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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Century-old practice of writing graffiti in Mount Ashland lichen has to stop, forest officials warn ... Emergency Services, Sept. 13 ... Central Point woman who died in house fire identified ... Century-old practice of writing graffiti in Mount Ashland lichen has to stop, forest officials warn ... Emergency Services, Sept. 13 ... Central Point woman who died in house fire identified ... PREP NOTEBOOK OSAA puts pitchers, coaches on notice Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 16, 2016 at 2:00 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 16, 2016 at 2:00 AM » Social News The art of pitching has always been a subject near and dear to the heart of North Medford baseball coach Brett Wolfe. So when the Oregon School Activities Association moved last week to adopt a proposal from the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee to require pitch-count limitations for the 2017 season — the change is recommended for the upcoming season — Wolfe was in full support, with an addendum that he hopes even more focus will be made on other areas of pitching in the future. “I believe that a pitch count is good,” Wolfe said Monday. “I think it helps prevent arm injuries and it regulates kids to a certain degree from coaches who are maybe not knowledgeable and are not addressing those issues.” “But the bigger issue,” he added, “is there needs to be continued education, not only in Oregon but across the country, to get kids to spend time in the offseason to make their shoulders fundamentally strong and strengthen those muscles in the elbow and then continue to address proper mechanics with good teaching, and I think arm injuries will come way down. Pitch count is a piece, but it certainly is not an end all.” The adopted change for pitchers is akin to the standards baseball players grow up with these days at the Little League level, with mandated rest applied for certain levels of pitches thrown in a contest. For high schoolers beginning in 2017, a pitcher shall not throw more than 110 pitches per day — he can finish with a batter if the limit is reached during an at-bat — and then will be required to have four days rest before pitching again. The rules for mandatory rest go from zero days (1-25 pitches), one day (26-45), two days (46-60), three days (61-85) and four days (86+). Noted exceptions are if a pitcher has thrown 61-85 pitches in the previous game, on his third day of rest he would be eligible to throw a maximum of 45 pitches. If he threw less than 25 pitches on that third rest day, he would then be eligible to throw the next day with a 110-pitch maximum. If he threw 26-45 pitches on that third rest day, he would need one full day of rest prior to pitching again. Also, if a pitcher had thrown 86-110 pitches in the previous game, on his fourth day of rest he would be eligible to throw a maximum of 25 pitches. Following the 25-pitch day, he would then be eligible to throw the next day with a 110-pitch maximum. Schools will be required to track and report pitch counts to the OSAA after each game and prior to the next day a player pitches, or he may be considered an ineligible participant. Failure to comply to the pitch limit and mandatory rest will result in a forfeit of the contest in which the pitcher exceeded his limit. Wolfe said he doesn’t know how all the other coaches in the state prepare their pitchers, but he believes most are trying to do the right thing. The OSAA rule change will help streamline that process. “I think it’s time to address the problem we’re having with the number of kids from the youth league all the way up to the high school and even college programs and major leagues who are having arm issues,” said Wolfe. “There’s a lot of kids who have arm trouble, elbow pain, biceps pain, shoulder pain … it’s really kind of rampant throughout baseball and so they’re trying to keep kids healthy and that’s always a good thing.” That said, all kids are different and how their bodies are trained and react given the mechanics they use make pitch counts a little arbitrary. The way one pitcher is developed and reacts to throwing X amount of pitches may be vastly different than another, which is why Wolfe only sees the pitch limit as a piece of the puzzle. “To address that issue like this is really like putting whip cream on top of a brownie, you’re just kind of dotting the ‘i’ and not really addressing the problem,” he said. As he approaches his 22nd year as head coach of the Black Tornado, and with his own background as a pitcher, Wolfe has studied what goes into developing pitchers. “Kids who are not functionally sound and mechanically sound are still going to come down with an arm injury, even if you throw 15 pitches or really even one pitch,” he said. “I’m glad to see them address pitch counts but at the same time, it’s like saying everyone who throws 40 pitches has the same amount of workload and functional strength and same amount of mechanical function so therefore we’re going to weigh this the same and that’s not true.” A combination of elevated pitch counts and lack of rest is one way pitchers get hurt, said Wolfe. Not strengthening the rotator cuff, elbow and muscles around the elbow is another. Pitchers also need to be mechanically sound so they’re pitching from their feet to their fingertip and getting good arm action with good posture to make sure the stress goes into the bone of the forearm instead of the soft tissue of the shoulder. “If a kid throws 25-40 pitches in a pitch count but is not mechanically correct,” said Wolfe, “it can weigh even two or three times higher because the soft tissue is absorbing the workload and that’s going to break down much quicker than bone.” Wolfe said he’s studied the issue and is bothered by the drastic increase in arm injuries in recent years. Philosophically, he believes some of it stems from a lack of momentum built through a windup that was more common before the focus turned to tight, balanced deliveries in the mid-1980s. “When they moved the momentum piece from the delivery,” he said, “over time you have to make up that momentum, which then creates velocity. So how do you make it up if you’re not using your legs or lower half with momentum? You’re going to make that up with the arm, and when you make that up with the arm, you’re putting a lot more stress on the elbow or shoulder to deliver the pitch.” As for the rules change, Wolfe said he doesn’t see it being a problem for anyone in his program since all the pitch counts and rest days are pretty similar to what North Medford already follows. Wolfe and his assistant coaches set out a meticulous offseason routine for his pitchers to follow, and they go through a 90-minute practice session during the season before the team’s regular practice sessions to hone in all that goes into pitching. “In our program, I think we’re going to have a little bit of an advantage with the change because we’ve stressed pitching forever and we’re sometimes 10 or 11 deep in that area,” said Wolfe. “Are they always as deep as a Colton Westfall or Jordan Ragan or Bradey Shipley or Matt Maurer? Maybe not. But they’ve been working in that same system from the freshman level on up.” Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 16, 2016 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry Challengers make it back on top in softball Winning the Southern Cascade League title seemed like a pretty bold goal this spring considering the recent history of the Cascade Christian... Varsity 541 Photos South Medford vs. North Medford Phoenix vs. Marshfield Ashland vs. Mountain View North vs Fortuna Coach K Summer Competition at SOU U19 Memorial Day Challenge » More Photo Galleries Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications | Contact Us | Advertise | © Copyright Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.