Pitch Smart Pitching Program
Cheektowaga Youth Baseball, Inc. is proud to adopt the philosophies and principles of the Major League Baseball / USA Baseball Pitch Smart Program.
The Pitch Smart Program was designed by experts to help young players reduce arm injuries by providing a comprehensive resource for safe pitching practices. This series of practical age-appropriate guidelines is intended to help parents, players and coaches make educated decisions about how to approach pitching.
Through decades of research, experts have gained insight into the behaviors that put amateurs at an increased risk of injury. Recent studies show that youth pitchers were still exhibiting many of these behaviors, all of which were associated with increased likelihood of pitching with arm tiredness and arm pain. Some of these risk factors are, pitching on consecutive days; playing for multiple teams; pitching while fatigued or with injuries to other body regions; excessive throwing; not following safe practices, proper strength and conditioning routines; throwing curveballs and sliders at a young age; and not taking enough time off from baseball during the course of a year.
Experts agree that the single most important factor is daily, weekly and annual overuse. Other factors include lack of rest, pitching while fatigued, poor mechanics, playing catcher when not pitching, playing on multiple teams at the same time, pitching multiple days in a row and throwing at maximum effort.