SerpApi.Org
The dream of many a Little League baseball player is to make a run during his 12-year-old season. Northeast’s Joey Kroll nearly got robbed of his chance to chase that dream.
As recently as late June, Kroll was expecting to sit out NELL’s postseason due to pain in his throwing shoulder. Fortunately for Kroll – and for his teammates and coaches – things took a dramatic turn for the better shortly before the postseason began.
“It just kind of happened over time,” Joey said of the discomfort. “(On June 4) when I was pitching, I walked a kid, and it was kind of bugging me. Then, as I was throwing more, it was just getting worse. After that, picking up stuff like a gallon of milk kind of hurt, too.”
Nick Kroll, Joey’s father as well as NELL’s president and an assistant coach for his son’s major all-star team, said that Joey was diagnosed with “Little League shoulder,” an inflammation of the growth plate of the humerus near the shoulder joint caused by repetitive overhand throwing.
“It’s basically almost like a hairline fracture. He first noticed he was having some kind of pain in May, and then he (pitched) on June 4,” Nick noted. “He threw about 70 pitches, and after that, it was really just bugging him.
“After icing it, it still hadn’t resolved after a couple of weeks, and that’s when we took him to have him checked out by an orthopedic specialist,” Nick added.
Initially, Nick had decided to err on the side of caution and keep his son from playing in last week’s District 1 tournament at all. By the time the tournament rolled around, though, Joey was feeling considerably healthier.
“It’s not really there anymore. I’ve been doing a bunch of stretches and arm exercises, and it feels a lot better,” Joey said. “ … (My doctor) said it wasn’t really a fracture, but I shouldn’t throw for about three weeks. I just kept doing stretches and stuff like that, and it got better, so I came back.”
Joey returned to the lineup in time to play third base and bat fourth in NELL’s lineup throughout the district tournament and was able to contribute both at the plate and in the field.
He admitted to being a little bit rusty in the field upon his initial return, but, by his second day back at practice, everything felt normal again.
Nick said it was a blessing for NELL not to have to use Joey on the mound during districts, thus allowing his shoulder more time to heal.
“The game plan was always to see how things would progress. We hoped not to pitch him in districts, because we have a lot of arms on the team,” Nick said. “Having some mercies in there definitely helped with not only not having to use Joey but saving some of our other arms for state, too.
“Once we learned he could bat and it was OK for him to swing a bat, Coach (Kris) Spaulding took him under his wing and made sure he progressed him back at the right pace and not too fast,” Nick added. “It got to the point where he was like, ‘I can throw OK,’ so they put him back at third base, and we’ll see if he pitches this weekend (at the state tournament) or not.”
Asked why it was important to him to get back on the field, Joey replied, “It’s my 12-year-old year, and I didn’t want to miss it. It’s pretty much the same team we had for my 11-year-old year, and it’s a lot of good players.
“ … I was really glad to be able to play with them,” he added.
Nick noted that the Kroll family, particularly twin brother and teammate Max, was understandably disappointed to think that Joey might not be able to play in his 12-year-old postseason.
“I think Max was even more bummed than the rest of us, because he wants his brother to be out there with him,” Nick said. “As a dad, it was definitely a bummer when we first learned of it, but now that things have started progressing (in the right direction), I’m happy to see him out there, for sure.”
While Joey hasn’t missed a beat at third base or at the plate since his return, his ability to pitch remains in question – although the outlook is looking better every day.
“I feel really good. I threw more than half of my pitches for strikes in my bullpen (session) the other day, so I’m feeling good,” Joey noted.
“Things are feeling pretty good, and, hopefully, if they keep progressing, he’ll be ready (for the state tournament),” Nick added. “We’ll just see how things progress.”
Looking ahead to the state tournament in Tecumseh, which kicks off Friday and runs through Wednesday, Joey said he is looking forward to having fun with his teammates, enjoying team parties, and facing some stiff competition from around the state.
Nick, meanwhile, is looking forward to seeing Tecumseh’s field for the first time, as well as being a dad and a coach in a major state tournament. He also hopes his son and the rest of the team are able to soak in the moment.
“Hopefully, they’ll play well and play some good baseball. … You don’t want these guys to feel too much pressure,” Nick said. “You have to remind them that it’s all about having fun, and with fun, hopefully, comes playing well and winning some games.”
