When to get gear

dadofadirtlover · Sep 2, 2015

So my 9DD is loving the "control" of being C and she's getting pretty good at it. When should I look into getting her gear of her own and what should I start with? I'm the AC for her 10U team this year so I have access to the C gear 24/7 during this season. Just looking at beyond that.

Eric F · Sep 2, 2015

My DD got her first set of gear at 9yo, when she proved to me that she was dedicated to learning how to the play the position. She took a lot of pride in having her own gear. Since then, gear upgrades have been mandated by her growth.

First gear (Easton Natural full set)...

Current (All-Star chest and legs, Wilson bucket)...

1C049AB3-AA88-4A85-838E-9E6BEFAC6196.png_zpsvsqhxrg5.jpeg

reagansdaddy · Sep 2, 2015

For me, a girl who has her own gear is a catcher and while someone using the team's gear is a player who happens to be catching.

For us, we got her a cheap set pretty early simply for the hygiene factor.

BuckeyeGuy · Sep 2, 2015

As soon as DD expressed a desire to really learn the position, we went to Play It Again and got geared up for about $30. Schutt chest prot, Easton legs, and an Adidas helmet. A little later we got her an Akadema mitt off of ebay for $40, brand new.

dadofadirtlover · Sep 2, 2015

Hygiene is exactly what I was thinking about. Play it Again is a bit higher than $30 in my area, but I had that as a probable option. One of the league coaches suggested to start with a 1B mitt and then progress to a catcher's mitt. What are your thoughts on that?

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Eric F · Sep 2, 2015

dadofadirtlover said:
Hygiene is exactly what I was thinking about. Play it Again is a bit higher than $30 in my area, but I had that as a probable option. One of the league coaches suggested to start with a 1B mitt and then progress to a catcher's mitt. What are your thoughts on that?

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Some people have gone that route, but I don't see that it gains anything. I'm a fan of going with a catcher's mitt from the beginning.

TimothyJ · Sep 2, 2015

If you can wait a couple months, you should see some really good Black Friday deals

BuckeyeGuy · Sep 2, 2015

If you can score a deal on a mitt, go for it. If she's RHT you should be able to find some good used stuff online, even here on DFP. I had to go elsewhere and got extremely lucky with her mitt as DD is LHT.

I agree with Eric - no advantage to starting with 1B glove only to switch later.

BuckeyeGuy · Sep 2, 2015

Eric F said:

Hey Eric - what's with that throwing hand???

BTW, DD is digging the Akadema now that it's broken in and she's seeing pitchers who throw over 30mph lol!

dadofadirtlover · Sep 2, 2015

BuckeyeGuy said:
As soon as DD expressed a desire to really learn the position, we went to Play It Again and got geared up for about $30. Schutt chest prot, Easton legs, and an Adidas helmet. A little later we got her an Akadema mitt off of ebay for $40, brand new.

I thought it was always better to get a used catcher's glove?

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When to get gear

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