My 12yr old flame thrower.

[davbrucas]

You ever catch flak from coaches telling you to "real him in a little" on that fast ball, being he's only 12?

Have a coworker who's son is in HS and has been throwing a heater since Jr High and now in HS he's experiencing some tendon issues. They're assuming it may be related.

But congrats on the kid doc. Keep him on the straight!


David

Throwing hard doesnt necessarily cause undue stress on arms...assuming they have good mechanics. Colby has very good mechanics. His pitching coach as a World Series ring from the Atlanta Braves back in the 90s...Pedro Borbon Jr. Add in Colby's size and strength, he can throw harder for longer than a smaller kid with similar velocity. It's the breaking pitches kids throw at an early age that causes the apophysitis (tendonitis later in life). Pedro forbids Colby from throwing any breaking pitches...even though Colby's favorite offspeed pitch is a 12-6 curveball.

[davbrucas]

As far as money spent on his baseball...I am scared to add it all up. But it's obscene. But, I feel that it is worth it. Colby loves the game and is great at it and all of his pro coaches feel that he has a future in this sport, so if it takes me spending a little money on helping him fulfill his dreams, then that's my job as a dad. Pedro said of all of his students, Colby has the most potential and if he does not get drafted out of high school/go to D1 school, he would be very surprised. Only time will tell...

[akfodysvn]

It's not nearly the same when you make deep into 6 figures. You've earned it so spend it how you want. You have to look at the % spent to income ratio before it is silly IMO

[cobrajet69]

Dave, you are probably spot on with the breaking comment. This kid is supposed to have a wicked curve ball.

And Matt says the same thing on $$$ spent on his oldest son playing hockey. I about dropped my jaw when he told me what he spent last year. Well worth it though, as you know.



David

[juiceweezl]

Throwing hard doesnt necessarily cause undue stress on arms...assuming they have good mechanics. Colby has very good mechanics. His pitching coach as a World Series ring from the Atlanta Braves back in the 90s...Pedro Borbon Jr. Add in Colby's size and strength, he can throw harder for longer than a smaller kid with similar velocity. It's the breaking pitches kids throw at an early age that causes the apophysitis (tendonitis later in life). Pedro forbids Colby from throwing any breaking pitches...even though Colby's favorite offspeed pitch is a 12-6 curveball.

I'll agree to this a ton. As I said earlier, I've been coaching for years and been down this road. My brother threw D1 and topped out in the mid 90's. Throwing a baseball is one of the most physically demanding things on the body, but if done with correct mechanics, it will cause more muscle fatigue than anything else. Pitchers are taught to throw with their legs. They put you up on a hill for a reason -- so you can push with the legs and get out and down. My big lefty doesn't even look like he's trying to throw hard at all, yet he can throw 62 mph consistently at 10u. He also doesn't even think about a curve ball either -- nothing but 4 seam, 2 seam, and change right now with a little bit of a cutter in lessons. Here's some of the big mistakes people make with their kids/mechanics.

1) Throwing breaking pitches way too early. If the muscles and tendons aren't ready, the arm won't hold up.

2) Not stopping/removing from the game when fatigue sets in. This leads to bad mechanics and arm trouble.

3) Bad mechanics, specifically letting the elbow get below the shoulder when throwing. That puts stress on the bicep, then down to the elbow, etc. It happens for a lot of reasons, but it usually leads to the arm pronating and you can easily pick out a kid that throws like that. It will hurt the arm -- trust me, I know.

Here's a few pics of my boy from the end of last summer. He has very good form for this early age, especially considering how awkward his body is for 10 years old.

[OMEGA DOOM]

Do these kids not get burned out in their late teens? I currently have no kids so I cant comment much by experience. I think it is a little crazy how nuts we have gotten over sports... But again no kid so my opinion may change. The $ for travel, equipment, leagues, etc just seems laughable these days. I have Co workers spending 15k a year on soccer. In the end is it worth it? I know many are financially stable enough that itt doesn't impact them but I am more talking about the "normal" American income. I guess I wonder if these kids are developing/excelling in all avenues to become great people and not just great athletes.

totally pointless their kids have zero chance of going pro and more then likely they are paying for the studs on that team, kids from rec have the same chance of going to college they do if they are headed that route

[akfodysvn]

totally pointless their kids have zero chance of going pro and more then likely they are paying for the studs on that team, kids from rec have the same chance of going to college they do if they are headed that route

It's absolutely silly I agree but the whole team is "studs". They are the highest league possible without playing in junior olympics. My Co-worker said every girl on the team has a D1 full ride somewhere. Basically he paid for her college by paying for her competitive soccer games and travel all over the country. His daughter gets tired of it during the peak but he said he wouldnt change a thing.

