FWIW An Observation

[Little Angels Softball]

So to paraphrase, you think a) all girls who wear masks are afraid to field a ball when they try fielding without the mask and b) the masked player will eventually have to get rid of her mask as she ages up because the big TB orgs and colleges (feel the way you do) that the mask has been "masking" something all along.

I actually don't believe I said any of those things. So the paraphrasing done here is incorrect.

What I did say was that it is impossible for a scout to give a complete and detailed report on a girl who wears a mask in the field. We cannot know if she is or isn't afraid of the ball until we've seen her without a mask in high-pressure game situations several times.

I also said that it is a difficult thing if a girl does indeed take off the mask (for whatever reason) late in her career only to find out there is an issue. It doesn't mean they all have issues, it is just difficult when this happens to a 14 or 15 year-old-girl.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

All I ask is that my DD (or son if I had one) not be judged one way or the other.

And therein lies the issue. Nobody really has to "judge" per se .... it is just that it is impossible to give a detailed and complete scouting report on a girl who wears a mask. There is no judgement involved there. Just fact.

If you're a PAC-12 school, and you've got five scholarships to offer this year worth about $200k a piece, who are you going to give the scholly to? The girl who you have a complete and detailed scouting report on or the one who you are unsure of? Are you going to give a girl who you've never seen play games without a mask in the field one of those scholarships, knowing full well that if she washes out, you can't replace her for a full year?

It really isn't a judgement. It is the uncertainty.

There are other sensibilities at work here. The pro mask crowd almost always fails to understand that, thinking their own outweigh those of others.

 

[collinspc]

I call BS!

Put my daughter in that situation and she is wearing the mask to play infield. Ask her to show you the nicely colored bruises she has from blocking behind the plate and from bad hops that she has taken in the field. She had a black eye last year from playing 3rd base with out her mask that she forgot at home. She never flinched playing the one hopper that kick off of something. If they are a good player that mask does nothing to show they can or can't do it.

 

[collinspc]

If you're a PAC-12 school, and you've got five scholarships to offer this year worth about $200k a piece, who are you going to give the scholly to? The girl who you have a complete and detailed scouting report on or the one who you are unsure of? Are you going to give a girl who you've never seen play games without a mask in the field one of those scholarships, knowing full well that if she washes out, you can't replace her for a full year?

.

Why does the girl that wears the mask not need it in college? If I am the coach she can wear a diving mask for all I care if she is making plays and getting outs.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

I call BS!

Put my daughter in that situation and she is wearing the mask to play infield. Ask her to show you the nicely colored bruises she has from blocking behind the plate and from bad hops that she has taken in the field. She had a black eye last year from playing 3rd base with out her mask that she forgot at home. She never flinched playing the one hopper that kick off of something. If they are a good player that mask does nothing to show they can or can't do it.

Actually, you help make my point.

Your daughter has proved it to you without the mask. You can indeed make a full and detailed report on this child because there is a sample from which to do so. If she hadn't forgot her mask, you could not be sure that she would perform the same way. Now you can be sure.

EDIT: Adding that if I were scouting her for one of our 16U teams, I'd probably want to see her without the mask a few more times before making my report. Knowing that the one time she forgot it she took one in the eye would have me a bit concerned that a flinch could develop. I doubt it would, but with the small sample size, I'd want to be sure. Again, no judgement here. I just want certainty before I present this girl to the org. FWIW, I'm rooting for her.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

Why does the girl that wears the mask not need it in college? If I am the coach she can wear a diving mask for all I care if she is making plays and getting outs.

Again, it has nothing to do with the mask. It is the uncertainty. Once a girl has proven herself without it, she would pretty much be free to use one if she chose to. The vast majority don't, however, because they have proven themselves without it.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

You mean you are going to give your assumptions of the girl "who you know isn't afraid of the ball" and the one who you think may be?

It is about certainty. Not the mask.

A complete and detailed scouting report can be given to girl #1. That is not true of girl #2. Assuming the girl who wears a mask is not afraid of the ball is commensurate with assuming a girl can hit whom you've only seen hitting front toss in a cage. I need game experience to go from and without it, I cannot be certain.

 

[chinamigarden]

Actually, you help make my point.

Your daughter has proved it to you without the mask. You can indeed make a full and detailed report on this child because there is a sample from which to do so. If she hadn't forgot her mask, you could not be sure that she would perform the same way. Now you can be sure.

EDIT: Adding that if I were scouting her for one of our 16U teams, I'd probably want to see her without the mask a few more times before making my report. Knowing that the one time she forgot it she took one in the eye would have me a bit concerned that a flinch could develop. I doubt it would, but with the small sample size, I'd want to be sure. Again, no judgement here. I just want certainty before I present this girl to the org. FWIW, I'm rooting for her.

do you withhold judgment on girls who you have only seen play with a fielding glove on? I mean what might happen if she forgets her glove?

If a girl needs a mask in order to play great, my money is on she isn't forgetting her mask at home on game day.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

I am curious and intrigued by this process. I am a coach, not a scout, and I do not have nearly the experience that you have. However, I enjoy watching the game, and do find myself "scouting" players from other teams. Some of it is advanced scouting just in case we play that team later in the weekend (or at another tournament). Some of it will occur in games we play against said team. Sometimes I will watch older age groups just to see the differences in fundamentals and skill levels when compared to our team. I often find myself jotting down notes in my scorebook concerning a players speed, their ability to hit to the opposite field, their likelihood of throwing a change up on an 0-2 count, if the second baseman failed to cover first on a bunt, etc. However, I have never found myself jotting a note stating the "3rd baseman on the Extreme Elite Gold team wears a mask". Is this something you actually include as part of your scouting process? I honestly never even thought about that until I read it in your post.

it is most definitely something I include. While the note may not look quite like what you wrote, it would be more of an "incomplete" grade for an infielder whom I've only seen wear a mask in games. There are several things I'm looking for an infielder to do consistently, then a few more I'd look at once those things are established in my mind. The mask takes away my ability to see some of the things that I need to see the girl doing consistently before I'd move her on to the next phase.

Again, it isn't about the reason she's wearing the mask. It is solely about my ability to evaluate her completely and to apply the same criteria to her as I do to other girls before moving them on in the process. I am a former infielder and I am a huge stickler for head position and eyes when I am both teaching infield and when I'm scouting prospects because I believe about 80-90% of all fielding errors occur due to someone turning their head too soon, moving it "out of the way" on a tricky hop or someone averting their eyes (usually to find the runner or their throwing target) an instant before they have the ball. I want these things to be 100% ingrained and natural for the girl and I simply cannot grade any of those things honestly if a girl is wearing a mask.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

do you withhold judgment on girls who you have only seen play with a fielding glove on? I mean what might happen if she forgets her glove?

That's a silly notion. Not at all the same.