little arms, big injuries

I believe this will get worse before it gets better. Kids don't 'throw' enough, but 'pitch' too much...too many breaking balls at early age...too many pitches, too many innings, too much emphasis on winning the in-house 9-10 YO league and not enough restrictions on IP, pitches thrown, and bone-headed coaches [and parents]. When will people learn that winning the in-house championship at age 10 has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on anything else that kid does the rest of his baseball career?? All of this is well documented, discussed ad nauseum, but little changes. I feel bad for the kids - it's their future and their health.

windmill

You have hit the nail on the head

At the LL level it should be fun-- whenever we made the title game, this is going back 15/16 years or so we always had a aftergame party, win or lose, and win or lose we invited the opposing team as our guest--no parents just the players and coaches-- great times for all

You should see some of the "history data" we get on the nomination forms for our showcases--stats all the way back to Tee Ball

Hey I am 64 and the game is still great fun for me--why can't it be the same for LL'ers

We did make a change. Our LL has never kept league standings and it's worked out great. Every team has a minimium (12) number of players that that ensures maximum playing time. If your team is short players you can have a player from another team come in a play the outfield and bat last. Before games there are always kids sitting behind the fence in what we call the "scab line" waiting to be asked to play an extra game. This year we adopted a "pitch count" rule for league play where the intent was to save arms but we have found that we have started the developed of many more pitchers.

One other thing we did, I ran the league, was use the HS players as umpires and they were permitted to instruct the kids during the games

The LL'ers loved it

Good post, WM.

quote:

was use the HS players as umpires and they were permitted to instruct

TR, that worked for us also. From my sons class the 4 guys who umpired through HS were also the 4 who went on to play college ball. Besides the fact that the kids playing enjoyed the interaction, the parents thought it was a good peer group. Each one of those guys will say that umpiring and instructing enabled them to learn more about the game along with making some money doing what they enjoyed.

.

TR....Couldn't resist this, sorry!...

quote:

Hey I am 64 and the game is still great fun for me--why can't it be the same for LL'ers

With due respect to you, Lennon, McCartney and Gotwoodforsale (the official Woodman AND songwriter for HSBBW…)
...A little musical interlude...not intended as a hijack...out of respect...


When Your Sixty-Four

When I get older losing my speed,
Many years from now.
Will you still be giving me a uniform
Hitting infield, fixing my form.
If I'd been out from right-field to 3,
And, cost you a score,
Will you still start me, will you still chart me,
When your sixty-four.
You'll be older too,
And, if you say the word,
I could coach with you.
I could be handy, lacing a glove
When my curve has gone.
You can keep a book by the cooler-side
As our cleanup gives it a ride,
Dragging the infield, grooming the mound,
Who could ask for more.
Will you still start me, will you still chart me,
When I'm sixty-four.
Every summer we take a trip,
to Omaha, if it's not too dear
I shall scrimp and save
NCAA teams on your card
Vandy, Cal & State
Send me a line-up-card, drop me a post,
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, swinging away
Give me your answer, fill in a post
Friends for evermore
Will you still start me, will you still chart me,
When your sixty-four.

44

I think this topic is one that reqiures some serious study.
There are alot of kids pitching alot of pitches,both in number and variety. Many of them are getting hurt.
But why?
Maybe some kids, gifted with good arms just don't have the structural features to last as pitchers.
Maybe the video generation just isn't conditioned to pitch as much as is demanded by the competitive baseball world. (Should it be that competitive?)
I've gone to too many LL games where 20 runs are scored by each team, walking around the bases or advancing on past balls/or Wild Pitches and these might be the best pitchers available to each team. And nobody but the catchers and the baserunners are learning any baseball.
The game requires a great deal of skill developement. Not many kids put in the time to be effective and the ones that do have a tendency to get overused.
So coaches are stuck between developing pitchers or having an effective one or two handle the load. In a cometitve format the coaches almost always go with the kids throwing strikes. This is where rule changes should be focused.
To understand the risk of allowing a child to pitch or how many or of what type requires a larger focus than just those parameters.
Any serious study about this must have a handle on the conditioning and genetic endowements of the kids envolved.
We should be concerned and we need to know why.
Rollerman

Rollerman,
I see your point and in a perfect world we would have a full body catscan of every player in order to determine their "best fit" on the field. But this is not a perfect world and it has millions of various aged and physically developed players. Youth baseball is not only a game, but a training ground for kids in the areas of teamwork, self esteem, and the idea of sticking your neck out and trying something. IMO every kid should step on a mound and give it a shot. Yes the game requires a great deal of skill developement to be proficient, but all it takes is a little practice to be competitive. Those 23-21 games are far and few between when looking at the total number of games played. If there are many of those in the games you are watching maybe there should be a coaching checkup. Youth injuries are either the result of an accident, over/improper use, or a very infrequent genetic issue. Accidents happen, genetic issue are a freak of nature, but over/improper use is not acceptable.

Great Job Observer! I am glad that Lennon and McCartney were first though. I saw Sir Paul on his last LA trip, and am greatly envious, not just his talent, but his energy and enthusiasim. I am a decade plus from 64 and better get in better shape and attitude

TR:

Yes TR...we still need you...and now you've been immortalized in song thanks to 44.

Did you see that fully certified hijack free...kind of like tuna w/o dolphin... musical tribute to you from 44?

It doesn't get any better than that, TR. Our buddy 44 is our lyricist extraordinaire.

Thanks 44...you're the blessed...best!

44

great piece