Friday, November 29, 2013

Upcoming Tryouts for 9U/10U Cardinals Team - 2014 Season




     After concluding an exciting and rewarding 2013 baseball season, the Redwood City Cardinals are holding tryouts for the 2014 summer tournament season - 9U/10U. We are looking for skilled, committed players to round out our 2014 roster.   The Cardinals Baseball Club is dedicated to giving local players a more competitive level of baseball.

TRYOUT INFORMATION
Dates & Time:  Saturday, December 7 and 14, 2014, 2:00pm – 4:00pm   
Location of Tryout: Canada College Baseball Field, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City
Registration : Pre-register by sending the following information to cardinalsRC@gmail.com :
  •          Name / Current age / Date of birth
  •          Favorite position(s) to play  
  •          Years played


Players making a roster will have the opportunity to attend winter workouts prior to spring/ summer seasons.


*** All candidates must not turn 11 years old before May 1st, 2014 ***

On-site registration & check-in begins 15 minutes prior to tryout time. If you cannot make this tryout, private tryouts will be by request only.   Players will need to bring baseball gloves, bats, helmets, and cleats.

For questions, contact: Ed Gory, at (650) 743-7645, or cardinalsRC@gmail.com

Cardinals Baseball Mission
Our mission is to develop a team that focuses on mastering the fundamentals, good sportsmanship, improving each player’s overall baseball IQ, and having fun. This team is ALL about the boys and their love of the great game of baseball. We expect honest, dedicated, respectful and hardworking players, whose desire to get better equals their love for the game.





Friday, November 22, 2013

Tips for the Young Pitcher

 Always great to find expert advice out there on the 'net. This one comes courtesy of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.  Pasting below a few of some key ones.

Little League and adolescent throwers are as susceptible to many of the same stresses on their arms as adult players. Often, injuries that develop at a young age may become more serious as the player becomes older. However, certain precautions can be taken to prevent or minimize injuries.
The following are guidelines that parents and coaches should follow with this goal in mind:
(1) Limit the number of game pitches thrown. Excessive pitch counts have been linked to increased incidences of shoulder and elbow injuries. (Most leagues have developed guidelines for pitch counts). The USA Baseball Medical and Safety Advisory Committee has established the following pitch count guidelines:

AGEPITCHES PER GAMEPITCHES PER WEEKPITCHES PER SEASON
9-10 years50 pitches75 pitches1000 pitches
11-12 years75 pitches100 pitches1000 pitches
13-14 years75 pitches125 pitches1000 pitches


(2) Prevent young pitchers from throwing curveballs or sliders in games until their elbow and shoulder growth plates have closed. Generally, growth at the elbow and shoulder is complete (with growth plate closure) between the ages of 14 to 16 years, but this varies from one individual to another and must be determined by taking an x-ray of the joint. These particular pitches have been associated with an increase in shoulder and elbow injuries. In addition, they require the stress and repetition of mastering new skills.

(3) Avoid pitching in multiple leagues during the same season. This makes it difficult to monitor the pitch count of a player. Playing another position may minimize the stresses on the throwing arm.

(4) Avoid throwing year-round, as the throwing arm needs time to recover. A minimum of three months of rest is required for recovery between seasons.

(5) Work with a coach to develop good throwing mechanics. Learning at an early age to utilize the core, larger muscles of the hips, trunk, and legs may not only enhance performance, but reduce the risk of injury to the shoulder and elbow. In addition, striding towards home plate and having a good, long follow through will also reduce the strain on the shoulder and elbow.

(6) Avoid trying to “overthrow” pitches. Throwing pitches too hard in order to gain pitch speed may predispose a pitcher to injury. In addition, it is mechanically inefficient and may decrease performance.

(7) Pitch only to the point of fatigue, not through it. This can decrease the risk of injury.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Too Much Baseball?


Too much baseball? Bite your tongue!

This is one of my favorite discussion topics.  The proliferation of clubs / travel teams sparks all kinds of debate when talking about overextending our youth with one sport year round.  My friend Lisa had a great New York times article, detailing one side of the story, which sparked some pretty heated discussion in its Comments section.  Bottom line, clubs, or travel teams, aren't for everyone, so there's no single, right answer.  And not all clubs carry the generalized intensity that is a commonly-held perception...though many sure do. But some don't.

My own personal opinion -- just let the kids play. It's not rocket science. "Play" is what they want to do. They're not obsessing about playing Varsity high school ball, or a Division 1 scholarship, or the pros.  Nay, that's what the parents who are carrying that vicarious baggage are dreaming about.   Another article I like, spells it out so perfectly in its title "Parents Ruin Sports for Their Kids by Obsessing About Winning."  Sure, kids want to win (and so do I!), they all do and that's the purpose of any game.  But the ice cream or pizza after the game is often equally, or sometimes more, important.

I like Mike Matheny's take on it on his blog.  Here are my favorite nuggets from his post:
  • The problem is that most parents think that they are not being the best parent that they can be, if they aren't allowing their child to play on the most sought after team in town. The reality is that often times, when the parents go beyond their means to allow a child to play on a particular team, this adds tension. The tension is naturally going to flow down to the parents expectations on a return of their investment, and the kids will inevitably sense it and be effected
  • I believe that this is a great time to remind parents that first of all, this should be ALL about the kids. Don't let yourself fall into the trap that "The only way my son will make it to the next level is if he plays on this particular team." If someone is feeding you this line, they are not telling you the truth …..If your son (or daughter) can play...they will be seen. As they get older, do they sometimes need some help getting exposed?...Yes, and there are ways that you can do that within a budget
  • Where this gets ridiculous, is when these clubs start making their way down to 5-10 year olds and the parents buy into the sales pitch that this particular club is putting 80% of their kids into Division 1 schools, and the only way for your child to be seen by the college recruiters, is to start them at the lowest level in their club...GARBAGE! We have so many guys on our team, and in our minor league system that just played recreationally until they got into high school and then they had plenty of teams to choose from that would get them exposed

Play ball...and Just Let the Kids Play (great saying, and the title of a really good book).