We will be starting HS this fall. My son is a pitcher, and will most likely be one of the strongest pitchers the school will have for their freshmen team in the spring.

Here is my question/concern. The Varsity coach wants to put together a "Fall" team of players he has hand picked from camp to play together in a fall league. We typically put the brakes on in the fall with pitching and give the arm a much needed rest.

Of course, his club team now wants to do fall showcases, and the coach for the fall freshmen team will want him to pitch as well. To me, that could almost seem as much strain on the arm as in the spring / summer months. It doesn't feel like he is getting a break, even though the coaches tell me they will only go 40 pitches max or two innings.

Is it appropriate to tell the coaches no pitching in the fall so that he will be strong for spring? I don't want them to get the wrong idea or to think that my son is not willing to pitch. He would pitch, it's us as parents that want to put on the brakes. Is that right? Just curious what you guys may think?

I hear it is their Junior summer that they need to be able to perform for colleges / scouts, etc.?

We also stay in PT to work the small muscle groups year around.

Welcome to hs baseball. The guys play all year round. No rest!!! If you tell the coach you won't play fall ball, be prepared to suffer the consequences. You, the parent, no longer have a say. Once you get to college, if you play that long, there is never a break. That's just the way it is. Never could understand myself why the college coaches burn the kids out in the fall and don't let them rest up for the spring. They are exhausted before the spring season starts. You will see lots of injuries early in the spring due to overwork in the fall.

JoeDi,

First off, your varsity coach is not allowed under UiL rules to "put together" any team for the fall. Second, it is your son. You, your husband, and your son need to come up with a game plan. Sure, it would be great for him to play fall ball with his HS teammates. Also, as for the "showcases," not sure I'd put too much stock in them unless he is playing with 16, 17, 18 year olds...those are the kids that are being "showcased" in front of the college coaches during the fall. Anyone, anywhere, can call their tournament a "showcase." You'd better do your research there.

Regardless of where or who he pitches for, he needs to take care of his arm. He needs to run after he pitches and the day after he pitches. He needs to ice on those days also. This is something I need to get across to my players as well in the fall. I have been lucky, I have not had that many arm injuries to my pitchers. Maybe it is luck, or maybe it is because we have real good communication between the players, the parents and me, the coach.

Finally, talk to your HS coach and tell him your concerns. If he is not willing to work with you, then that is a RED FLAG right there.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

Art Senato
Head Baseball Coach
Marcus HS

During the fall season, in general, high school teams will play a double header on Saturday, and club teams will play a double header on Sunday. For high school teams, especially in freshman ball, the fall season is used to evaluate talent and start piecing together the summer team. Sunday ball is similar in 9th and 10th grade. It's very good for preparing football and basketball players for spring baseball, and to get year round ball players extra games. If you don't want your son throwing on Sundays, the coach should have enough arms to accommodate. Players will get ample time to rest their arms during the "off-season" period between fall and spring ball.

Thanks guys for your input. The coach is not putting together the team, but he has picked the kids through his camp that he would like to see play together in the fall, and another coach is coaching the team.

I spoke with the fall coach of the HS team, and he said he understood completely if we wanted to take a break on the arm and do rehab to keep his arm strong.

As far as the showcases, yes, he is playing on an 16U club team, so I would love to see how he does with that.

I appreciate your input and direction, I will defintely use some of this advice.

FD... as usual you are right on the button. I hope that the Marcus people realize they are getting a coach that REALLY cares about the players.

Good Luck

The best advice you got was from DD. Not only be prepared for the playing consequesnces but be preperd to lag far behind those who take little of no time off. I(f your son follows your advice he really isn't serious about BB to the level of going to college. There may be a few who can do it but the vast majority can't. If I tried to stop my son from fall ball I would have had a fight on my hands.
All the teams around here take at most 2 weeks off around Xmas and that is
I really have a hard time with parents who know squat about pitching and what should be done and what shouldn't.
Personally if I was your coach I wouldn't touch your son with a 10' pole for 2 reasons. One is apparent lack of dedication. ie. If I have guys who work hard all year I go with them. Second is I would not want a parent who questions everything I do. If the other other parents and players buy into the program I go with them.
There are thousands of pitchers who are dedicated and put the effort in to succeed. I hope this puts a little perspective into your question.

