In his third outing of this young season, my son threw 94 pitches and his team won the game. However, his arm was so sore afterward that he had to be a DH the following day, and he told me that night that swinging the bat had been really painful because of his arm.
Arm pain after pitching is of course to be expected. Kids my son’s age generally haven’t experienced (thankfully) serious arm injuries, and thus can’t really distinguish soreness from concerning pain. And now that my son is 14, and bigger physically, and he can throw the ball harder, it’s not surprising that he feels more pain after pitching than he did when he was younger. In the past, he would experience soreness along the inside of his arm along his forearm. Now, it was squarely in his elbow.
“Does it hurt when you’re not moving it?” I asked him.
“No,” he said.
“Is it sharp stabbing pain?” I asked.
“It’s just sore,” he said.
I took his answers as good news and didn’t consider reaching out to a doctor or even his pitching coach.
I reached out to his club coach when it was still hurting on Monday just to give him a heads up on the pain. He told him that he was planning on using him in the second day of our upcoming tournament this weekend, and that on the first day he could play first base and DH to limit his throws. If my son were six four and throwing 75 MPH, and destined to be a PO, I would be okay with this. But he’s not built like a pitcher, or a first baseman, so I wasn’t thrilled about him not getting reps at other positions.
I finally reached out to his pitching coach on Wednesday, and he told me the following:
- He should be sore afterwards. 94 pitches is way too many for right now. We are only a couple weeks into spring season.
- He’s going to get overworked. Just think of how many weeks we have left until summer tournament season. Spring should be treated as a “spring training” for kids who play for multiple teams/multiple seasons. He’s def stronger and throwing harder but needs proper maintenance between but also needs to use bands to stretch, stay loose and maintain arm strength thru year.
- Now that the season has started it’s about maintenance and building stamina. His workouts to build muscle should be cut back. We don’t want to burn the candle at both ends. I would have him stretch/toss today or tomorrow to get blood flowing and arm action going but just getting loose. If he feels normal by weekend I would limit his pitch Count to 50-60 which should get him 3-4 innings.
- If he doesn’t feel normal by weekend I wouldn’t pitch him. Just let him play field/hit.
So I’m going with his advice and hoping he’s going to be pain-free by the weekend!
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON “NORMAL” PAIN AFTER PITCHING? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS.
For more Club Baseball Dad, see:
- Should You “Reclassify” Your Kid for High School Baseball?
- I Spent 30K on Youth Baseball Last Year; Here’s How
- Youth Baseball: Why Do I Care So Much?
- Anger Management and Youth Baseball: How to Calm Down
- How to Manage Your Kid’s Baseball Tantrums and Meltdowns
- What’s Your Baseball End Game?
- How to Stop Being a Crazy Baseball Dad
- How to Be a Good Baseball Dad in the Backyard
- Is It Okay to Complain About Fielding Errors?
- Are Local Little Leagues Bad for Baseball?
For information on hitting, see:
- How to Get Out of a Hitting Slump
- 4 Best Baseball Batting Aids (No. 3 is Free)
- 4 Hitting Drills You Need to Do Before Every Game
- 4 Old School Baseball Drills You Need to Be Using
- 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Baseball Bat
For information on pitching, see:
- What You Need to Know About Little League Elbow
- 4 Ways To Increase Your Kid’s Pitching Velocity
- Is the Circle Change Dangerous for Youth Pitchers?
- Why I Don’t Let My Son Pitch in Little League
- How to Make Sure Your Kid Isn’t Overpitched in Basebal
For ways to get faster, see: