DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
During a regular season finale at Harlingen High in 1998, Weslaco High coach Eddie Serna, then in his first season, overused a pitcher.
“We needed the win to get in (to the playoffs) and the kid was lights out,” Serna said. “He was conditioned, and it was my judgment. He wanted to finish, and in a game like that where it’s 3-3 after eight (innings) on the road, I let him go.”
The senior threw 124 pitches over nine innings and the Panthers won. But it wasn’t ideal, and that was the last time Serna said he overused a kid.
Since then, the veteran Panthers coach has gone by a strict weekly pitch count for his pitchers: 100 pitches per week for varsity players and 60-80 per week for sub-varsity players, including freshmen and sophomores on varsity.
So Serna was pleased when the UIL’s medical advisory committee proposed last Sunday to limit pitches and require for a specific amount of rest after a player throws.
“I’m hoping it makes an effect and that it’s applied,” Serna said. “I don’t know how they’ll keep track of it. But I’m hoping something is done, though for the most part 8 of every 10 coaches or so do take care of their kids. It’s rare you see a coach just completely abuse or overuse a kid.”
Rio Grande Valley coaches are in favor of the UIL’s proposal, which, if approved, would likely go into effect in 2018. Most of them already watch a pitcher’s work and recovery period.
Coaches say a pitch count depends on the kid, but the recovery period is specific: it primarily includes a lot of conditioning, performance resistance band and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematical applications) work, and intensive throwing programs.
“The shoulder and the elbow are delicate areas,” Mission Veterans Memorial coach Casey Smith said. “You have to do a good job of really being preventative as far as conditioning the arm, the throwing program and the rehab program in getting those guys ready to throw. I think most coaches are already doing it at some level.
“Most coaches are professionals and understand that when a kid has a future, you try and take care of that kid.”
ADVANCES
Over the past few years, coaches say they have seen significant advances in the treatment of pitchers.
Stretching, band work and STEM work have become popular. Coaches more commonly have “bucket” days once each week, a day reserved for everyone to rest their arms by not throwing, instead opting for conditioning training.
Hidalgo coach Karlos Carrasco has integrated a heavier lifting program. San Benito coach Ramiro Partida said players are more aware of their number of pitches and innings.
Edinburg High coach Robert Valdez and star senior pitcher John Henry Gonzalez, a Texas Tech signee, are examples. During Gonzalez’s first two years, Valdez significantly restricted his workload, using him cautiously. The right-hander’s innings jumped considerably as a junior, but by then he was ready.
“Early on, people were saying to throw him every other day,” Valdez said. “A big part of him was what we had to surround the pitching staff. As coaches, their futures lie in our hands. Some coaches will ride a No. 1 (pitcher) all the way. But it says a lot of you as a coach to build and develop pitching, and that’s the biggest thing now the UIL will put into place.”
That’s a philosophy shared by McAllen High coach Eliseo Pompa. Pompa has consistently had four or five kids who can throw many innings, and his players rarely surpass 90 pitches during a start.
“Coaches have a tendency to overdo it with kids,” Pompa said. “We try to find as many kids as we can to rely on as pitchers. We’ll work with kids during the fall to get experience on the mound and use them during scrimmages and tournaments.”
THE DEBATE OF ICING
A considerable point of contention in regard to pitchers’ recovery has been icing. Icing a pitcher’s arm after a start has been commonplace for many years, but recent studies have shown that icing has little effect on recovery.
A May 21, 2014, report on pitching.com states that icing “delays healing, increases swelling, causes additional damage, and shuts off signals that alert you to harmful movement.”
Carrasco said he still has pitchers ice their arms — he is big on routine and doesn’t hold pitchers back if they want to ice — but prefers conditioning and weight room work.
“I went to a coaches clinic at the University of Texas at Austin, and the trainer said the research they have done has proved that ice does nothing to their arms to recover,” Carrasco said. “So the trainer does not provide ice for their pitchers.”
Valdez is no longer a believer in icing. He hasn’t had a pitcher ice after starts since 2011.
“There is a lot of literature out at the professional ranks where they talk about the dangers of icing,” Valdez said. “Blood flow is increased during starts, and now you’re constricting and limiting blood flow during icing. We’re firm believers if the legs are in shape, the arm is in shape.”
Donna North coach Leroy Rodriguez has pitchers ice on a voluntary basis. Sharyland High coach Junior Martinez and McAllen Memorial coach Octavio Oyervides have their pitchers ice after every start.
“Some kids like it, some kids don’t,” Donna High coach Joey Ramirez said. “I give them the preference. Personally, I like to ice to reduce swelling. You’re trying to overexert itself and the blood flow, you want that to go down.”
EXPLORING INFORMATION
Weslaco High played Eagle Pass C.C. Winn in a best-of-3 area round playoff series in 2011.
Serna’s Panthers faced the Mavericks’ ace in Game 1. He threw at least 120 pitches in a Winn win.
Weslaco High took Game 2 early the next morning to set up a Game 3. Winn’s pitcher for the rubber game was its ace, who returned to the mound at 3 p.m. He threw another 120-plus pitches and helped Winn to the series victory.
“To me, I’m looking across the field and knowing that’s not a good thing for that kid,” Serna said. “Yes, they won the series, but at what expense? You can mess up a kid’s arm.”
The UIL’s proposal would limit pitchers ages 17-19 to 110 pitches in a game and 95 pitches for pitchers ages 14-16.
The UIL does not have limits on pitches or innings during a game. Its only restraint is a pitcher cannot throw more than 10 innings across multiple games in one day.
“I’m for it,” Valdez said. “Our job is no different from a classroom teacher. It’s to prepare student athletes to compete at the collegiate level. We need to take care of them, and the more we’re informed of medical advancement, the more we need to explore it.”