Published in the April 23 Edition
Handle with care
Too many breaking pitches bad for arms.
|
Do's and
Don'ts |
|
Advice of
author Ray Lauenstein for coaches who insist on
teaching a 12- to 14-year-old on how to throw a curveball:
1. Think
twice about it.
2. Teach a
changeup to compliment the fastball and educate the player on the benefits
of changing pitch speeds.
3. Educate
yourself with books and videos so that you can throw the pitch before you
try to teach your son or daughter. If you can't train yourself, will you be
effective with others?
4. Go to a
private instructor and let a pro handle it. More times than not they will
try to talk you out of it, but if you insist, your child will at least have
the benefit of quality instruction who can monitor the all important
mechanics of throwing a breaking ball.
5. Use it
vary sparingly - once your child has the pitch mastered to the point where
it is game ready, cap the number of times it is thrown.
Main
reasons for not throwing a curve at a young age:
1.)
Curveballs (and sliders) create a lot of torque on ligaments, tendons and
joints. This is true at any age, but far more stressful in arms that have
not matured and are still growing. Growth plates can be harmed.
2.) The
mechanics for these pitches are complex and must be perfect to avoid arm
injury, mature or still growing, it does not matter. Combine the growth
plate, immature tissue factor with the less than perfect form most kids have
(and coaches teach) and injury is likely; sometimes permanent.
Ray
Lauenstein is the author of Baseball: Playing
Outside the Lines and The Making of a Student Athlete
-
www.athletesadvisor.com
|
By
Kyle Neddenriep
News-Leader Staff
Flip on the television to ESPN in mid-August and you will likely find baseball
analysts gushing over sharp-breaking sliders and looping curveballs.
It's not
Baseball Tonight and the breakdown of Curt Schilling or Barry Zito's delivery
that draws the attention of the commentators. It is the pitching repertoire of
12- and 13-year-old phenoms on the mound at South Williamsport, Pa., where the
baseball world turns its attention for a week to the Little League World Series.
Not everyone,
however, likes what they see.
"Personally, I
can't even watch the Little League World Series," said Brian Mahaffey, the
Director of Sports Medicine at St. John's Hospital. "The announcers make it seem
like these kids are fully developed and can throw the same pitches as a Major
Leaguer.
"Most of them
won't even be able to pitch five years later."
The constant
strain on the elbow and shoulder from throwing curveballs, sliders and other
off-speed pitches (often called "Little League elbow"), can limit the projected
ceiling for young pitching standouts.
As a rule,
Mahaffey says 14 years of age is the youngest any player should be experimenting
with the curveball. But every individual matures differently.
"We didn't
throw any curveballs until we were 14," said Catholic High School's Kyle
Pomering. "But a lot of teams we played against (in the youth leagues) would
pound you with breaking balls.
"It depended on
if the coaches would teach them how and when to throw curveballs."
Overuse —
especially between ages 11-15 — can result in damage or fracture of the growth
plate or tearing of the inside elbow ligament or the shoulder's rotator cuff.
A study by the
American Sports Medicine Institute last year determined that 58 percent of
collegiate males had reported arm pain in their youth league seasons.
"Whether they
are throwing curveballs or not, it's important for the kids to tell their
parents if they are having pain when throwing," said Mahaffey, who is also the
team physician at Southwest Missouri State. "If the pain is persistent, they
need to be evaluated or risk doing permanent damage."
Change-Up
At 23, Bobby
Bradley can hardly be considered "over-the-hill."
The Pittsburgh
Pirates still have hopes that their first-round pick in 1999 will be able to
have a successful career after three surgeries on both his right elbow and
shoulder.
But due to
overuse and a constant reliance on a curveball that was called "Major
League-ready" in high school, Bradley's stock has fallen considerably.
He might
consider himself lucky just to still be pitching.
"The best
pitchers in the country never make it to the majors," Dr. James Andrews, the
renowned orthopedic surgeon told the Charleston (S.C). Post and Courier last
year. "Because they're the ones in youth leagues and high school who are
overused."
As coach of the
12-and-under Republic Seminoles, Tim Robbins knows why kids fall in love with
the off-speed pitches: the other team can't hit it.
"Eleven- and
12-year-old kids can look silly trying to hit a curveball," said Robbins, who
has been coaching the USSSA team for 10 years. "It gives the pitchers a false
sense of security, when in reality all you need is just a change of speed."
Robbins said he
doesn't teach a curve, but instead shows youngsters how to throw a change-up,
thrown the same as a fastball but held deeper in the palm.
"Most batters
at the age we play can't adjust to a different speed, even if the motion is a
little bit different," Robbins said. "Instead of working on breaking balls so
much, we'd like our kids to work on location and working the fastball up the
ladder."
According to
most coaches, education is the key.
"The way we
teach a curveball is absolutely safe," said Catholic coach Jamie Sheetz. "I
teach kids in our younger program how to throw at 2- and 4-seam fastball and the
overhand breaking ball.
"If they do it
the way they are supposed to and understand the mechanics, it's not taxing on
their arm."
Coach's choice
Already one of
the top high school pitchers in the country last year with a fastball over 90
miles per hour, Scott Elbert developed a slider last summer under the direction
of Alan Mahaffey, Brian's younger brother.
It will likely
make him a first-round draft choice in June.
Of course, not
every high school pitcher is the physical talent of an Elbert — or has the
opportunity to continue their career at the Major League level.
"We've had some
kids move in here who've already been throwing the slider but we don't teach
it," said Glendale coach Mark Stratton. "If they are comfortable with it and are
doing it the right way, that's fine.
"But we don't
want to put more stress on a kid's arm than is necessary."
Kevin Shatswell
has learned that you can't always count on youth coaches to make the right
decisions. Last season, the Springfield-Greene County Park Board did away with
the three-inning rule for individual pitchers.
But after too
many coaches took advantage of the rule, it was changed back this season.
"We thought it
was getting too dangerous because some coaches were leaving kids in there for
five or six innings," said Shatswell, who is in charge of youth baseball for the
Park Board. "You have to hope that the coaches have enough common sense to ease
up on them and realize they're probably not coaching the next Roger Clemens."
Benefit the
kids
Pomering has
taken good care of his right pitching arm since playing in youth leagues at
Cooper.
Coached by his
father, the now 6-foot-4, 275-pound Pomering and his teammates weren't allowed
to dabble with the curveball.
"We always
threw straight stuff because he didn't want us to hurt the elbow," he said.
Last season
Pomering suffered a labrum tear in his right shoulder by diving back to first
base on a pickoff play. He's back to "about 90 percent" now and more reliant on
the off-speed pitches.
While Pomering
is old enough and physically mature enough to throw a wide range of pitches,
younger players are often at the mercy of parents or coaches to make the right
decisions for them.
"If they want
to be 12-year-old stars, like you see at Williamsport, then go ahead and throw
the hook," Stratton said. "They're probably not going to have an arm when they
are 17."
In the "win
now" mentality of athletics — even at the youth-league age — saying no is easier
said than done.
"There's a lot
of money spent in these competitive leagues and they are doing it because they
want to win," Brian Mahaffey said. "By not throwing curveballs, you might take
some losses.
"But it's going
to benefit these kids in the long run."
|
