Monthly Archives: May 2015

Younger children—don’t just focus on one sport

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Summertime is just around the corner, and it’s time for kids to be outside enjoying themselves.  Organized sports are often a part of that.  Whether you have big dreams for your child’s sports future (college scholarship, pro career) or she has dreams for herself, it’s important not to push too hard too soon.  Doing so can cause injury and, perhaps more importantly, can decrease the all-important fun factor.

Most children love to play with a ball even before they can walk.  As their bodies mature, they’ll enjoy learning to swim, running short distances, playing physical games like tag in the backyard.  Activities like these are great for children’s physical health and for helping them grow into well-rounded people.  Staying active prevents obesity, gives a boost to the immune system, improves mental outlook, and fosters the development of social skills (learning to play fair, settling disputes, taking turns, sharing).

Parents should be cautious by not encouraging a child to play one sport to the exclusion of others.  Focusing on one sport, whether it’s swimming, soccer, baseball, gymnastics or something else, can lead to specific injuries.  Swimmers may develop shoulder problems; gymnasts can damage joints; runners might get shin splints.  Keeping a variety of physical activities in a young child’s life enables the whole body to develop, get stronger and more flexible, and decrease the risk for injury.

Eventually your child may decide to specialize in one sport, but doing so too early goes against the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness.  There’s a great article on the subject here.  It’s best for your child’s physical, mental and social development to generalize, try a lot of different sports and activities, and to simply have fun.

 

© MBS Writing Services, 2015.  All rights reserved.

Batter up!

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Baseball is here for the summer, for kids of all ages.  Grownups, too, for that matter.  If you’ve ever had a pitcher in the family, you know that shoulder injuries are common, and if you’ve ever watched a slow motion video of a pitcher’s action, you can see why.  It’s not an entirely natural motion, and done repetitively, it can cause injury.  Pain and swelling may occur and sometimes even surgery is required if the damage is severe.

Little League Baseball has guidelines in place, designed to prevent injury.  These rules govern both the number of pitches allowed per day, and the number of days rest required after pitching.  You can read their entire list of pitching rules here.

Both the number of pitches and the number of rest days are regulated by age.  Here is their list of pitching limits per day:

17-18         105 pitches per day

13-16         95 pitches per day

11-12                   85 pitches per day

9-10           75 pitches per day

7-8              50 pitches per day

 

And the rest day requirements, again quoting from their website:

Pitchers league age 14 and under

• If a player pitches 66 or more pitches in a day, four calendar days of rest must be observed.

• If a player pitches 51-65 pitches in a day, three calendar days of rest must be observed.

• If a player pitches 36-50 pitches in a day, two calendar days of rest must be observed.

• If a player pitches 21-35 pitches in a day, one calendar day of rest must be observed.

• If a player pitches 1-20 pitches in a day, no calendar day of rest is required.

Pitchers league age 15-18

• If a player pitches 76 or more pitches in a day, four calendar days of rest must be observed.

• If a player pitches 61-75 pitches in a day, three calendar days of rest must be observed.

• If a player pitches 46-60 pitches in a day, two calendar days of rest must be observed.

• If a player pitches 31-45 pitches in a day, one calendar day of rest must be observed.

• If a player pitches 1-30 pitches in a day, no calendar day of rest is required.

           A game official is required to keep the pitch counts for every pitcher in the game and to let the head umpire know when a pitcher has reached his/her limit.

For other notes on safety and required equipment for ALL baseball players at different positions, please read Little League’s equipment checklist here.

Fun and safety are the twins of any sport.  Insuring your child’s safety and health increases the fun quotient!

 

© MBS Writing Services, 2015, all rights reserved.