CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA
Children's Health Tip of the Day - June 17, 2009

With little league season in full swing, orthopaedic surgeons are pitching the idea of limiting the number of balls your young rookie throws. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says that throwing too many fastballs, curveballs and sliders can result in "little league elbow."

Causes of little league elbow

Little league elbow is a growth plate injury of the inner elbow. It is caused by repetitive throwing, which weakens the cartilage in the elbow and causes it to pull apart from the arm bone.

More young children are suffering from little league elbow

Little league elbow is on the rise, say doctors, because of year-round training, higher intensities at young ages, longer competitive seasons, and improper conditioning and training. The AAO reminds parents that children’s bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons are still growing, which makes them more susceptible to injury, particularly from overuse.

Signs of little league elbow

Symptoms of little league elbow is pain at the inner elbow, which may be severe. The pain may be accompanied by swelling, redness and warmth.

What to do when elbow pain occurs

If your little leaguer is experiencing elbow pain, he should stop throwing immediately, apply ice for 15 minutes, and wrap the elbow in a bandage or compression sleeve. Continued pain warrants a trip to the doctor to determine the extent of the injury.

If caught early, little league elbow can usually be treated with rest, ice and compression wraps. However, if the injury to the growth plate is more severe, a cast may be necessary. On rare occasions, the injury is severe enough to warrant surgery.

How to prevent little league elbow

To help your child avoid elbow injury, the USA Baseball Medical & Safety Advisory Committee recommends:

• Count the pitches. While most league guidelines state a maximum of four to 10 innings per week, the Committee suggests a better way to prevent injury is to count the pitches, not the innings. Keep kids between 9 and 14 years old to 75 pitches per game and 600 pitches per season.
• Limit leagues. Pitchers should not be allowed to circumvent pitch limits by participating in more than one league at a time.
• Use proper style and form. Seek professional training so that the throwing form is correct; always warm up before throwing.
• No sliders or curveballs allowed. Young pitchers should utilize the fastball and change-up exclusively. Until age 14, the athlete’s hand usually isn’t big enough to properly grip the ball for a slider or curveball, causing them to twist the wrist and elbow to get the proper rotation. This increases the stress on the inner elbow growth plate and increases the risk of injury.
• No playing through the pain. Do not let a child pitch in pain; remove him from the game immediately to reduce the risk of further – or permanent – injury.

All head and assistant coaches in QYBA must have a clear background check on record - this must be completed every 2 years. QYBA utilizes the online functionality of PA State Police and their PATCH program. 

Why does PATCH exist?
Its purpose is to better enable the public to obtain criminal history record checks. The repository was created and is maintained in accordance with Pennsylvania's Criminal History Information Act contained in Chapter 91 of Title 18, Crimes Code. This Act also directs the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) to disseminate criminal history data to criminal justice agencies, non-criminal justice agencies and individuals on request. Criminal justice agencies can access all of an individual's criminal history record information (CHRI). Requests made by noncriminal justice agencies and individuals are subject to edit criteria contained in the law.

To complete your background check, click the link below and select the "Submit a new record check" (credit card is required to pay the $10 fee)

https://epatch.state.pa.us

In most cases, you will receive an immediate response upon a successful background check. If you encoutner any issues, please contact your division coordinator.

Tips for Field Maintenance

1. Keep off Wet Fields. If you leave footprints on infield dirt, please stay off.
2. To Repair Wets Spots:
   • Remove Pooled Water, then remove wet mud
   • Replace mud with Dry Infield Mix at rate of 3 shovels for every shovel of wet mud removed
3. Do Not Rake Wet Infield Dirt. Just score the dirt with small rakes. The air will dry the infield much quicker.
4. Rake Mound and Home Plate Carefully. Try to rake infield mix away from grass. Rake Home Plate Area from catcher’s area toward the pitcher’s mound. We slope this area so water drains toward the backstop.
5. Rake base paths parallel to the foul lines (Example: Home to Third)
6. Rake infield areas from the outfield toward the infield grass. DO NOT rake dirt unto the field grass. Grass will NOT grow on infield clay mix.
7. Repair Pitcher’s Mound Carefully and after EVERY game. Rake to provide plateau at pitcher’s rubber. Fill all Landing Area holes and the area in front of the pitcher’s rubber with NEW infield mix after every use. Tamp all filled areas. Try to sprinkle new dry infield mix while tamping firmly.
8. Line Fields using string lines. 1^st and 3^rd bases are in fair territory as are the Foul Poles. Use batter’s box template. Empty liner of lime when lining is completed.
9. Daily upkeep and dugout housekeeping will provide all teams with playable fields.
10. DO NOT sweep water from infield dirt with brooms onto grass. Use sponge rollers.

Coaching Documents

2008 End-of-season Minor Evaluations - Form to be used after the season to evaluate players on each team

2009 Practice Schedule