Baseball and softball players should follow general injury prevention tips, too.
Across all sports, there are some common rules to keeping young athletes injury-free. Most of them boil down to this: Don’t overdo it.
For baseball and softball, that means your young athlete:
- Shouldn’t play on multiple baseball or softball teams at the same time, especially for pitchers and catchers.
- Shouldn’t play year-round baseball or softball, or in another sport that uses similar overhead movements like tennis, quarterback or javelin. They should have at least three months off from throwing drills and overhead activities per year.
- Should play multiple sports year-round, not just baseball or softball.
In general, having kids play just one sport can lead to overuse injuries. Instead, it’s healthier for them to practice different movements and build the different muscle groups required for different sports.
Could your athlete benefit from an individualized training program?
Connecticut Children’s offers sports performance training to help young baseball and softball players improve strength, balance, mobility, coordination and conditioning. Individualized assessments by our certified exercise physiologists and athletic trainers will guide your athlete towards reaching their full potential.
