As the father of a baseball pitcher, the #1 rule of his experience growing up was arm care and pitch count. I'm not sure how or why that was so heavily impressed upon us at 10 but nonetheless it was. As my daughter entered into the softball world we noticed the importance was not there. Like as in zero. The girls seemed to throw until they didn't throw strikes. Almost like disposable. It was shocking and just accepted so I just realized that it was different.
I heard all the time that it was different and natural to throw a ball underhanded as opposed to overhand like the boys. My daughter took 1 pitching lesson when she was 8 and we realized that it was not in her future more so due to the dedication as opposed to the ability. She threw well and she threw hard but there was no way she was taking lessons each week and perfecting her craft. She liked to do one thing above all and that was hit. So I learned how to throw front toss and the rest is history.
It's the last few weeks of the high school softball season and the topic that continues to come up in conversations between me and other dads is High School coaching. I have friends with top talent caliber players who are pitchers all over the country. Northern and Southern California, Nevada, Alaska and Arizona. Well mostly west coast but still you get my point its pretty spread out. All of them have had a common complaint. Overuse. It didn't hit me until the 4th and 5th convo where the dad mentioned that their coach really hasn't developed any other pitchers? It made me think about our league and how we have literally seen the same pitcher all 3 games for 4 of our 5 league opponents. It can't be that they don't have another 1 or 2. Right? It just means that the same pitcher is pitching perhaps 75-95% of the season? Here are some stats from the teams in our league. This does not include practice, pitching lessons, or just warm ups.
Team (A)
Total pitch counts spread out over 3 available pitchers.
Pitcher A batters Faced 410 pitches thrown 1558
Pitcher B batters faced 87 pitches thrown 275
Pitcher C batters faced 34. pitches thrown 105
Team (B)
Total pitch counts spread out over 3 available pitchers.
Pitcher A batters Faced 395 pitches thrown 1393
Pitcher B batters faced 101 pitches thrown 342
Pitcher C batters faced 11. pitches thrown 40
Team (C)
Total pitch counts spread out over 3 available pitchers.
Pitcher A batters Faced 403 pitches thrown 1549
Pitcher B batters faced 143 pitches thrown 449
Pitcher C batters faced 6 pitches thrown 15
Team (D)
Total pitch counts spread out over 3 available pitchers.
Pitcher A batters Faced 345 pitches thrown 1421
Pitcher B batters faced 136 pitches thrown 523
Pitcher C batters faced 68 pitches thrown 234
Oklahoma Sooners Pitching stats 2023. They are undoubtedly the best softball team on the planet. Here are their pitching stats currently.
Team Sooners. Appearances. Innings Pitched
Jordan Bahl 25 94
Nicole May 17 81
Storako, Alex 19 76
If the best teams on the planet with the best pitchers or some off and they still have a fairly equal share. Fyi this is conference play only. The numbers are actually much closer over all. Ucla stats are also very similar. They use their #1 a little more but you get the point.
I understand that High School sports is about winning and that there are lessons learned in sitting out, losing and not playing but these numbers seem way out of wack to me. I can't imagine any of these pitchers in the #2 or #3 spots are having a great season. I have seen all of these #1's and there is no doubt why they are the #1 but the #2 is also good. The #3 Who knows? I haven't seen any. I have found some studies showing a new trend with regard to arm injuries in girls more so in their shoulders. As a parent who took all the precautions with their pitcher and still had to have surgery I would just say being your Child's advocate shouldn't be hard. Any coach that can't understand overuse or exhaustion probably isn't the person you want to trust your child's health to. What do you do though? We can't all just move or transfer schools. I like the idea of a pitch count or days of rest for a few reasons.
1* Coaches have to strategize,
2* Builds up team players and development
3* Most importantly, your Child's health is on the line.
Every single team in the above mentioned stats has a pitcher who has thrown 3 times more pitches than their next available player. Maybe a 2-1 ratio would be better?
Let me also answer the question of "well in college they pitch all the time". In college they will have a full group dedicated to their health, their meals, their school life balance. They will be close to fully matured and developed. Their mechanics will be perfected or as close to as possible. Also they don’t. As mentioned above. I understand I'm probably the unpopular opinion but I am glad I don't have to worry about it.
With a word of travel ball where if you don't like your team, your coach or your playing time it's very simple. You move teams.
This has led to the demise of team building and comrade but is usually the path of least resistance and therefore chosen. On that same note coaches pluck players from other teams with visions of grandeur and promises of a better experience. Usually disappointed with that follow up, these children end up on yet another team. Not in High School however. If you don't like your situation then its tough luck. I know a lot of pitcher dads may not see my point here but it's all good. Just an option. Here are some excerpts and a page for you to look at.
Too much pitching can lead to overuse injuries. To protect your arm, don't throw when you're tired, and follow pitch count guidelines. These are general guidelines for tournament play:
Teens should pitch no more than 3 days in a row. Pitchers of all ages should then take 2 days off from throwing any pitches, in practices or games.
Different leagues might have different restrictions on how many pitches a pitcher can throw in a game (including full-speed warm-up pitches). As a general rule:
pitchers 13 and 14 years old: no more than 80 pitches per game, no more than 115 pitches per day on days 1 and 2, and no more than 80 on day 3
pitchers 15 years and older: no more than 100 pitches per game, no more than 140 per day on days 1 and 2, and no more than 100 on day 3
Teens should throw no more than 700 pitches per week, including games and practices.
Pitchers who have pain that doesn't go away in their throwing arm should see a doctor and hold off on pitching until the pain goes away.
All players should take at least 3 months off each year from sports that have a lot of overhead arm motion. Athletes who play multiple sports that use a lot of overhead arm movements — like softball, swimming, and volleyball — are at increased risk for overuse injuries.
https://www.nfhs.org/articles/is-it-time-for-pitch-counts-in-high-school-softball/
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