FP tournament
 

Did my very first FP tournament this weekend, JV 14U and my quads hurt like hell today. Is this normal or am I that out of shape?

Yes.........

That tells me your plate stance is correct. Welcome to FP. :D

I was thinking your plate stance might need to be wider, or maybe toes pointed out more. That helps both quads and knees.

I don't disagree. If this was his very first set of multiple games, it's normal for the quads to be sore. Mine usually are after my first 2 or 3 games of the year. However, if he was complaining of glutes/hammy/shins, then I'd say there's something to look at in his stance, and possibly something to correct.

Cecil - Wider ain't gonna help that first time out. They're going to be a bit stiff for a day or so.

ND - Yes, it is normal and Yes, you're that out of shape for this activity. And welcome to FP. Strecth those hamstrings - it will help prevent the ache and it will lessen the length of the ache this time.

Think of it this way.... over a weekend FP tournament, you are doing something in the neighborhood of 1,500 deep knee bends (and for younger kids, those bends can get pretty deep).

I really wasn't thinking about multiple games the first day. :o

My first night this year was double header. I hobbled around for 3 days...man am I out of shape. But I have worked 2 more double headers this week and its not as bad...the old man can still hang :D

After 70-someodd softball and baseball games, 70% or so at the plate ... we had our first Spring Football game the other day. I thought softball had me in shape ... I was WRONG. Compound aching feet, groin muscles, and shins with a softball tourney this week, and I'm DYIN' here. :)

Sounds like you just need to work a little harder when you are umpiring! :cool:

I think they were pulling one over on me, actually. First day with a new crew, working head linesman, our back judge is absent. 2nd half, I swear, the offense put their fast guy on my side and went deep, so so did I. Kept up with him fine, got a new ball, got back into position.

Now ... a new, fresh wide receiver - same pattern. Huff and puff my way back, getting tired.

Next play, yes --- a third fresh wide receiver runs a fly. Of course, this one caught the ball and scored about 20 yards ahead of me. jerk.

And no ... the thought that they were doing this to pick on a particular cornerback didn't occur to me - they were picking on ME. :)

Gotta stop that smoking. I know I do! ;)

It's kind of sad in a way that we have to use different muscle groups for each sport (if you do multiple sports). We do use different ones for football than for softball or baseball.

As for the quad pain, you might find out if you are setting up either too low or with your back unduly bent. Sometimes this pain can be offset by adjusting your stance by going wider. But if you are bent wrong, or setting up too low (in a baseball-type stance, where the strike zone is lower than it is for fastpitch - especially at the level you described). At this level, if your eyes are below the armpits (top of the zone) you are toooooo low.

Heel-toe and toe-to-toe stance can also make a difference in how your quads feel. And, if you don't do at least a little stretching sometime somewhere (even a fat guy like me can stretch) then your quads SHOULD hurt if for no other reason than to remind you to for goodness' sake STRETCH.