[OMEGA DOOM]

It's absolutely silly I agree but the whole team is "studs". They are the highest league possible without playing in junior olympics. My Co-worker said every girl on the team has a D1 full ride somewhere. Basically he paid for her college by paying for her competitive soccer games and travel all over the country. His daughter gets tired of it during the peak but he said he wouldnt change a thing.

for the "girls side" yes their are great chances for college, the top leagues are the academy leagues there is no "junior olympic type league though there is what they call ODP which has nothing to do with the womens or mens US National team though although there are NO guarantees for D1 schools now on the boys side its a total joke just nothing more than a "money pit"

[davbrucas]

Colby had another big weekend. 13 Ks in 5 innings of relief. No hits.
He had a good day at the plate as well with a HR, a double and 2 singles with one walk and no Ks. Gonna be a good year.

[DON SVO]

Bad ass Dave!

[blownaltered]

Do these kids not get burned out in their late teens? I currently have no kids so I cant comment much by experience. I think it is a little crazy how nuts we have gotten over sports... But again no kid so my opinion may change. The $ for travel, equipment, leagues, etc just seems laughable these days. I have Co workers spending 15k a year on soccer. In the end is it worth it? I know many are financially stable enough that itt doesn't impact them but I am more talking about the "normal" American income. I guess I wonder if these kids are developing/excelling in all avenues to become great people and not just great athletes.

My cousin did, he was a stud. He was a pitcher and could knock the ball over the fence at will. He had a full ride to Mizzou and pissed it all away. Now I will say a lot of that has to do with his dad. My uncle was an abusive bastard to him and pushed him way to hard. When the game was over and the other kids went home my cousin was running laps to loosen up for the game the next day. He played on two teams at a time, in every season they played, including allstars. He was also in the batting cages multiple times a week along with pitching lessons. That my friends is pushing your kid past the breaking point.

[davbrucas]

My cousin did, he was a stud. He was a pitcher and could knock the ball over the fence at will. He had a full ride to Mizzou and pissed it all away. Now I will say a lot of that has to do with his dad. My uncle was an abusive bastard to him and pushed him way to hard. When the game was over and the other kids went home my cousin was running laps to loosen up for the game the next day. He played on two teams at a time, in every season they played, including allstars. He was also in the batting cages multiple times a week along with pitching lessons. That my friends is pushing your kid past the breaking point.

If the kid is asking to go to the cages every day then it isnt pushing too hard...and, if you read autobiographies of the majority of professional athletes, you will find that every dad did the same. It is a must if the goal is the top.

[juiceweezl]

If the kid is asking to go to the cages every day then it isnt pushing too hard...and, if you read autobiographies of the majority of professional athletes, you will find that every dad did the same. It is a must if the goal is the top.

This. My kids will ask to go to the cages all the time. Sometimes, I'll ask if they want to go, and they have no problem telling me no if they don't want to go. When they say no, that's the end of it for that day and usually the next. By then, they're asking to go again.

If you want to be the best, you have to work harder than everyone else. Talent alone won't get you there at the highest level because everyone there was the most talented kid on a team. I push my kids because I coach them, but it's in a controlled manner. When we work, we work hard to accomplish a goal. I don't push them to go to practice or to workout -- they do that on their own.

[juiceweezl]

Update on this thread as we head into spring. Jordan's 10u team got off to a good start rolling into the semifinals of their first big tournament. He went to the bump that game and was 2 outs away from a complete game no hitter before finally being lifted with a 3-2 lead after giving up 2 infield singles sandwiched around 1 clean hit in the 6th. They ended up losing in extra innings. They've played up to 11u since then and have another 1 run loss in the semis and then after rolling to the #1 seed this past weekend lost to the same team that beat them by 1 the weekend before -- again in the last inning. Jordan did go 4-5 with a walk, 7 RBI, and a 2 run bomb on Saturday. Too bad none of them saved any hits for Sunday...

Here's some pictures of Jordan (#3) and his team. Notice how tall he is as they walk back to the dugout after celebrating a home run by another kid.

[line-em-up]

That's cool that he is doing so well. My little boy was doing good before his hip went bad. Now that the hip is almost back to normal, I can't wait to see him get back out there. I remember when I was really good at... come to think of it. I don't think I have ever been really good at anything.