Samantha Show Texas A & M

[dbronstein]

Totally agree. When DD joined her last team she was the only one wearing a mask. Too many of the girls on the team were still more afraid of the ball then they should be(pulling head on low throws, etc) my DD was more experienced than most so she was better than most, seeing her wear a mask and me explaining why to parents got more on board-by our first game all infielders had them. It helped them feel more confident, not a single girl pulled their head bc they feared getting hit.

I'm 45 and I still have the habit of pulling my head up on short hops and blindly scooping at the ball. I was never hit in the face, but I never got over that fear of the ball bouncing up at me.

 

[grcsftbll]

After my dd got hit in the face at pitcher she definitely had some fear of the ball for awhile. The mask definitely helped her confidence. She's so used to it now, I wonder if she'd be more timid without it.

 

[djcarter1966]

I think once the current old guard coaches start cycling out and the current crop of players start cycling in it will become a non issue. Once an old coach has a couple girls pass because of the "dumb" face mask rule then has those same girls beat them while wearing the mask in the circle the coaches will all reconsider because there is one thing more important to a college coach than silly self inflicted rules are WINS and LOSES because usually win and loses equal job security.