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"He's always told me to let him know if something doesn't feel right," Brett said.

The father didn't think too much of the pain until his son complained again.

"He's a tough kid, so he doesn't complain unless something is wrong," Walters said.

Doctors took X-rays that revealed that the growth plate in Brett's shoulder was inflamed. So he was kept off the pitcher's mound for six weeks and then went through physical therapy.

When the pain returned again, the young arm was shut down for the rest of the season.

"It couldn't have been an overuse issue," said Robert Walters, noting the season had just started.

He believes the inflammation was caused by one of three factors or a combination of them: the increased pitching distance, the possibility that his son's mechanics were off, or his son's growth spurt, which may have made him more susceptible to a growth plate injury.

And for all the precautions the Walters family has taken, Brett wasn't able to pitch this year after he fractured his wrist playing football, which required surgery to install a pin.

"You don't know how much you miss it until you're actually not playing it," said Brett, who is expected to be able to pitch again.

Safeguards debated

There's still debate about the best way to safeguard young players.

The term "Little League" is often used generically, but the official league doesn't govern leagues such as Babe Ruth and Pony, which don't have to abide by the new rules.

North Wake Baseball, which isn't governed by Little League Baseball, has its own pitching rules, based on the number of innings. The rules are similar to Little League's old policy.

But North Wake president Ken Shuey said there are loopholes in the system. Kids can throw more by playing in different, unaffiliated leagues.

"When you count innings, nobody counts the time when you warm up," Shuey said.

And parents are often the ones who want their kids on the mound as much as possible.

"It really does need to be monitored," Shuey said.

North Wake Baseball does have stricter rules in one area -- pitchers are only allowed to throw fastballs and changeups.

Many experts believe curveballs and other breaking pitches are harmful to young arms because of the increase in torque needed to deliver them.

Little League has considered banning these pitches, but held off, stating there wasn't any solid evidence to back up such a move.

Instead, Little League and UNC-Chapel Hill have partnered on the five-year study to see if those pitches put arms at greater risk of injury.

Research needed

That study will also look at the number of pitches being thrown, said Dr. Stephen Marshall, associate professor of epidemiology at UNC, who is working on the project.

Demorest said Little League's rule change is the best thing out there until more research is done.

Rules-related pitching strategy was playing out in the Clayton White Sox dugout in the late May game against the Braves.

In the bottom of the third inning, pitching coach Lio Drian pulled 10-year-old ace pitcher Dalton Beamer out of the game.

It's not that Dalton was having a bad outing. Drian kept count of Dalton's pitches with his clipboard in one of the Clayton White Sox's last regular-season games.

There were 56 notches for each of Dalton's pitches inked when the change was made.

"We want to keep him under 60 [pitches] because we have an important game on Saturday," Drian said during the game.

According to the rules, Dalton would have been ineligible for three days and that weekend game, if he would have thrown more than 60 pitches.

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