Arm Health

I was reading an article today:


http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100212&content_id=8066706&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla

About Josh Johnson, and how much conditioning he does (now) after he had the unfortunate experience of Tommy John Surgery, and once again I felt compelled to relay that information to ANYONE that would listen. As ball players WE ALL take our arms for granted. We warm up quickly, so we can take grounders, hit in the cages, or whatever... the irony is we rush through the most important part of being a ball player to "get our work in".


Without a healthy arm YOU CANNOT BE A BASEBALL PLAYER. You can run slow, hit weak, or be a defensive nightmare and still play the game of baseball, but without the ability to throw.... well, your days are numbered.


From 1993-1996; Dr. James Andrews (baseballs most respected orthopedic surgeon) performed Tommy John surgeries on pitchers, 19 who were high school age or younger. From 2004-2007 Dr. Andrews performed 146 Tommy John surgeries on pitchers high School age or below. That's a 700% increase!!!


What's causing all these major arm injuries on so many young players? I don't think there is one definitive answer, but a lot of it has to do with how much baseball young kids are playing(multiple travel teams, leagues, ect.), coaches/parents not being concerned with things like pitch counts (not just per game but per week ect.), not taking the time to properly recover (ice down). On average, a little league ball player (playing year round competitive ball) will make more throws than a big league pitcher. There is a HUGE difference between the bodies of a professional athlete and a young athlete, not to mention the amount of care that Pros (typically) put into maintaing their health and the staff of trainers, Doctors, and coaches they have at their disposal.


Of course proper throwing mechanics, and enough rest are essential in maintaining healthy arms but the thing over looked most is conditioning specific to throwing. Taking the time to properly stretch your arms before throwing, having a game plan for warming-up (not just getting it over with), using specific and strategic exercises with resistance tubing bands and properly "cooling down" after throwing will all go a long way towards healthy arms. This post is not intended to teach you how to stretch, throw or whatever...but instead to compel you to open your eyes and start taking care of your arms BEFORE the pain starts, and not after.



Victor Montalvo,


Pitching Coach, Braddock Bulldogs

Varsity Season: Week One

GAME RECAPS:


Game 1: The Bulldogs beat Archbishop Carroll 4-2, behind a stellar pitching performance by senior Damian Rivera (1-0) who throw 4 innings of shut out baseball, striking out 4 and allowing no runs. Robert Martinez (Junior) provided the offensive spark with a 1st inning grand slam. Freshman Gaby Lorenzo closed out the game collecting his first varsity save.

Game 2: Bulldog beat Palmer Trinity with light out pitching by: Frankie Herrera, Cesar Fornaris, David Jervis (W), Jorge Rodriguez, Ivan Vieietz, and Gaby Lorenzo. The Bulldog pitchers gave up: (0) Runs, (2) Hits, and collected (8) K’s. The offensive came alive with senior Stephen Yohay (2-2, BB, 2R) and sophomore Yency Almonte (2-3, 2B, 3RBI, 1SB) leading the way.

Upcoming: The Bulldogs head to Key West for a weekend of baseball against some of the toughest teams in South Florida.

Highlights from Week One's games