Metro East Sun

The Illinois High School Association pushed back a vote on a proposed pitch count recommendation at its October meeting. 

The vote will be Dec. 12 after the board holds a series of annual town hall meetings that are not open to the public.

The IHSA conducts the meetings to keep principals up to date on rules and proposed changes. Principals at IHSA member schools are required to attend the meetings each year. 

Edwardsville High School baseball coach Tim Funkhouser said he was not surprised the vote was postponed.

"The meetings are designed to give everyone a chance to voice opinions and for the IHSA to get feedback, but I believe the core of the plan is solid and will pass,’’ Funkhouser told the Metro East Sun.

Funkhouser praised those who brought the proposals together.

"I believe our coaches association (IHSBCA) and IHSA Baseball advisory committee are doing an excellent job working with the IHSA for the proposed plan,’’ Funkhouser said.

Funkhouser said the proposed plan gives the coaches adequate flexibility to manage their pitching staff throughout the season and provides a guideline for managing arm care.

"There are several factors that lead arm injuries in baseball, but this plan is in line and actually goes beyond the Pitch Smart Initiative by Major League Baseball and USA Baseball,’’ Funkhouser said. ‘’I am confident that coaches around the state will adjust as needed to implement this plan when it is finalized."

 In August, the IHSA baseball advisory committee made a series of recommendations to the board, which was scheduled to vote Oct. 12. To become a rule, the board has to pass the recommendation by a simple majority.

The committee initially met at the end of August and in attendance was Dr. Preston Wolin, director and founder of the Center for Athletic Medicine in Chicago who helped draft some of the proposed rule changes along with area coaches.

"This meeting was not only extremely gratifying but really historic for the players, parents, coaches and administrators,’’ Wolin said.

Wolin said Illinois has gone above and beyond any other state in the nation when it comes to pitch counts.

"The proposed rules also provide a weekly cap on the number of pitches throw,'' Wolin said. ''The reason this is important is that while many of the models used by other states protect the pitcher, there is a potential for overuse by throwing the pitcher on multiple consecutive days even at the allowable number of pitches."

The IHSA reported the recommendation passed with unanimous support. If passed, the recommendations will become rules and be applicable for the 2017 season.

"I think these recommendations are going to make the game safer and more enjoyable,’’ Wolin said. "The cooperation of the baseball coaches in coming up with these limits was outstanding. Everyone in that room was committed to the safety of our young pitchers. That dedication is being translated into our pitch count limits in the state of Illinois.’’

Here is the pitch count proposal: www.ihsa.org/documents/ba/2016-17/Pitch%20Count%20Proposal.pdf.

Another high school coach also does not have a problem with the recommendations. He just wishes the committee would go a little further.

"The biggest issue is not guys being abused during the high school season,’’ Glenbard North coach Rich Smelko said. "One of the biggest issues are guys being abused pitching on summer travel ball teams. Pitchers are going to one-day showcases where they have not thrown for a lengthy period of time."

For that reason, young pitchers may try too hard.

"They are throwing their hardest to light up the radar gun and pop some eyes of some college coaches and scouts," he said. "You combine [that with] guys throwing in the summer and that could lead to some potential for problems in the future.’’

Here is a schedule of the town hall meetings: http://ihsa.org/documents/forms/2016-17/16-17TMPRM%20Final.pdf.