How insane is it that some teams in the travel baseball industry are “recruiting” 12-year-olds to play for their teams? Either they don’t understand development, or don’t care about it.

Thread👇 Here’s the model: recruit standout players to your program, win more games (even if it means overusing kids and sacrificing their health), and then use good players and win-loss record to recruit more players to your program.

Does a "normal" elbow really exist in modern baseball? 🧐🧵👇 I’ve written often about how diagnostic imaging (x-rays, MRIs, etc) doesn’t always tell the whole story; incidental findings are common. It applies to:

Low Backs: ericcressey.com/preventing-low…
Shoulders: ericcressey.com/healthy-should…
Knees: ericcressey.com/who-kneeds-nor…

(and other joints)

As a good rule of thumb, the "weirder" the shape of a bone, the more elaborate its role in human function. The scapula is probably the single best example, and while I've heard a lot of analogies to describe it, I often find myself using a tent analogy.
👇 If one stake holding the tent up is removed - or excessively tightened - it shifts stress to different parts of the system.

1/ A concerning trend in youth sports is how often the youngest kids are compared to their peers. This is an issue among programs monetizing sports participation, coaches responsible for identifying/developing proficiency, and parents concerned that their kids are falling behind. 2/ I’m somewhat uniquely positioned to speak on this because I’ve been involved on the development of 12-year-olds who’ve eventually become professional athletes. And, more importantly, I’m a parent of three daughters. The older two, Lydia and Addison, are (now) 7-year-old twins.