My son is 14, starting his freshman year of HS in the fall. We are in the north east and his break away from the game will be from late October thru the beginning of February. He will pick up his bat for winter hitting workouts I mid-December, but no throwing. He has played travel since he was 8 - we are a small Ripken Baseball organization and the level of competition just wasn't enough for our all-stars to compete in Districts. So we turned to limited travel and went from there. Outside of rec games (2 innings max at all levels) my son never pitched until this season. He did pitch for his middle school team this season and did well (had one complete game, 10 strikeout game, giving up two runs, 1 earned in 90 pitches) They didn't start him again after that game, though they did use him for an inning or two in relief. For travel this summer, I have him at 60-65 pitches max and he will not be pitching for his fall team.
I do agree that some of the travel programs push hard. There are many in my area that require the player to NOT play school ball. It sounds like the coaches in your area have a good grasp on the health and safety of the players. That is not always the case when they have a pitcher who can strike hitters out and sometimes getting the win is more important than the player's future. Enjoy your time on the field with your son, he will remember the time you spent with him playing ball forever.
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