Sons First Win

quote:

It was his schools first win in two seasons and I was so happy for him and the team that is made up of some very young players.

Perhaps the start of a new winning tradition!
Congratulations!! Keep at it!!!

12 years old and Pitching Varsity??? WOW! That is kind of scary! With aluminum bats, in Florida? Hope he doesn't get any liners back to the box from some of those 6'5" 200 pound monsters down there. Congrats on the win though!

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Right, Jimnev? Congratulations to your son!

You're right 2BMom. If remember right you have a young son that plays at the varsity level also. Thank you

How big is your son?

5'10" 145. He will be 13 next month.

Yes, you're right, Jimnev. Not as young as yours - age 14, starting 2B, hitting second in the order, just over .300. Got his first taste of varsity last year as DH. Just got his first extra-base hit of the season, a double to left, in our last game. I love to pull for the young guys! Tell your son to go get 'em!

I wouldn't have my 12 year old son pitching at the Varsity level. Too many things could go wrong.

First, a ball could come back and injure him severely.

Second, his arm is still growning. The growth plates are not fused and trying to throw harder to compete in high school just doesn't bode well for his arm.

Third, if he bats... he could get hit by a nasty pitch, ending his season. yes, everyone could, but he's 12 and it could be more traumatic (get in his head more at 12).

Lastly, it's great he got a win and all but how important is it in the grand scheme of things to have a 12 year old playing with mainly 16,17,18 year olds? Something bad could happen and for what?

Just my opinion but I sincerely wish him all the best and to have continued success at whatever level he competes. After all, he is playing the best game in the world!

Switch hitter
His arm is still growing just like every arm on every 12 or 13 year old kid that throws a baseball. He doesn't throw a curve ball just fastball (several variations) and a change. He isn't throwing any harder than he has at any other time. I've seen plenty of 13U tourneys with kids blasting their arms with curve after curve after curve. I've seen 13 y/o kids pitching Friday then Sunday at 60 ft. Arm management is important at all levels and he and his coach understand that. You may be thinking big time schools like Flanagan, Tarvella or American Heritage, this school is 200 students K-12 and they compete against like sized schools. In fact a majority of the schools have 13, 14 and 15 year old kids in the line up or on the roster.

Jimnev,
Wow, that's amazing (as far as school size and age make-up). I've never heard of that but I am from the Arctic region compared to Florida. The rules for Varsity athletics are different here than they are there that's for sure. Sounds like you've done your homework and can justify sons participation at that level. Like I said, I wish him the best!

Congratulations!! Quite an accomplishment. I think I'd cut out that newspaper clipping and save it. I never worried too much about comebackers when my son pitched in high school. It's when he faced the "gorilla types" with aluminum bats in the SEC that gave me some concern. As far as injuring his arm --- the level of the hitter has no bearing on the physical stress on the throwing arm. I damaged my rotator cuff throwing to my son when he was three!
Fungo
PS: I would keep an eye on his pitch count. It sounds as if he could be a prime candidate for overuse.