No matter how hard a Little League pitcher throws, he can avoid injuries
While some hard-throw pitchers appeared in the Little League World Series, Steve Borelli explains why several steps should be followed to avoid injury.
Sports Pulse
South Williamsport, Pennsylvania – Nevada manager TJ Fechser says every game has its own moments that change everything.
Pitcher Garrett Gallegos had just tagged batters on diving play as part of his fifth wild sequence. That’s all, Fexcel says.
But in children’s sports, if the coach handles them correctly, we always get the opportunity to grab for a bigger moment.
There were currently two outs and Gallegos had another batter. His team was ahead with two runs. He said something to himself and got a swinging strikeout to end the threat of Fairfield (Connecticut).
“The whole sequence was really emotional,” the young right-handed pitcher said after the game, “I thought it was the last pitch to pitch in a small league. It seemed very sentimental and very sad. But it was exciting at the same time.
Nevada won 8-2 and faced the Little League World Series Championship on August 24th against China’s Taipei.
On the other side, Connecticut manager Brian Palazzolo looked around and saw two complete sections of the Fairfield team’s fans. He saw the hills packed behind the outfield. He heard the cheers of the “metro” (the area of his team) throughout Lamado Stadium.
He was soaked in the scene.
“They know what we did this summer,” he said of following his team. “We brought smiles to a lot of people. It would have been really good to play in the championship, but we had a great show for everyone.”
He believed his team could come together.
“They’re kids, they’re resilient. Even after we won, they quickly put it back. When we were in the area we lost and they said, ‘Coach, we’re ready to go.’ ” Palazzolo said. “Hopefully, through all the photos we took, we were able to see what a great run it was.”
Even if most little leaguers aren’t lucky enough to play here, the event and the game where kids try to win all summer long to it provides a lens for the youth athletics experience.
You may have probably had multiple plays since your childhood, but it stands out in your memory. For Connecticut’s Dante Madera, you’d think it was one of the previous Little League World Series games in which his team defeated Vegas. He was playing shallow and raced to hook the ball with a run that appeared much more on his shoulder.
“I’m just sprinting, I stopped my gloves and hit Pinky,” he said earlier this week, bent my fingers, “And then I squeezed it and somehow caught it. I don’t know how.”
Was that the reporter asked him if it was the best catch he’d ever made?
“No,” he said, smiling and shook his head.
When we are kids and we are 12 years old, each game offers a different opportunity.
At the US Championships, after losing to Connecticut on August 20th, Vegas led 3-0 with a strong three-hit. However, Connecticut responded with a run before the Gallegos shut them down with two strikeouts.
“After the first inning, I just got it because the first inning can be a bit rough to get used to the game,” he said. “And a huge crowd. So today I had to get used to the setting a bit, so I figured it out midway through the game.”
Lamade had over 29,000 people and then a Las Vegas team stood on stage under a large collection of families. The group began to scream “America!” and “Let’s go south!” for Summerlin South Little League.
After that, after the boys met the media, they changed up the hill. The kids came out into a grassy area outside the dorm and were riding horses.
Little League CEO Patrick Wilson says he invited two-time national champion Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin at the start of the Little League World Series. Corbyn spoke about how he asked the three players on his team about what they most remember about it.
They talked about their friends, swim, ping pong and how amazing the food was. It may be similar to the memories your child has in your local small leagues.
Earlier this week, the Las Vegas team met with China’s Taipei opponents on a barbecue. It was a friendly interaction and I began to learn one person’s language.
As Wilson points out, Little League is 2 million children, 1 million volunteers and 5,800 communities around the world.
Just like any sport, it’s a journey we take on with our kids. They draw us into the fields early on Saturday mornings and into the early darkness of weekday nights. When they get a little older, we travel with them and make it a part of our vacation.
Steve Greusell, 78, came to Williamsport from Las Vegas, where his grandson, Dustin, saw the catcher. He said he has started his way into Little League World Series and has been to every All-Star season game that runs through districts, states and regions.
He was originally from Pennsylvania, where he has connections with relatives and friends. He is also learning the names of new communities in Nevada. He found something inherent in you to a child’s baseball game.
“Parents aren’t trying to tell their sons what they need to do, rather than actually trying to play this game and play it in their own way,” he said.
It is these types of interactions – comments, revisions, and even creating their own sights – that can drive children out of sports.
“I think a lot of parents have something deep down that they think of as the best interest of their children. They want to be very passionate about it and make sure their children are set up for success and have the best experience.”
The next time he sees his parents explode with a side job, he says he sees what his child is doing. “Children often bow their heads, look at them, raising their hands like, ‘Why are you doing this?’ ”
Vegas players showed what they could do in those five important innings when their kids learn and run on their own.
A laser throw from the right fielder’s Cutter Reca Fort pinned the Connecticut Runner on the base pass between the third and the house. After a series of devastation, and many throws, pitcher Gallegos made a diving play to tag the base runner.
“I thought it was just one hop the ball so that the catcher could read it,” Dustin Greusell said. “And I hop it a little and we went out.”
Greusell, who estimated that one questioner in the media room had caught almost every inning of the postseason of the state tournament, created another moment.
There was his team from Nevada to become the first team to reach the Little League World Series Finals. China’s Taipei has won 17 LLW titles. They pitch Lin Qing Tse, who registered an 82-mile fastball here.
For Fexcel, manager of Las Vegas, it’s another opening for kids.
“I think everyone in this room knows he’s a very hard pitch,” Fexel said. “We know they’re going to compete, but you have to throw strikes, and you go through the zone and get the barrels, sometimes the hard pitchers help you a lot.
Coach Steve Borelli has been an editor and writer for USA Today since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are currently sports parents for two high school students. His columns are posted weekly. For more information about his past columns, click here.
Do you have a question for Coach Steve who wants to answer in the column? Please email him sborelli@usatoday.com
