How many games is too many?

Southeastern and West Coast kids play a fair amount more games than you are describing in a year. So in terms of games, I don't think you're over-doing it. Main thing to watch is pitch count for pitchers and other signs of muscle fatigue (and even mental fatigue) for all players.

My 15 year-old (who also pitches, catches, and plays some 3B/SS) will play at least that many, probably a little more. Justbaseball's advice is the key. Watch pitch counts, make sure he gets enough rest between pitching outings, and look for signs of fatigue, physical and mental.

You might have a break between HS and summer. And you'll definitely have a break between summer and fall.

The only thing I'd worry about is pitching innings. Otherwise, bring it on!!!

When my son was fifteen he played 22 high school games, about 50 travel games in the summer and another 30 travel games in the fall. Some of the 8am games in October in PA were frosty.

The only issue with playing a lot is don't pitch too much. I'm not big on pitching and catching. It's a lot of work on the legs as well as the arm. Your son is hitting the age where he should probably give up pitching or move to another position if he's going to continue to pitch.

If a kid pitches and catches he shouldn't catch a game after pitching. It's possible he shouldn't catch the next day. He shouldn't be making hard, snap throws until his arm recovers from pitching.

http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/position_statement.htm

Article from American Sports Medicine Institute, see item #2.

Those four months would be Nov-Feb. Perfect.

Here is another question... Probably just as hard to answer.

How many games are not enough?

Are you talking about games your son will actually catch or pitch in or just the amount?

For many your sons age that isn't really alot (where I am from).

It all depends on the player and what he does that determines if it is a lot or not. If he will catch when not pitching, it might be too much, if you read the asmi guidelines for pitchers, they do not recommend doing both.

quote:

Originally posted by playball2011:
Age 15, pitches and catches. HS will play 30-really more like 23-25 with rainouts. Then Summer team wants to play 15 with 3 or more weekend tournaments. Fall ball-which he loves is another 12-15 games.He wants to play them all. I'm worried about injuries and wanting a small break. What is a good number for this age to play without it being too much? All of this does not even take practices into consideration. As a parent where should I draw the line? I've seen parents out there push their kids too hard IMO and they burn out or are injured-some to the pt. of not playing anymore. Thanks!

FWIW, my son is in his senior year and had been on varsity beginning with his sophomore year. In VA (VHSL) the maximum allowable regular season games is capped at 20 (playoffs not included).

That said, for the past two seasons he's played about 70 games per year between HS (20), Legion (35) and fall ball (15-18). Sometimes it didn't seem like enough. I was a little concern of him getting burned out in Legion - they began play as soon as the HS schedule was over (late May) and had 30 games scheduled to play over a span of 6 weeks - so on average he was playing 4-5 games (9 innings each) per week during Legion compared to HS which was only 2-3 per week. Fall ball was much more relaxed with 5 inning doubleheaders on Saturday.

Since your son is a pitcher just make sure his arm gets the proper amount of rest. No more than 20 pitches on days of rest and need at least 3 days rest between games he does pitch. He shouldn't catch after pitching a game either. At some point he may have to make a decision on whether he is a pitcher or catcher - it's really stressful to try to do both.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Here is another question... Probably just as hard to answer.

How many games are not enough?

That's a good question. There is actually some well regarded research on how much practice is needed to become 'expert' at something. The book "Outliers" talks about this as there appears to be a threshold called the "10,000 hour rule." Its almost a golden threshold that applies to nearly everything from athletics to law practices to computer programming.

The book is also a fun read for anyone interested.

One.

At least from a nervous parent's perspective.

How many games are not enough depends on the goals of the kid playing baseball.

Like so many here, I'm not troubled by the number of games described by the OP, but managing the physical stress of pitching and catching at that age requires some thought.

quote:

That's a good question. There is actually some well regarded research on how much practice is needed to become 'expert' at something. The book "Outliers" talks about this as there appears to be a threshold called the "10,000 hour rule." Its almost a golden threshold that applies to nearly everything from athletics to law practices to computer programming.

justbaseball,

I don't read a lot, but that sounds like a very interesting book. Using that 10,000 hour rule as a guide... It would take 9.13 years of playing baseball 3 hours every day, all year around, to be an expert baseball player.

That actually answers my question. It takes a lot! Thanks!

Obviously, pitchers can't do that. This gets back to the risk vs. reward or medical vs. potential
thinking.

Too much can be a big risk, too little is safer, but you can't reach your potential. Maybe someone should do a study on every pitcher that has reached a certain level. Did they pitch more or less than those who didn't reach that level? Then again, everyone is different so I'm not sure that study would be all that helpful.

Anyway, I'm going to buy that book.