business.

The other pitcher who had occasional arm problems was lazy and out of shape. However, he had a great senior season, stayed healthy, went undefeated and was conference player of the year. That summer his arm was toast.

I don't believe the coach knew that much about pitching. He kept pitchers in if they were getting outs regardless of the pitch count. He once asked my son to relieve from his position with no warmup on a 30 degree windchill day. My son looked at him like he was out of his mind. All I can give him credit for is never bringing a starter back in relief within the week since by state rules he had three more innings.

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Originally posted by playball2011:
Seems like ours are dropping like flies. Sore arms/surgery etc. There is no pitching schedule or specific program at our HS for the pitchers. They are on their own. Most do nothing and just pitch when it's their turn and face soreness,pain after. How to get coach to listen? thanks

In the three years my son played varsity, we had no injuries due to pitching. The coach is very aware of who's pitched and how much they have pitched (pitch counts) in games and bullpen. It also helps that the VHSL (Virginia High School League) does have an innings limit per pitcher per week. The pitchers are limited to 10 innings per week.

If your son is one of those being abused, by all means, you should approach the coach. His health is definitely your concern.

If the health-conscious conditioning and preparation isn't there, like others have said you must take it upon yourself to make sure son is adequately prepared. Luckily you have a place like HSBBWeb to research that topic

If you care about your fellow man, make sure son tries to involve his friends/teammates in this conditioning. As a parent you can mention that type of thing in conversations with other parents, sometimes they are more apt to think it is a good idea than short-sighted sons