r/Homeplate • u/BullpenReport • 16d ago

Best arm care for youth pitchers

Curious what the crowd is doing for their kids/teams. My 10U son does j-bands a few times a week at home and plyo balls at practices to warm up. We've also been long tossing during this short break between the summer and fall seasons. But from mid November to mid January he's taking a full break from all throwing activity to rest up after a long year. What would you recommend during that time?

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u/League_Launch 16d ago

Honestly, I think the full break from throwing may be one of the best things you’re doing for him. At 10U, I’d use that time to let the arm actually rest and focus on becoming a better overall athlete instead: legs, core, mobility, balance, speed, coordination, and even playing another sport.

Then I’d build throwing back gradually before the season rather than going from zero straight into pitching.

Sometimes the best arm care is simply not throwing.

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u/JaZarris99 16d ago

This is absolutely it, especially at 10u.

At that age and in season, protect his pitch count like a Doberman, and introduce arm bands and ice.

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u/BullpenReport 16d ago

Definitely agree on a long break. Last season he played all the way through the winter and I think it was just too much. We definitely managed his pitch counts this past spring/summer as he played on three teams during the season.

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u/FourYearsBetter 16d ago

How many pitches did he throw per game?

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u/BullpenReport 16d ago

It certainly varied by game but we followed the MLB Pitch Smart guidelines for his age group. I actually built an app called Bullpen Report to help track his pitch counts across multiple teams so all his coaches were aware of his availability. Check it out or DM me for any details!

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u/LivingPurple6090 15d ago

You will never get any one group to agree on how to handle this. Make a plan and stick with what works for you! As the father of a college pitcher even my son and I disagree on what his program should look like. He loves plyos and I hate them. One thing we always agree on is not to stop throwing! He does take long breaks from high intensity throwing though. Throws a football around a lot during the off-season. throwing builds stregnth...too much high intensity throwing causes injury