Pitchers working with Weights

[fastpitch7]

sam - I never said to force any 12yr old to workout. I just stated done properly it can be beneficial.


children should not be made to workout if its not by their own asking. I do have 12yr olds that want to workout, but I have had children that I could tell were only there because their parent(s) made them. At that point i talk to the parent and stop training their child. they have to want to do it, not be forced at any age.

Sam - I did answer the question about making childen strength train several pages ago. I agree there are psycho parents in all sports.

Marc - there is no point in explaining strength training, weight training, resistance training to sam he's just not open to the discussion. he is not open to the concept whether it is a db, band, mediball, milk jug whatever it is resistance training.

[Blind Squirrel]

When making decisions regarding my kids I like to bottom line the impact of the various options. WRT this topic, I'm wondering what impact anything done to improve strength will have on softball playing. Anyone care to speculate on the impact weight training of any kind has on pro baseball players. Specifically, I'm looking for quantifications. I would guess that virtually every minor league player does something to increase their strength (non-steroids). What percentage of MLB players don't make it if they had done no weight training? How much does it affect their batting average, home runs, etc. What would you guess are those quantifications WRT kids playing softball who are trying to get a scholarship? Finally, for a kid with a scholarship to a D1 who has worked to improve their strength, how much does that contribute versus all other factors (e.g., natural athletic ability, coaching, etc.)?

John

[Demonboy]

Oh god, flashback memory. 9 yrs old at the coaches house sitting in one of those little portable saunas to try and sweat off a couple of pounds so I could play pop warner.

HAHA could you imaging that now? Young boys in a sauna at a coaches house?!? HAHA it was fine in the seventies (60's?) but today, charges would be filed!!!

Except when they occasionally died during the process.

[Ace]

Oh god, flashback memory. 9 yrs old at the coaches house sitting in one of those little portable saunas to try and sweat off a couple of pounds so I could play pop warner.

HAHA could you imaging that now? Young boys in a sauna at a coaches house?!? HAHA it was fine in the seventies (60's?) but today, charges would be filed!!!

Except when they occasionally died during the process.

Darwin called that, Natural Selection.

[clayface74]

When making decisions regarding my kids I like to bottom line the impact of the various options. WRT this topic, I'm wondering what impact anything done to improve strength will have on softball playing. Anyone care to speculate on the impact weight training of any kind has on pro baseball players. Specifically, I'm looking for quantifications. I would guess that virtually every minor league player does something to increase their strength (non-steroids). What percentage of MLB players don't make it if they had done no weight training? How much does it affect their batting average, home runs, etc. What would you guess are those quantifications WRT kids playing softball who are trying to get a scholarship? Finally, for a kid with a scholarship to a D1 who has worked to improve their strength, how much does that contribute versus all other factors (e.g., natural athletic ability, coaching, etc.)?

John

Is this the only reason to play competitive sports? A D1 scholarship...a pro contract? Although I agree that resistance training at any level is clearly benificial for any able body human...(whether it be a baby learning to hold its own head up or a pro athelete looking for a competitive edge) I still think there is something missed in the translation. When I have discussions with my 11 YO we talk about doing more than enough to get by..stepping up!! I don't want her to accept mediocraty in anything ..clarinet, acedemics, sports. I watch her get by on her God given growth spurts that have made her bigger faster and stronger. The result of this has been a laziness that is intolerable. I don't want spill over into her acedemics or arts. She plays clarinet 30 minutes daily, 1 hour a day in the books and currently an hour a week throwing. There are many life lessons and habits to be learned and we as parents are responcible for producing a better citizen. Every child is different..we all know this. I read arguments about the long term injury possibilities in this thread then move to the score updates where these young children are playing 3-8 games a weekend??? What about the long term effects of the sun on the skin, the twisted ankles, deep tissue buises from getting hit by pitch..

I'm not the one to say if it is right or wrong. Your child, your responcibility. Just remember the things that are taught now last a lifetime. Are you doing it for their long term benifit or for your watercooler speach on Monday?

[hit4power]

When making decisions regarding my kids I like to bottom line the impact of the various options. WRT this topic, I'm wondering what impact anything done to improve strength will have on softball playing. Anyone care to speculate on the impact weight training of any kind has on pro baseball players. Specifically, I'm looking for quantifications

DD is a HS freshman who started using the Finch windmill last spring and at her request got her HS coach to get her into athletes strength and conditioning class this fall. This was an individually designed and supervised cardio and weight training program. For the first 3 weeks DD hated it - tired and sore. Once the soreness diminished, she loved it and per the strength coach worked really hard. Depending on whose radar gun gun you want to believe, DD gained about 6mph on her top speed from spring to Thanksgiving. Did it make her a better pitcher? Nope, just a faster one. DD says she thinks that the class improved her running speed, overall throwing ability and bat speed. I don't have any data to support or refute that. Improvement could just be the result of practice and plain old growing. I do think that a properly designed and supervised strength program will help prevent injuries and contribute, at least somewhat, to a player's general improvement curve. But there is a lot more to becoming a better softball player (or any sport) than just getting stronger.

