11/05/2021
When it came time to allow my oldest son to play travel baseball, I was worried I would have trouble finding a team that would allow him to forgo the fall season. There’s no evidence that specialization in baseball leads to high probability of playing at a high level, but plenty of evidence that shows specialization can lead to overuse injuries. And if you injure a joint when you’re young, it’s more likely you’ll injure it when you’re an adult.
Fortunately, I found two coaches who felt the same way about forgoing fall baseball for other sports. The members of our team started throwing again a couple weeks ago, having not thrown a baseball since June. And instead of fall baseball, they played football, soccer, tennis. When I told them they could resume throwing, it was like I told them we were going to Busch Gardens.
With 4-5 months off from throwing (well within ASMI’s recommendation), we’ve given their growing bodies a rest from the stress of throwing. Now, we have four months to gradually ramp up their throwing to help prepare for the stress of the season rather than cranking it up to 100% in a much shorter time as done at many travel and rec leagues do in the spring. A poor acute/chronic stress ratio is also a good way to injure yourself.
At an age where kids are still learning to move their bodies, we gave them a richer environment to learn, so they can become better athletes. Instead of risking burn out from too much playing and traveling, we have them super excited to throw a baseball again. In doing so, we’ve reduced their chance of injury now and in the future and also kept their love (at the very least interest) of the game alive.
