Jericho Scott: How a Good Fastball Can Be a Problem for a Nine Year Old Pitcher

Jericho Scott is nine years old. He’s a pitcher and it seems like he has a good fastball. It is reputed to be about forty miles per hour (40 mph), which might be overpowering to other nine year olds. It has landed this nine year old pitcher in the middle of a legal controversy:

“The question of whether a 9-year-old can be barred from pitching in the Youth Baseball League of New Haven (Conn.) because he’s too fast is headed to court.

Attorney John Williams tells the New Haven Register he plans to take legal action this week if the league doesn’t back down.”

link: Rocket-armed 9-year-old hoping for a legal curve

The child development literature is full of examples of where age is just one parameter of growth and skill maturation. Children simply develop at different rate along variables such as height, weight, muscle mass, strength, co-ordination and so forth.

Young Jericho Scott may be exceed his age peers along athletic parameters. Isn’t it just a simple solution to move him ahead to play with older kids? Older kids may be a more competitive challenge for him. It must not be enjoyable for Jericho Scott or the other nine year olds to have such a significant disparity of athletic skills.

Now lawyers, parents and the national media are involved, along with bitterness and acrimony. Whatever happened to letting kids play and have fun?

Catherine Forsythe