Dangers of Curveballs for Youth Players

[maizyroxsox]

i am 11 and used to throw curveballs occasionally in a game, and they would work but recently i've been having small pains in my elbow when lifting heavy things or trying to pitch too hard. Now having just had an EXTREMELY expirienced baseball coach watch me pitch, he says i put sidespin on some of my offspeed pitches and that is exactly what is causing the pains. I hope all of you learn from this. DONT throw offspeed pitches or CURVEBALLS untill your arm is fully developed.

[JoshBafia]

this is stupid curveballs are part of the game who cares if they hurt arms

[TheBaseballkid2011]

Ok i am 14 about to turn 15 and i throw alot of curveballs but i was thought the correct way in my oppinion and i feel fine with my arm and my shoulder i understand the dangers of this pitch but i started to through one when i was 12 but my point is Yes it is dangrous to throw a curveball at a young age like 12 but what you should do if you want to learn how to throw a curvball i think u should just learn listen and watch how to throw one correctly then you should start throwing one

[ubanare]

Up untill I was about 12 I only threw 2-seam and 4-seam fastballs. Then I just started flicking my wrist forwards, still with the 4-seam grip. I never thought it was a curve ball, i just thought it was a change-up or something.

No one taught me, I just developed it myself, and thankfully it didnt hurt my arm.

[baseballkidmw2]

im 12 and i never throw curve balls because my cousin wrecked his elbow

[MissBestGamer]

@baseballkidmw2 it is because kids throw curve balls the wrong way most flick their wrists too hard or somehow throws it in a weird angle which messes up their arm, shoulder, or wrist

[coronapanthers]

i throw my curveball like a sinker but instead of flicking down i flcik sideways

[ChevyManSS350]

I agree with this video. I am 18, and I have always wanted to know how to trow a breaking pitch. I really wanted to learn how to trow a curve so I tried to "teach" myself and I ended up hurting my arm so bad that I could even toss a ball around for 6 months. But I ended up being able to trow a sweet change piece.

[31buce31]

ok i ama high school pitcher and i have crediblity cuz i struck out 15 of 18 batters in one game then my arm got tired. For all u dads out there dont teach ur kid to throw a curve till they are 12 and just teach them the right way if you want me to show u ask me mine beaks 2 1/2 feet no lie. but if u really want a breaking ball teach them to throw a splitter it wont hurt ur arm and it gets them every time besides u have to have some speed 4 ur curv to break and a t littlegue they dont have it

[zachmathias26]

and they also mentioned no one comes to watch you? no. i have different high schools scouting me for their junior high team.

[zachmathias26]

now im thirteen and im have been throwing a curveball for 7 months now and i understand what you are saying about the growth plates but my growth plates are growing at a substancial rate.. right now i just turned thirteen and i throw 74 mph with a four seam curve falcon and circle change cutter and knuckle.. my body has grown and im very big.. my height is 5'9'' and i weigh 139 pounds. i have been playing baseball for eight years and my traveling team pitching instructor taught me the curve..

[CodyRRenken]

74 my ass you douche, im 13 and i throw 70 and im the best in the state, according to the state board of VFW baseball accoication. And I throw all of those but the cutter, I believe the slider is better

[zachmathias26]

okay you can believe what you want cause no one ever believes me until they see me pitch.

[SpicyGrape]

i throw fastball ( 2 seam 4 seam) changeup and a cutter with a knuckle sometimes

[AlMOst1225]

im in the senior league and i just mix up fastball and change.. they cant even hit that so why throw and hurt ur arm with a curveball

[jlbond009]

I think it is ok but once ur sore stop until u r 110%. I am in a 12 year old travel league and i throw a curveball that goes it the batters head and comes back in. Coaches will come up to me and warn me but i dont really care.

[bibi0981]

No CurveBalls Till 16.

[bmeclick03]

actually on my prospective. throwing a curveball at a young age isn't as bad as everyone think it is. though it actually really depends on how you grip the curveball. instead of putting your fingers inside the seam. put your index finger inside and your middle finger outside. and leave small hole in the gap between your thumb and index. dont grip the ball to hard, grip it loose! and just throw the ball like a fastball. and you should have a curveball!

[moisessteven]

i am also not a big fan of curveballs , i like to be diffrent from most pitchers in high school, i have a nasty slider coaches are impress how my slider break it does not break down and away,it breaks across homeplate, if anyone says a slider breaks down and away it called a slurve and a slider breaks across

[paulbeckmeyer]

not to burst your bubble man, but sliders are worse on your arm than curves. look at scott kazmir now. he used to dominate in high school with his fastball, the learned how to throw the slider in the pros. it was nasty for a while but now he can barely hit 90 because he throws that dam slider way too much.

[kbeard811]

I also I dont think that most major league pitchers have the qualifications to comment on this.....thier logic comes from "conventional wisdom" and is rooted in emotion and with no understanding of how the body works or how stress effect the body. The Tom houses(dont' throw CB's until you can shave) and many others that have looked deeper will tell you that they were wrong about their statements. Just a different point of view..........we all need to research and look deeper into these issues

[kbeard811]

growth plates if thrown with proper movements of the arm.....most guys that I have seen that have hurt themselves either throw sliders or what they call curveballs (really a poor slider)by getting fingers under the ball or around the ball at extension. Young players should be with someone that knows what to look for (video) and monitor young players when they begin to throw curveballs.........also work specific strenght exercises that work your range of motion from supination to pronation

[kbeard811]

Most of these guys are right....you can hurt yourself if you are throwing a curvball incorrectly. However, in my 15 year experience I have seen 10x the arm injuries from throwing fastballs than curevballs (poor mechanics, lack of strength, range of motion) so let's teach those the proper mechanics with the curveball like we do with throwing FB's....the curveball may promote a little more stress going from a supinated postion to a pronated position but you will not likely injure the ACL or

[aineliamfionanora]

put the crack pipe down and step away from the computer...and if you are coaching kids shoot yourself

[kbeard811]

You are stupid!!! I have been coaching kis over 15 yr and have never seen a kid hurt themselves throwing a "true" curveball if thrown properly. Have you ever heard of a Dr. Andrews well if you kept up with stuff he and a group of other very bright orthopedics came out with a study from the ASMI that says it is not harmful for kids to throw curveballs (if thrown correctly) But what do they know they are probly smoking crack too :)

Get out of the stone ages!!!!!

[baseballkidmw2]

@kbeard811 if they throw alot then theyll get hurt

[basedude90]

if u through it right u want hurt ur arm i through a 12-6 curveball and a slider like a regular fastball and i havent hert my arm yet so i dont believe this crap

[sheadouglas]

Just because you haven't hurt your arm doesn't mean that you won't down the road. Also, even if you don't ever hurt your arm, it doesn't mean that other people don't. There is no "correct" way to throw a curve ball that does not injure an undeveloped arm. So this "crap" is helpful information, and you are just a dumbass that don't know shit

[sheadouglas]

Don't be stupid and continue to throw those pitches until your muscles are fully developed. Not trying to bring you down, but I've seen young pitchers have elbow surgery because of this very reason. You may not be part of the "statistic", but you don't want to take that chance if you want to try and pitch in high school, college, or even the pros.

[aineliamfionanora]

yet

[eichler34]

The problem with Curveballs is they work very well against kids. They should be banned in every league up until 16u. Shame on any coach who is willing to risk the future health of their pitcher to get a few more outs per game. Just ban the pitch at the earlier ages, and it's a level playing field for all.

[mattjared]

great video! kids shouldn't be throwing those balls