9-year old kicked out of Little League for being too good

[Tre]

10 years old and throwing a curve? Are you sure that wasn't a Wiffle Ball..lol.  J/K.  You would have never made it if you started that young.  Arm would have been screwed.  I think 16 is a good age to start an advanced plan in pitching. 

That's what Dad said, too. 

I was upset, though. 

The irony is that I hate (major league) baseball now, but it's only normal to wonder 'what if'. 

[Option D]

10 years old and throwing a curve? Are you sure that wasn't a Wiffle Ball..lol.  J/K.  You would have never made it if you started that young.  Arm would have been screwed.  I think 16 is a good age to start an advanced plan in pitching. 

When i was in high school we had a mexican kid trying to throw the split finger fastball...Elbow is all fucked now...

[The Coach]

10 years old and throwing a curve? Are you sure that wasn't a Wiffle Ball..lol.  J/K.  You would have never made it if you started that young.  Arm would have been screwed.  I think 16 is a good age to start an advanced plan in pitching. 

Kids ARE throwing junk at an early age an the parents, coaches and leagues are allowing it by NOT setting rules, Little League used to have the rule but have since starting to allow it. The Pony and Travel ball leagues, USSSA specifically does allow it. I wrote a pretty scathing article for the LA Times and OC Register. I also wrote a letter to the president of the USSSA noting my findings that were signed and backed by Orthos of the Curland/Jobe Clinic (the Clinic who works with the Angels, Kings, Mighty Ducks) even offered to do educational seminars with the Dr's and the snubbed their nose at the idea.


BASEBALL SEASON!
By Joe Marino

Each spring kids look forward to the start of Little League, Pony and the all year long travel baseball each year and with that being said, we see an increase in elbow problems in young baseball players. A common elbow problem in these children is “Little League Elbow”.

Annually, an estimated 4.8 million children aged 5-14 years participate in baseball and softball. The incidence of overuse injuries in the 9-12 year old range for baseball is 20-40% and in the adolescent age group is 30-50%.

Injury usually occurs due to repetitive throwing and more importantly, the use of curve balls or other breaking ball pitches that causes excessive rotation of the shoulder, elbow and wrist. And with the child not being fully developed, could eventually lead to stress placed on the elbow by pulling excessively on the tendons and ligaments and possible growth plate injuries.

I have a several theories on why these injuries are happening at such a young age. The first being poor coaching, not of the game itself, rather the teaching of poor throwing mechanics. Secondly, teaching or letting the kids throw breaking balls at an early age. Thirdly, allowing the pitch count to get too high and finally, coaches either doesn’t know the possible effects or they have a “win at all cost” mindset and just don’t care by enabling the kids to throw junk balls.

To help cut down on injuries during the season, it is always a good idea to have a good off season strength and conditioning program to help prepare for an upcoming season. Proper exercise is a great benefit to young athletes and non-athletes as well; it helps prepare them with the knowledge exercise and good eating habits that will last a lifetime.


Ok, Now that I got all the cutesy crap out the way, lets talk some commonsense. Why, oh why with as long as some of these coaches been coaches would they let a kid, let’s say 10, 11, 12 or even early teens allow a kid who hasn’t even hit puberty yet, is no where near fully developed, to throw junk balls and run up a pitch count during a game (not to mention throwing during practice time)? Is it not knowing, is it being naïve, is it knowing and just don’t give a s**t and just win at all costs? In my opinion it’s all of it and about as close to child abuse as one can get in my opinion. Coaches, parents and players need to be educated on how something like this could not only affect their kid’s performance now, but in the future as well in almost all sports they might decide to play later.

Just over the last 5 years I have had to help rehab 4 kids ranging from 17-19 years old that have had Tommy John surgery. If you don’t know exactly what Tommy John surgery is, let me help you out. Tommy John surgery is a reconstruction of the UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament ) in which a ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from another part of the body, usually the forearm, knee or hamstring. It’s a long painful rehab process that can sometimes last up to a year. If a coach or parent cares at all about the health of a player, the last thing that kid should be doing is throwing junk from a pitching mound or be put in a situation that causes overuse.

