Infield Face Masks and College

[jacketsfan]

I think is a phenomenon at younger ages. My DD was a little scared to take the mask off the helmet, mostly because she seems to kicked in the face fairly regularly when sliding.

As for fielders masks, they'll probably gain more acceptance over time, but current college players frown on them, except in the case of prior injury. They did not grow up with them, so they don't necessarily see the need for them.

 

[Jr10234]

My DD doesn't like wearing it, but her coaches have made it clear they expect her to wear one when playing IF. Hoping as she progresses, currently u14, they'll leave it up to the player.

 

[Bouldersdad]

UCLA's starting short stop, Monica Harrison wore a Bangerz fielding mask in the 2010 season, had a .977 fielding percentage with only 5 errors (best in the Pac-10). This is the same year UCLA won the WCWS. Safe to say, the fielding mask didn't diminish her playing ability.

I dont doubt that at all. Im not against or for the mask just what I have heard from coaches and what I have seen. Last weekend at ASU one of our batters got hit twice in the face in the same game, once by a foul tip and the other she turned into a screw rise. The poor kid had 2 black eyes the next day. I dont know how many chances you get to save your sight but I would say she used both that day and was lucky to walk away with only a few shiners. She did have a mask on her helmet the following day by the way. Some of the shots they take at 3rd at that level it amazes me there isnt more injuries then their are. To me face masks should be mandatory in college. Fielding asks should be a players choice but the common thought at the college level is still a negative one as far as masks go.

Tim

 

[MTR]

My DD doesn't like wearing it, but her coaches have made it clear they expect her to wear one when playing IF. Hoping as she progresses, currently u14, they'll leave it up to the player.

Really? you are letting a child with no likely experience in catastrophic events to make a decision for which you are paying.....dearly?

What is it with parents who are scared to death to be parents?

 

[jacketsfan]

MTR - are you saying only bad parents let their kids not wear masks?

If so, that seems like a reach.

 

[obbay]

On my U12 rec team, we "require" facemasks in the infield (not the league, just our team). this takes the decision away from the kids and ensures the kid who needs one is wearing it. I started collecting stories about kids who suffered injuries that a mask would've prevented or who wore a mask and avoided a catastrophic injury. i put these together and I e-mail them to parents of new players when explaing the IF mask policy

the following I got from this board:

• “It's not the $45 dollars to most. Some think it is a sign of weakness. ”

• On the question of whether wearing a mask is a sign of weakness to top coaches when scouting: “... I just talked to one of the best Gold Coaches in the country and I asked him about what a college would think about a kid that wears a mask. He said he wouldn't give a sh%t if they wore a mask and painted themself purple if they could hit. He says colleges do not look down on any kid that wants to keep her teeth”

 

[Screwball]

Why don't we have this discussion about boys or college baseball players or MLB? I just posted an issue with a MLB player getting hit and also young and HS are getting hit. No one says anything about masks for them.

They changed the bats. We want the girls to hit and not feel failure. Why doesn't anyone seem to recognize that?

They could change the ball in the younger leagues as well (new technology so they don't feel too mushy or wear out too soon.) I do think the masks hurt the longer term view of the sport, to be realistic.

 

[JAD]

As a coaching staff we decided that every infielder on our 14U ASA team will wear a face mask. Now the girls can say "I don't want to wear it, but coach makes me". We had one girl who did not want to wear one so we moved her from 3rd to RF. The next week she showed up with a mask.

As kids how many of us wore a helmet riding a bike? Skateboarding? Skiing? Helmets are becoming mainstream, and I see face masks gaining in popularity too. I always cringe when we play a team and the pitcher or 3rd baseman are not wearing a mask. Today's players are bigger, stronger, faster and are swinging hotter bats than girls who played just a few years ago.

 

[Screwball]

JAD:
THen make your son (if you have one) wear one too.

I am not 14 but I would not play on a team that made me wear a mask.

 

[Lozza]

As kids how many of us wore a helmet riding a bike? Skateboarding? Skiing? Helmets are becoming mainstream, and I see face masks gaining in popularity too. I always cringe when we play a team and the pitcher or 3rd baseman are not wearing a mask. Today's players are bigger, stronger, faster and are swinging hotter bats than girls who played just a few years ago.

It's because their parents have them living, breathing and S@itting softball.

Also as a kid I wore a helmet when doing all that stuff. Never did a face mask though. It was (and is) law in Australia though that all people have to wear helmets when riding a bike. I had to wear knee guards and elbow guards when roller skating/bladeing.