Baseball is a lot of fun. Kids who have the love for the game want to play everyday.
When it comes to hitting, you can do that everyday without putting too much stress on the body. In fact, the best of the best do it almost year round.
Pitching is a different story. This motion is very hard on the body. It is an un-natural motion to throw something over hand. It puts a lot of stress on the body. One of the best way to insure we limit injuries in a pitcher is to give the arm proper rest in the off season. Personally, I was very fortunate that my father learned this early in my childhood and forced me to give it a rest every year. I would always wait until after the new year to pick up a ball. If fall ball ended in October, my arm would get 2-3 months of rest. In my opinion, this is vital especially with our growing children.
I have parents very eager to start right back up working off the mound in the off season and have to remind them of this. My rule of thumb is at least 2 1/2 months of rest, then a couple weeks of catch before we get back up on the mound.
Parents, please educate yourself and understand this part of the game for your young pitcher.
Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.
If you are fortunate enough to play this game for a long time, you will have many firsts. The first time you walk into a clubhouse. The first time you meet your teammates. The first time you take a swing in the cage. The first time you throw a pitch off the mound in a bullpen. These are all firsts that will get the butterfly’s going a little. 
I always tell parents that if they want their kids to learn how to deal with failure, have them play baseball. Like the title says, “It’s Not An Easy Game”. Major league hitters are great players getting only 3 hits in every 10 at bats. Major league pitchers are considered good when they allow 1 run every 2 innings. Think about it, that is your opponent beating you very often!! 
The MLB Draft was held last week. The team I will be the pitching coaching for, the Orem Owlz, season will start June 20th. We play in the Pioneer League which is a short season A level. Considered rookie ball. 
My career unfortunately takes me away during my kids Little League season. My wife is great at sending me videos of their at bats and of them pitching along with inning by inning text updates. It’s not the real thing, in person experience, but it’s what we do. 
I had a parent contact me the other day asking my opinion on how he should handle his 13 year old’s pitching season. His boy is playing on a little league team and a tournament team and is wondering if it could get to the point where he should shut him down as far as pitching goes. This kid is pretty advanced for his age and has a good chance to do something in this game. As we were talking, he brought up the last game he pitched and it came out that he threw 52 pitches in the first inning. I was absolutely floored when I heard this. To be honest, it really upsets me when I think about it. I’m sure it bothers me so much because I have worked with this stud for the last two years and am emotionally attached. But like I said, this kid truly has a chance. 
It’s gotta be around 90% of ball players, HS/College/Pro players that utilize social media on a daily basis. Obviously I am active on both Facebook and Twitter myself. I rarely use my personal accounts, but am active on our Baseball Dudes business page on Facebook and our @BaseballDudes48 Twitter account. 
This is where it all starts. Little League Baseball. One of the more enjoyable times in a child’s life. The smile of their face when they get that first hit. The smile on their face when they catch that fly ball. The smile on their face when they strike out a hitter. 
The name of the game is to throw strikes. A pitchers number one goal should be this. If we throw strikes, we will get contact which is what we want. Many young pitchers think they are suppose to strike out all the hitters. Yes it’s fun, but it shouldn’t be the number one thing on a pitchers mind.
I always noticed it as a player but it is even more apparent now as a coach how different every player is. Don’t get me wrong, there are things every player has to do to be successful. For example, every single hitter has to have good balance, stay square to the ball and make sure the front foot is down and hands are separated from the body to give themselves the best chance to make solid contact. 
As a ball player, you are expected to be at the top of your game everyday. This is an expectation that the people watching the game have. But anybody who has played this game for an extended period of time knows that this just doesn’t happen. 