BobbleheadDoll,

I have to disagree with you...Keith Meister, who works at TMI Sports Performance and is the Director of Sports Medicine, talks to the booster club at Lamar High School every season, usually during the Fall. He handles many of the arm injuries of the Texas Rangers, and injuries involving Stars players etc... His message is the same every year. Kids ranging from 12-18, especially pitchers, should generally take 3 months off a year. He says the developing arm of a youngster is not mature enough to handle the year around work load. He backs his comments up by detailing how many Tommy John surgeries he is performing on kids that are 14 years of age or younger. He believes that this surgery needed is caused by overuse at such a young age and not taking the time to rest. He doesn't even think you should pick up a baseball for those 3 months of rest. Now he does believe in off-season conditioning and says that will help you stay in shape while resting the arm.
I think this also helps with mental burnout. I have seen it to many times where really good ballplayers burnout around 17 and 18 years old from year around playing from the time they were 12, and just quit playing the game. This is just my opinion.

My suggestion (as a parent who doesn't know squat) is to look to the guys who your players immulate.
Pro pitchers (fully grown adults) take 5-6 months off from pitching but...start a very intense off season program of swimming etc. Very difficult to work on velocity or proper mechanics when the arm has not had proper rest. Pitching in "games" is not the the key to developing.

This is not a race....it is all about one player reaching their top potential. IMO

Agree with Lamar, Doc Meister put our sons shoulder back together in January from a football injury. His go-to therapist said that he feels that the Tommy John phenomenon about coming back stronger lies in the fact that the player is forced to take months and months off with no throwing. This is something that they probably hadn't done in years, and then when they did start rehab they were doing things highly supervised, done the right way... again for maybe the first time ever. It isn't necessarily the surgery that is making pitchers stronger it is likely the down time and proper strengthening.

I know that our son said that his arm felt so much better(it was his non throwing arm that he had fixed) after all those months off, then it did after the end of summer season last year. I think that you can focus on lower body and core strength, and give the arm a little rest now and then.

But in saying that, not only am I a "parent who doesn't know squat"....but I am one of the lowliest of all creatures....the dreaded MOM....ugh don't you just hate them!

JoeDi,

As a parent, your first obligation is to the health of your son, and you (and he) knows what he needs more than anyone else (any coach included, HS or select). Beware of any "one size fits all" answer to your question. Rest is relative for any individual. In some cases, no throwing may be best, for some "light" throwing may be ok. You have seen how he responds to throwing, and he is really the only one who knows how his arm feels (not you or anyone else can determine that). He needs to know the difference between "sore" and "hurt" and be COMPLETELY HONEST when he discusses how his arm feels.

In my opinion (worth what you have paid for it!) -it is all the other stuff that counts - off season doesn't mean playing X-Box on the couch, whether you throw or not. Core work, running, band work, etc. should all be done to take advantage of the growth occurring in their bodies. I also don't think a pitcher can ice too much on the day of throwing and the day after they throw (along with running). I know ziplock bags and saran wrap are a pain, but I think this is vitally important to young arms to get them iced as soon as possible when done throwing. In general, I think a pitcher should throw "less" in the fall, fewer innings, shorter outings, etc. than in school and summer ball.

It depends on if your son is trying to earn a roster spot etc. on the school team (and Freshman roster or JV or Varsity). HS fall baseball is really a chance for the coaches to evaluate talent in their program, and not much more than that. Fall showcases are just that, and at 15, I just wouldn't get too wrapped up in that yet. He will have plenty of time to be "seen" in the process. Each person can give you a different answer to what they have done, or what they "should" have done. Use your common sense, build an "honest" relationship with your coaches, and don't be convinced there is a single answer to success (that too is what you define it as, for some it may be making the HS team, for others, college or pro ball). My experience tells me most players get out exactly what they have been willing to put into it.

Good Luck in your decision making process.

JoeDi, Here's a perspective from a guy who coached our HS team's Fall freshman. Our coach wanted EVERYONE who was a pitcher to get to pitch. The "strongest" pitcher on our 5A team pitched a total of 13 innings in the Fall. Here's what the others pitched 12,12,10,8,7,7,4 for the Fall season. Hope that helps.