PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - Parents should always let their child enjoy their childhood and never force them to do more than they should.
When you put your
child into a sport, sometimes competition can take over your decision.
“Sometimes I’m guilty of it myself
because I have an 11 year old son, sometimes I push him to play too much,” Kris
Doorey, assistant coach of the 11
& 12 All-Star team for the Plattsburgh Little League team and current head
coach of the Plattsburgh State baseball team said.
Numerous studies including
those from American Academy of Pediatrics to the American Academy of
Orthopedic Surgeons show a rise in shoulder injuries, specifically youth
pitchers.
A study in 2014 by
Dr. Benton E Heyworth of the American
Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, an organization whose members must demonstrate
scientific leadership, involvement and dedication in daily practice of sports
medicine, showed that 95 patients ranging from 8 to 17 years of age were diagnosed with proximal humeral epiphysiolysis, otherwise known
as Little League shoulder.
LLS is an
overuse injury caused by too much throwing or repeated overhead throwing with
improper mechanics.
Take Kurt Ouellette,
a pitcher for the 11 & 12 All-Star team for the Plattsburgh Little League
team.
Ouellette has been
playing baseball since he was four years old and has been pitching since he was
six.
He may have never
been injured while pitching, but Ouellette has said his arm can get sore when
pitching too much. He has even pitched through pain at times.
Or look at the
example of former pitcher Ronald Davis.
Once offered a
minor league contact to sign with the New York Yankees, he rejected because he
knew he pitched too much.
“I remember
pitching for four straight games,” Davis said. When he did pitch for four
straight games this was during the Georgia State Championship during High
School, which is too much by today’s baseball standards
Every time a
pitcher throws a ball, they create small rips in their ligaments requiring time
to heal. For Davis, because he pitched so many games without rest, his arm wore
out.
But before that, he learned a pitch called the Drop pitch, which was
similar to a curve and splitter but breaks at a much high rate.
He learned this
pitch while playing Little League, which under today’s Little League rules is
too early to learn.
“Sometimes
those kids need a little bit of recovery time away from that sport to do
something else,” Doorey said.
So what is the solution?
Doorey has said that parents and coaches
control what their child can and cannot do.
The mother of Kurt Ouellette, Michelle Ouellette, said that she makes sure her child
isn’t over pitched.
“We’re careful
about that,” Michelle said. “We watch out for him and make sure he ices his arm
and he isn’t over pitched.”
Davis adds that
though competition is good, parents and coaches should be very aware about
their child pitching too much and making sure they get rest.
Doorey points out
that kid should look and participate in more than just one sport. He mentions
that when a kid choses one sport, they usually end up burning out of that
sport.
“Parents have to start looking at it as
‘Alright I want what’s best for my son and is playing baseball four times a
week going to make him a Division I college athlete so he can get a
scholarship?’ Maybe, but also maybe not,” Doorey said. “There aren’t a lot of 9
10 year old kids that say. ‘Mom and dad, I’m only going to play baseball.’”
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