The Illusion of Rest: Why Travel Ball Workload Management Is Failing
Think moving a pitcher to right field is “resting” their arm? Think again. In this episode of the Sore to Soaring Podcast, Coach Leo Young and Dr. Jason Zaremski, MD (UF Health Sports Medicine), expose the dangerous myth that youth athletes are getting rest during travel ball weekends. From warm-up demands to nonstop exposure, the system is wearing down young arms in plain sight.
INJURY PREVENTION & PERFORMANCE BUILDING STRONGER ATHLETES
Coach Leo Young
4/30/20252 min read
The Illusion of Rest: Why Travel Ball Workload Management Is Failing
Travel ball parents and coaches often believe they’re protecting arms by rotating pitchers between innings or moving them to “safe” positions like right field. But that’s a dangerous illusion.
“You still have to get 100% loose to play right field,” says Coach Leo Young. “You’re throwing between innings. You’re warming up. You’re not actually resting.”
Have you ever seen a youth player pushed too far in a weekend tournament? What happened—and how did it affect them? Drop your response in the comment section, we'd love to hear from you.
On the Sore to Soaring Podcast, Coach Leo and Dr. Jason Zaremski—former college baseball player and current sports medicine physician at UF Health—break down how travel ball structures are exposing kids to dangerous levels of throwing stress under the false pretense of workload management.
Dr. Z, who specializes in throwing injuries and prevention, makes it clear: rotating positions doesn’t equal recovery. Especially over long weekends packed with games and little real downtime.
From the Practice Field to the Real World
Coach Leo Young calls out the flawed logic in how teams schedule their pitchers:
“They’ll say, ‘You throw the first three innings, then go to the outfield, then you’re back for the ninth inning of game three.’ But by Sunday, all the players are hitting that fatigue band—even if they ‘saved arms.’”
This isn’t rest. It’s exposure.
Even when kids sit a few innings, their arms stay hot from constant movement, pre-inning throws, and warm-up routines. They never truly recover between appearances—creating the perfect storm for overuse injuries and mechanical breakdowns.
The worst part? This cycle repeats every weekend.
Key Takeaways
✅ Rotating positions doesn’t give true rest – Playing right field still requires full warm-up and live throws.
✅ Fatigue accumulates fast over a 3-day tournament – Even with pitch counts, kids hit a physical wall.
✅ "Scheduled rest" is often a myth – Game-day logistics don’t allow for actual recovery windows.
✅ False workload management leads to injury risk – Parents and coaches must rethink what rest really means.
At Sore to Soaring, we train smarter—not harder. Our nonprofit helps athletes, coaches, and parents learn how to manage throwing workload responsibly and build development plans that prioritize health, performance, and long-term growth.
👉 Support our work at: www.SoreToSoaring.org
Disclaimer:
The views shared in this article are for informational purposes only and do not represent an endorsement by Lupos Initiative Inc., DBA Sore to Soaring. Always consult a qualified medical or athletic professional before starting any throwing program or performance plan. No affiliation or compensation exists between Sore to Soaring and any for-profit entity mentioned.
To learn more about Dr. Jason Zaremski and his work at UF Health Sports Medicine, visit:
🌐 https://ufhealth.org
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