I wished I hadn't worn that mask.

[Tatonka]

IMO, there is a Group 4 - Those who would wear a mask (or at least seriously consider it) if not for being told that college coaches don't recruit players who wear mask.

Agreed, and I find that very sad. What play can't be made with a mask on?

 

[KneeHighSocks]

And coincidentally my DD was hit in the face this weekend! She was at 3rd and was all set up to grab this hard ground ball and the ball took a bad hop and squared her in the forehead. She was wearing a mask and was able to shake it off immediately. I really hope the stigma of masks goes away.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

Well , I have been pro face guard for 1B , 3B and P for a long time and always required it of my daughter. She is now 16 , a very experienced player. played travel since age 8 and is a 2nd year starter on HS Varsity. She convinced me to let her go without it this year , so reluctantly I did. Well , the pictures below illustrate the result. I hope none of you guys have to experience you daughter being loaded into an ambulance after 911 is called. it is the most terrified I have ever been. She had a concussion , Missed a week of school , multiple nasal fractures. She told me this was the one ball in all the years of playing that she couldn't react to. If you think it cant happen to any player at any time. Think again. She will never play 3B again without the $40 Rip It she had in her bat bag that night.

 

[BobInMadison]

I showed this to my DD 3 today, to encourage her to continue wearing her RipIt.
She pitched 2 games and wore her mask every inning.
Another kid got hit in the face during practice. Had to sit out the game. Her replacement made an error that led to a run. At least that girl could hit today. She was on base when DD hit her first HR.

 

[KneeHighSocks]

A follow up to my DD getting hit.

I wasn't there to see it but have gone over the experience with her since. A hard ground ball was hit to her at 3rd base and hopped twice getting to her and when she squared up to get it, it took a 3rd hop and went like 3 feet straight up to her face. It had picked up a good amount of speed by then and it hit her forehead right on the edge of her Rip It mask. The mask took the brunt of the impact, but the ball also hit a small part of her forehead not covered by the mask. It really shocked her and she dropped to the ground right as it hit her. Not so much out of pain but more from shock that it happened. Shortstop was able to grab the ball and get it in to the pitcher and the Ump called time. Coaches got her up on her feet and after a quick check over she was ok to finnish the inning. She did sit out after that inning as she was slightly dizzy but she was totally fine ( I think just shook up).No bumps or bruises and I am 100% convinced the mask saved her from an injury. Those who witnessed it said the impact made a loud sound off the mask.She said she felt the impact go through the mask and it was intense. It could have been her head. And I don't think even the fastest reacting stud player could have reacted any differently from what I hear it was just a really bad hop that was totally unpredictable and my DD was in the correct position to field it. I am confident that without the mask she would have been out of the games for the rest of the day, and likely gotten a trip to the ER. My other DD is a pitcher.so we are a mask family for sure.

 

[kcanaday]

Mask should be worn always!!!!! my dd team played this weekend in 10u. our hardest throwing pitcher had a rocket hit right back to her and i dont believe that if that play had happened on the college level that those players would have been able to react fast enough. the ball hit almost dead center of her forehead on top bars of mask. it literaly knocked her two steps backwards and the ball still ended up 20ft behind 2nd base. left a good size dent in her mask but she was able to continue pitching that game and then played 3rd next two games. had she not had a mask on it would have no doubt been a really bad day.

 

[RetiredCoach]

Well , I have been pro face guard for 1B , 3B and P for a long time and always required it of my daughter. She is now 16 , a very experienced player. played travel since age 8 and is a 2nd year starter on HS Varsity. She convinced me to let her go without it this year , so reluctantly I did. Well , the pictures below illustrate the result. I hope none of you guys have to experience you daughter being loaded into an ambulance after 911 is called. it is the most terrified I have ever been. She had a concussion , Missed a week of school , multiple nasal fractures. She told me this was the one ball in all the years of playing that she couldn't react to. If you think it cant happen to any player at any time. Think again. She will never play 3B again without the $40 Rip It she had in her bat bag that night.

View attachment 8264View attachment 8265

I spent a lot of time this weekend searching for a similar picture of my DD who was hit by a hard line drive while pitching. She had those clearly delineated marks of the seam in her face and it is an experience that still haunts me. Her dummy daddy let her go out and pitch without her face mask for that one inning and paid the price. Outside of having a very sore face, due to severe bruising, the physical part of her injuries weren't long lasting. However, mentally it has been a slow comeback. She gave up pitching permanently, we thought, until her team desperately needed her in a tournament. Without having pitched for months she went in and blew away the other team winning the player of the game award. Her next start she struck out every girl that she faced--14 girls in a row. So, her pitching acumen has returned but, even though it has been a few years, I still see her flinching away from line drives and ground balls on occasion. So, for the most part, she has recovered but she could have very easily quit the sport and never played again. During the intervening years when she had a severe fear of the ball I told myself that that was a very brave girl out there facing her fears. I am very proud of her and realized that in spite of having a dumb dad she has turned out exceptionally well.

On this forum, and elsewhere, I am a very strong advocate of girls who pitch and play third and first wearing face masks. In fact, my older DD wears her face mask while playing second base. You can sell me that the odds of being hit and severely hurt in such a way are small, but you can't convince me that you can train a girl to guarantee that she will never incur such an injury. My philosophy concerning wearing masks is the same that I have for seat belts. I'd rather wear it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/missou...c=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=fb&fb_ref=Default

Now I guess Patrick Murphy could just be saying the politically correct thing so he doesn't look like a jerk...but I hope not.

And I'm still waiting for Stacey Nuveman to go behind the plate without gear since masks are a crutch according to her.

 

[MsDinosaur]

Given how big a deal concussions have become with regard to the NFL and youth sports I think that the research and engineering that will occur in the next 3-5 years will be fascinating. If anyone knows of companies that may be involved in such work please send me their stock symbol.

Unequal Technologies

I ordered one of their inserts for DD.

 

[#10]

We were in Vegas for a 14U PGF tournament this weekend and one of our girls hit a laser line drive directly into the maskless pitcher's face. Honest to God, it was the scariest thing I've ever witnessed on a softball diamond, and I nearly threw up hearing the sound of the impact. I talked with the home plate umpire after the game, and he said the poor girl's nose was sideways. I heard the next day that she not only suffered a broken nose, but also had to have her jaw wired shut.

My prayers go out to the pitcher and her family, as well as DD's teammate who hit the ball, who must be feeling really bad. She didn't muster much more than check swings all day Sunday.