Is it safe for a 12-year-old to throw a curveball?
It was initially thought that throwing a curveball was harmful to the elbow.
The current thinking is that it is the total number of pitches that one throws in a game and practice is the issue. However, when a youngster is trying to perfect throwing the curveball, he/she practices that pitch over and over again so he/she ends up throwing too many. The other thing one has to look at is the biomechanics of pitching. Ideally, when pitching the majority of velocity should be generated from the lower body. However, under 14 years of age, the young athlete often throws/pitches mostly from the shoulder and elbow.
