Dave Land wrote: >I'd be more concerned with his elbow than my knees -- there is a lot >of attention being paid to the damage that little league pitchers >are doing to their joints.
Those occur generally as a result of three things: excessive throwing, bad mechanics, and/or teaching kids breaking balls too early. I let Jimmy throw 20-30 pitches a day, twice a week, maximum, just so he can start getting a feel for the mechanics and how to throw strikes consistently. If it were up to him, he'd be out there every day; you know how kids are. But I don't allow it. I've done plenty of reading on the subject, and I'm not about to let him hurt himself. Regarding curve balls, there'll be none of that. If he's pitching at a high enough level come high school, well, he can learn then. Quite frankly, until you reach that age, all a kid needs is a fastball and a halfway decent change-up that he can throw for strikes to be a good pitcher. Breaking balls should never be taught to kids who haven't graduated from Babe Ruth Leagues. In all honesty, the biggest problem with youth pitching is the coaches and/or parents of the kids. A 10-year-old who's eager to do well will do whatever the adults tell him to do, and if he's taught a curve or allowed to pitch too many innings early on, he's going to do whatever he's allowed/told to do. It's the coach's responsibility to keep the kids from hurting themselves. Pitching is not, in and of itself, harmful to young arms. It's allowing the kids to pitch the wrong way (too many pitches, bad mechanics, breaking balls) that can cause problems. Jim _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
