Face masks

[NVfishing]

This was a pitchers mask that someone left at the field. This isn't the first time I've heard this but it is the first time I've heard it directly from someone that coaches D1. I've heard HS coaches say the same thing when it comes to colleges recruiting.

 

[ktm rider]

How does wearing a mask hinder your performance on the field? I just don't see how it does. I don't think I would want my DD playing for a team that discourages wearing a mask. Makes me think it doesn't have her best interest at heart and i wonder how that would carry over to life at that school and on that team?

 

[JAD]

I truly believe that the girls who are currently playing 12U, 14U and 16U and are accustomed to wearing a mask, will "push the envelope" and we will start to see more masks in college when they get there.

I told my DD that she will wear a mask pitching, playing 3B and batting. When other girls ask her why she wears a mask I told her to say...."my modeling contract requires it"! LOL

 

[sleepwalker]

Really? Check that college off the list, how many face masked did you see at the WS?

Inglesby from the University of Washington wore a face mask during the Women's College World Series.

Face masks will be more and more prevalent in College softball in the near future as the younger generations that grow up playing with face masks enter the college ranks. I don't think that they will ever be mandatory at the college level but I do think that in the next 10 years at the college level you will see numbers between 20% and 30% use by pitchers and players playing the hot corners.

If someone were to ask me what I base my above prediction on, I would say turn on your television and find a rodeo on ESPN and count the number of bull riders that are now competing with helmets and face mask protection. Judging from the rodeo that I watched on TV this last weekend while lying in a strange motel room after a long day at the softball fields, I would guess that 20% - 30% of the bull riders competing wore protective head gear.

If the manly men of rodeo are protecting their noggins and not getting run out of competition, then there is room for face masks in Women's College Softball.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

Outon at Houston and Nunley at Kentucky both wear masks and will certainly be heard from in future WCWS. As a parent, I will never understand why it bothers a stranger that my daughter wears a mask in the pitching circle.

DD has gone to several college camps this past year and when it came time to take grounders, she went right to her bag and got the mask even when no other girls would - and I've never been prouder that she is determined to be an individual with her own mind. Any coach that makes the mistake of deriding the mask in front of her is going to lose out on a player who knows what she wants and is willing to work hard for it.

And I'm still waiting for Nuveman-Deniz to get behind the plate without catcher's gear since she is one of those college coaches that thinks a mask makes you a coward.

 

[Sweet Lou]

My 8U DD wears a mask in the cirle and when she play IF.
I agree with those that say the number of college players wearing masks will grow over the next few years as the number of players who grow up wearing a mask increases.
I also agree they are unlikely to be mandatory at the higher levels anytime soon.
I can see them becoming mandatory in the next 5 years or so at the lower levels as that's where it usually starts.

 

[knightsb]

In another "mask" thread, I shared the story about my son being hit in the face with a baseball when he was 9, that required surgery to repair the damage ($$$$s). After his accident, the doctor said another hit to the same area would be very bad so we bought him a rip-it mask to finish the season. He never quite recovered from his accident and eventually gave up baseball to play soccer full time.

Yesterday, the dad of one of DSs old teammates called me to ask about face masks. He described how his son was struck in the face by a ball on Monday night breaking his nose. They came over last night and we gave him my son's old rip-it mask. He shared a conversation that he and his son had a few weeks ago... his son is a pitcher.... threw a pitch that was hit hard back at him. He told his dad that he "heard" the ball wiz by his head, but he never saw it... he asked if that was normal.....

When you see MLB players hit in the face by line drives or hard hit grounders that take a bad hop, what makes you think it can't happen to your DD?

 

[Dabears17]

My 8U DD wears a mask in the cirle and when she play IF.
I agree with those that say the number of college players wearing masks will grow over the next few years as the number of players who grow up wearing a mask increases.
I also agree they are unlikely to be mandatory at the higher levels anytime soon.
I can see them becoming mandatory in the next 5 years or so at the lower levels as that's where it usually starts.

My 8u DD wears one in the IF, and she's one of the best 3 or 4 players in 8u as a 7yo. When she gets older, I don't see how I could in good conscience have my corners playing as aggressively as I want them to if they weren't wearing masks.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I do have one boy student wearing one. He is 6 and his dad is a dentist. He is much larger than his peers, and takes self defense lessons. I doubt that anyone is going to make fun of this young man, more than once.

 

[Mylil32]

Total BS. A quick google search shows that Washington, Georgia and Kentucky all have pitchers wearing masks, all D1.