Keeping Little League Arms Healthy

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Keeping Little League Arms Healthy

From: WFYI
Length: 00:05:29

Why little league pitchers are damaging their arms and the new rules meant to protect them Read the full description.

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Piece Description

For more than 60 years, Little League baseball has been a staple of summertime fun for American youth. During the past decade, though, there's been an explosion of increasingly competitive leagues and traveling teams, not to mention ambitious players and coaches who have their eyes on college scholarships and the big leagues. All that intense playing has given rise to an alarming trend : pitchers blowing out their arms at increasingly young ages. The problem has been so pronounced that this year little league officials have implemented new rules designed to protect young arms. This piece looks at the issue of little league health from the point of view of players, coaches, and a sports medicine expert.

Broadcast History

Sound Medicine, WFYI Indianapolis, June 24, 2007

Transcript

Youth Baseball Arm Health Script

JS1: [over low ambi noise of game in progress (ambi 1)] It?s a beautiful, early June evening at the Winslow Sports Park in Bloomington, Indiana. On a well-groomed diamond, two Babe Ruth league teams?Home Run Batting Cage and VFW square off as parents and friends cheer them on.

[ambi crowd noise up?clapping, cheering, chatter (ambi2), then bring it down and run under continued narration]

On the mound, 15-year-old VFW pitcher, Tyler Hearn, winds up and delivers. [ambi3?ump calling ?strike!?] Hearn is a big, stocky kid with a compact, powerful delivery. He throws a fastball, knuckleball, and curve, and looks like he could throw all night. But no matter how well he?s pitching, according to a new league rule, Hearn?s coach, Scott Johnson, will have to take him out of the game after four or five innings.

Johnson1: 1:05 The league has a limite...
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Timing and Cues

Suggested Host Intro:
For more than 60 years, Little League baseball has been a staple of summertime fun for American youth.

During the past decade, though, there?s been an explosion of increasingly competitive leagues?traveling all-star teams ?.not to mention ambitious players and coaches who have their eyes on college scholarships and the big leagues.

All that intense playing has given rise to another trend that?s somewhat alarming: pitchers blowing out their arms at increasingly young ages.

The problem has been so pronounced that this year, little league officials have implemented new rules designed to protect young arms.

Jeremy Shere has more with this report . . .