5 GOLDEN TICKETS TO REDUCE YOUTH BASEBALL PITCHER ARM STRESS AND OFFSEASON CONSIDERATIONS

America's Pastime is finally emerging, opening Day for MLB is here, and those young arms are starting to feel the stress of live pitching. Many young baseball players today are playing the sport YEAR ROUND and we are seeing alarming rates of injury at younger and younger ages. The young developing arm truly needs 1-2 months of recovery in the offseason. Many are not getting this necessary rest. If your child is a pitcher and complains of pain that lasts more than 24 hours after pitching, STOP IGNORING IT. This kind of pain is abnormal and can be a silent killer for the young arms. Try these 5 steps to reduce fatigue.

1. Learn a dynamic warm up routine (we have one available) 2. Implement an interval throwing program (we have one available) 3. Teach young athletes to throw at a percentage of their maximum strength during these intervals. (we have the details) 4. Stretch pitcher specific tightness on routine intervals. (we have the details) 5. Do not throw more than two consecutive days at 75% or more intensity. ​

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The old belief of "don't throw breaking balls and you'll be OK" used to hold true. Not any more. The silent killer was not throwing breaking pitches. Now because our children are playing year round, the silent killer is OVERUSE. Off season conditioning is critical for our youth. As mentioned above we have unfortunately driven a belief system that to be competitive and "be the best" we must constantly practice. This is so far from the truth. The reality is that to "be the best" we have to condition our minds to execute patience while giving our bodies the necessary time to recover. Consider these off season sports for an excellent alternative to playing baseball to develop cardiovascular health and improve agility.