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.
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
I was fortunate enough to watch Yu Darvish pitch from the 5th inning on during his bid for a perfect game on April 2nd. It was awesome. He mixed his pitches perfectly, no pun intended! When I was in Japan during the 2006-07 seasons, he was a rookie over there dominating as a 20 year old. 
A good coach is a true teacher. Many youth, High School and College coaches will call pitches for the pitchers during a game. Often it is not explained to the pitcher why we called that pitch in that count. What happens is the player becomes a robot and never learns to think for themselves. If a player is talented enough to make it to pro ball, this can be a serious downfall. Pitching is so much more than just throwing pitches. It’s mostly about the mind game. How should I pitch in different game situations? How can I set up the next pitch and the pitches after that? What is my go to pitch to get out of this situation? 
As a parent, I want the best for my children. My youngest is a girl who recently started Ballet. We are very happy to have found someone who has the credentials to make us comfortable that our little girl will get the best ballet instruction she can. 
What does this mean? It’s the player who is the best at what they do and they know it. But the difference is you can’t tell when talking to or watching how this player carries themselves that they are the best. When they hit a home run, they simply put the bat down and run the bases (think Lance Berkman). When they make a great play in the field, they don’t have a huge grin on their face, they simply hold their hand up to let everyone know how many outs there is (think Derek Jeter). When they strike someone out, they get the ball back with a straight face, step on the rubber and wait for the next batter to step in the box (think Justin Verlander). 
The little leagues in my area have between 100 and 300 kids participate every year. In just my city of Vancouver, WA there are 7 different leagues. So we are talking roughly 1400 kids in just the Vancouver city limits. If you expand that to our county (18 little leagues), you are talking approx. 3600 little leaguers. Who knows, that might even be low. 
Every little league has them. The All-Stars. Some tall and over powering, some short with good hand eye coordination and some who are flat out just great. Most of these kids play other sports too. This helps them stay strong and grow up learning how to control their bodies. 