What Every Parent Should Know About Youth Baseball (Part I)
Any parent with a young athlete in baseball would be hard pressed to miss all the warnings these days with youth baseball. The following is a list of things that have become main stream in the past decade to make a real difference:
· Little League has instituted pitching rules that limit the number of pitches per game and time in between starts on the mound
· Greater awareness that breaking pitches, such as curveball and sliders, are not good for a developing shoulder and elbow
· Use of safety equipment, such as helmets, that have reduced the number of concussions and other head injuries considerably
These pushes by the parent, association, and medical communities have made a great difference but the question remains: Why do injuries continue to rise in youth baseball? The answer is not what “we are doing” to reduce the problem but more what “we are becoming” in our sports culture. Years ago, young athletes would play a variety of sports, go on vacations with the family, and have times termed the “offseason.” Nowadays, it is not unusual to see a 10 year old playing 100+ baseball games in the summer, cramming in $60 personal training sessions 2x a week, hitting a pitching lessons 3x a week, and then sprinkle in some conditioning a practice during the dead time.
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