Each year we turn to sports and athletic activity to help our children learn the value of teamwork, avoid the perils of too many video games and prevent childhood obesity. Yet we must also balance those goals against expectations of super athletic ability and the risks of multiple sport injuries.

Too often I see children in my office that are pushed to their limit, poorly coached or enrolled in multiple leagues with the unfounded idea that more is better.

I have personally witnessed a father/coach stop counting pitches when his child was nearing the pitch count limit for his league as his child faced a tough inning in a close game.

We all would hope that the health and wellbeing of our young athletes is the number one goal for all involved in youth sports. But we seem to know intuitively this is just not the case.