[GIMNEPIWO]

In the 60's & 70's ... on any given afternoon you could see kids playing football, baseball and riding their bikes ... none of it organized ... no parents in attendance living vicariously through their childrens accomplishments ... they learned sportsmanship by having "do-overs" ... the backyard, sandlot or trail through the woods WAS the gym ... Our current society, for some reason, has chosen to plant these last 2 crops in front of a television, video game and computer ... not let them learn from their mistakes ... protect them from the fun we had ( not saying I want my DD's doing bong hits listening to Jimi Hendrix and looking at black light posters neccessarily ) ... fatten them up ..."be the best" instead of "doing the best you can do" ... WTF? ... Sam pointed out that using some common sense would be in order ... and common sense would tell us that physical activity is in the best interest of ALL people, including kids ... but gees louise ... let them be kids ... let them grow up ... let them screw up ... let them fall down so they learn how to get back up ... let them learn ... point them in the right direction and hope they find their way ... Does your 12yo kid need stronger quads and glutes ... this Saturday, take them for a walk in the mountains ... need stronger upper body or calves ... let them push the lawnmower ... Biceps & triceps = take out the trash ... my brothers kids could get blown over by a breeze because he lets them do nothing and then complains that they don't know how to do anything ...Do I think you are damaging a kid by letting them workout in the gym or on the bowflex with you ( and not over do it ) ? ... no ... but there is more than one way to skin a cat ... And ask yourself whether you are having your kids do it for you or for themselves ... and at 10-11-12 they are going to tell you what YOU want to hear ... At about 13 they start to speak their own mind and may tell you to FO ... Does your DD want to lift weights or does Mommy & Daddy want her to lift weights because THEY never made Varsity ... because THEY could have been more ... because their Mom or Dad never came to a game ....One Poster pointed out that as a 7yo they introduced their kids to Rec Ball ... a good thing ...of course, as Parents, we need to show kids what is available to them in life ... be it sports, music, books, art or whatever ... And I'm sure somewhere there is a Psycho-Therapist making grotesque amounts of Jingle off people 1 hour at a time enlightening them as to how their Parents screwed up their lives by forcing them to go to the Museum Of Natural History when they were too young to understand ...

[GIMNEPIWO]

Sam sez:
"ACSM....Mayo Clinic.....hmmm....don't they stay in business by treating injuries....so it would behoove them to cause them."

As much as we want to believe that these places don't have a conflict of interest ... ... they do ... We are not a family that sets up camp in any Doctors office ... only if there is uncontroled bleeding ... but a year or so back one DD had to go ... when we got the bill it had an additional charge on it because she had not been to the Doctor in over 2 years ... they said it was because they had to update the file ... WTF .... they weren't going to update it if she was there a year and a half ago ... what it was appeared to be a Healthy Patient surcharge ... last year I overheard a Doctor at the gym blabbing to one of his Cronies that he doesn't try to cure patients because that is bad business ... Talk to most insurance agents ... do they advise you to not buy more insurance ... All I'm saying is be careful who you take advice from, gather the information and make your own decisions based on your own situation and desired results .... and I see Personal Trainers at the gym not even looking at their clients doing the routine ... they are either checking the mirror or checking out someones glutes ...

[wadeintothem]

Roid em up a little. Jeez. Lets go! UCLA aweights!



http://www.criticalbench.com/kids-weight-training.htm

Get em on the bench and get em strong!

Similarly, the adolescent lifter should not be training five or six days a week-at least not initially. The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine recommends that teens around the age of 13 should stick to about two to three 20-30 minute training sessions per week. Again, as their mastery and strength improves, the length and frequency of training can be increased.

are the detractors smarter than the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine?

No, they arent. You gotta be purty smart to be in the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine


Maybe with some weight and strength training.. some pitchers wouldnt flop out before they were seniors in High School. If they sit around all week and eat ho-hos and down load music then go out on the weekend and throw hundreds of pitches, yes they are going to get hurt. But if they train - thats where it is at.

Maughan Wellham, of Thornton, NSW, is 10 and competed last weekend in the Ms Fitness Australia category of the International Natural Bodybuilding Association’s All Female Classic competition, held in Melbourne. She was the only child in the event, so they had to invent a new category for her, “Ms Fitness Kidz”.

Man, imagine if she could pitch?!?!?

[GIMNEPIWO]

And you have to love the title of that vid: "Dani hits a double"...

and note the effort 1B puts in to missing the throw, which sends our girl on her to 2nd for a stand up double!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_3TQc0- ... re=channel

The title should have been "Dani hits a double to the fence" to really attract the Scouts