Conference 7.286::sports_90

	That is trajic!  I bet most injuries happen either like this, being
hit by a pitch, or during sliding.  A lot of these injuries could be avoided
with proper coaching in these areas.  A lot of little leauge coaches over 
look thse two areas.  They don't seem inportant but every kid should be
taught (at a very early level) how to slide properly and how properly avoid
a pitch inside.  I remember whole practices with nothing but sliding and
every once in a while during BP a few pitches that you had to hit the dirt on.
If you turned into the pitch or ducked your head towards the plate you were
shown the proper way to hit the dirt.  It looks easy enough but there are 
some kids who never realy get it and just do a turtle when the pitch is coming
at them.

mc

I agree Mc...

Also, while I'm very aware that a major blow to the chest can cause
cardiac arrest, I'm curious as to the physical condition of the
youngster...

Can a little league pitcher really fire the ball THAT hard?  Perhaps
it was a coach (I hope not)...

This is a terrible thing to have happen, but hopefully there is a 
lot that can be learned....

Chainsaw

    	This is not about baseball, but similar to the basenote...
    
    	Some years ago, my younger brother and I were playing tennis.
    	I hit a shot that took a funny bounce directly at him. My
    	brother swung the racket in such a way that the base of the
    	racket hit him just below the sternum. He didn't die or
    	anything that tragic, but his heart rate went through the
    	roof for a couple of minutes. Eventually it slowed down,
    	but it scared the both of us somewhat.
    
    	Scott

    .0
    
    The thing that used to frighten me the most playing baseball was
    the possibility of a line drive coming back through the middle and
    taking my nuts or head off.  
    
    After about the age of 12 line drives get hit so hard (sometimes :-)
    back up the middle that often there is little or no time to react.
    
    Needless to say, the balls get hit a lot harder in high school and
    college when they are cominf off aluminum bats.
    
    The way I dealt with it growing up was to wear a chain (w/ a little 
    cross on it) around my neck.   Deep down inside I knew that if the 
    ball had my number on it, I was gone.
    
    Jeff

�    But seriously, while this incident is clearly tragic, what are some
�    of the more common injuries sustained in Little League games and
�    what can parents do to try to prevent them.
    
PJ

	The most common injuries, though not the most serious, are bloody noses
from grounders taking a bad hop.

	Re: parents.....

	One of the most important things they can do is get involved. A great
many parents just assume that their kid's sports efforts are the responsibility
of the coach (these are the same parents who think their kid's education is the
responsibility of the teacher). I talk to a lot of other coaches, and am
astounded at what they don't know. I think `didn't these guys ever even play
sandlot ball?' Oftentimes, the answer is no. They're not particualrly athletic.
They're just good hearted slobs who are willing to devote their time so the
kids can have some fun. They haven't even the vaguest idea of what some of the
fine points of batting are, let alone pitching, sliding, fielding, etc. Even a
coach who has a little better idea how to go about things only has x amount of
time to work with the kids as a group, and an even smaller amount of time to
work with kids individually. You can usually manage all the basics, and some of
the fine points, and then the kids and their parents need to practice those
things. There isn't a kid in the world who can become a good baseball player
with only an hour or two practice a week, and practice breeds proficiency, and
proficiency will cut down on the odds of injury.
    
Mike JN