[240 is Back]

What if all the kid can do is pitch well.it would suck for him to sit the rest of the time because he can't hit or field at that level.
parents are pussies today.how often does this kid pitch.the kids will face him maybe once or twice a year? kids should deal with it.
I guess Mariano Rivera shouldn't be allowed to close games for the Yanks because major league hitters can't hit his cutter

it comes down to this... what is the goal of little league?

To win?  Or for all the kids to have fun?

Many of the little leagues, particular football and basketball, have rules where every kids plays at least 2 minutes every game.  Goal is to let kids play, not win.

if the goal is to WIN, then by all means, lace em up and let the best kids play.

[CalvinH]

it comes down to this... what is the goal of little league?

To win?  Or for all the kids to have fun?

Many of the little leagues, particular football and basketball, have rules where every kids plays at least 2 minutes every game.  Goal is to let kids play, not win.

if the goal is to WIN, then by all means, lace em up and let the best kids play.

Bro,I think it should be BOTH.yeah so the kid dominates but at every level of every sport there is a player like that.
hahaha,trust me I was at the other end of the spectrum when it came to athletics.it's not the end of the world to lose a game.
when I was growing up there was always a kid that that was better than everybody else at a certain sport.you just knew it,you dealt with it,tried to find a way to win and then moved on to the next game.

[The Coach]

it comes down to this... what is the goal of little league?

To win?  Or for all the kids to have fun?

Many of the little leagues, particular football and basketball, have rules where every kids plays at least 2 minutes every game.  Goal is to let kids play, not win.

if the goal is to WIN, then by all means, lace em up and let the best kids play.

Yes that is the goal of little league, but once they advance to playoffs, TOC, etc, then it's not fun, it's to win. When my son first started playing travel ball, the first thing that was said to the kids is (and I was an assistant coach) "we are not here to have fun, we're here to win". If you're now familiar with travel ball or Pony, the difference is from Little league, it's major league rules all the way around. The field is bigger than Little League and play is waaaaay more intense. The kids are stronger simply because of the bigger field which mean longer throws and farther fences.

[Tre]

I like the participation rules in the under-10 divisions, but once they hit 11-12, it's time to start letting the better players develop and become future stars.

[Parker]

I know when I played ball when I was 12 or so there would be pitchers throwing curves and hard fastballs from the inner city.  My dad took me to the batting cage and had me go to the fastest cage.  Pretty soon the fastest pitchers were not so fast.  I thank my dad for not being a fucking pussy and just throw in the towel like those poor excuse for parents.  What's next?  "Fuck school it's too hard",  "Fuck a job it's too hard"?  They are not doing these fag kids any favors by walking away from a challenge.

What some parents do now, is go on Job interviews with their college grad children. Companies are even scheduling days in which the parents can talk to the employer about the interview. And some Parents want to talk to the the employer about the amount of money that their child was offered!!! When I graduated college, I would never have wanted my parents to sit in on a job interview, I would feel like a pussy, like I couldn't get the job done myself. Parents believe in too much hand-holding these days.

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

Spoken like an adult.

OR JUST QUIT AND SIGN UP AT GETBIG AND SHOW THE WORLD WHO YOU REALLY ARE ISNT THAT WHY WE ARE ALL HERE IM PERSONALLY 6'6", 280LBS, 6% BF RIGHT NOW TYPING..

[Tre]

What some parents do now, is go on Job interviews with their college grad children. Companies are even scheduling days in which the parents can talk to the employer about the interview. And some Parents want to talk to the the employer about the amount of money that their child was offered!!! When I graduated college, I would never have wanted my parents to sit in on a job interview, I would feel like a pussy, like I couldn't get the job done myself. Parents believe in too much hand-holding these days.

UN-REAL.

That's right up my ex-wife's alley. 

I've raised my 6-year-old to stand on her own two feet - something she does a damned good job of - but her mother tries to hold her hand whenever I've got my back turned, so afraid of not being 'needed' for every goddamn little thing. 

[sgt. d]

They should test this kid for steroids.