Sounds like a good reason for blue to keep his/her mask on as well!! =D
Throwing off the facemask
- Thread starter obbay
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The college camps that I have attended were teaching all kids to keep it on. One other thing , I watched a kid step on her mask and had an injury to her ankle. Just one more thing that can happen.
- Sep 3, 2009
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I personally see no reason to take the mask off at all. Saw several popups this weekend caught by catchers WITH masks. It's an old habit passed down probably by dad and grandpa, from the days when facemasks offered about 80* field of view. The newer hockey style masks offer so much more view, the need is no longer there.
The problem is that the umpire is supposed to remove his mask whenever a ball is batted into play.
The batter bunted, I whipped off my mask, took one step to clear the catcher and she flipped her helmet straight back over her shoulder.
It was "bang-bang-bang" with no chance to react. Everything lined up just right (or, for me, just wrong) and she nailed me.
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I was at a HS tournament the other day and kept noticing the catcher smiling and apologizing to the ump. Couldn't figure it out and finally noticed she was flipping her mask off and hitting him every time (there was a runner on base). They were both getting a laugh out of it.
My DD's HS school coach taught the catcher to whip the mask off all the time and they broke 3 of them (Eastons). It led me to believe that the mask isn't even designed to be thrown on the ground.
obbay
Banned
Seeing how I started this thread, I should post this follow-up.
Last night at DD's game, the coach yelled at the catcher (not DD) to "get that facemask off on those foul balls!"
she looked him square in the eye and smiling said "Coach Weaver told me to leave it on"
The coach just laughed and let her go. He knew he had been bested. If Dave said that was the way to do it, then that is the way to do it!
Last night at DD's game, the coach yelled at the catcher (not DD) to "get that facemask off on those foul balls!"
she looked him square in the eye and smiling said "Coach Weaver told me to leave it on"
The coach just laughed and let her go. He knew he had been bested. If Dave said that was the way to do it, then that is the way to do it!
Coach Weaver in the video does leave leeway for taking the mask off on pop-ups, stipulating that you hold the mask in the throwing hand until you locate the ball, then flip it away from the body as you start to move. The pitcher is also shouting "UP!" and pointing so the catcher can locate it quickly after she turns around. Older girl(~16) and advanced teamwork.
I don't presume to speak for Coach Dave, nor do I know his current opinion on this.
That said, I've given my daughter permission to remove her mask only when it's on fire.
I don't presume to speak for Coach Dave, nor do I know his current opinion on this.
That said, I've given my daughter permission to remove her mask only when it's on fire.
What I teach at my camp is that the pop up is the only play where the mask can come off. With the ever improving design of the masks, we are now seeing such good visability that many kids do not have to take it off to see just fine. The more technology we borrow from the ice hockey world on mask design the better the visability has gotten. To help gauge your catchers ability to see clearly get behind her at the backstop and do this drill.
Have your pitcher pitch an "Invisible ball" to her. Have a batter swing at the right time. As the batter swings you throw the ball up in the air back towards her. She is not allowed to look behind her to see where you are standing before the pitch. The pitcherr then reacts to where you tossed the ball by pointing at the ball, yelling UP UP UP!!. The catcher then turns to make the play and gets practice locating and catching the ball. Use this to help judge the kind of visibility you catcher and her mask have.
If it is clear she can see fine then I say let he leave it on. For many girls with glasses or long hair tucked under the back of the helmet, taking it off is sometimes almost impossible.
Have your pitcher pitch an "Invisible ball" to her. Have a batter swing at the right time. As the batter swings you throw the ball up in the air back towards her. She is not allowed to look behind her to see where you are standing before the pitch. The pitcherr then reacts to where you tossed the ball by pointing at the ball, yelling UP UP UP!!. The catcher then turns to make the play and gets practice locating and catching the ball. Use this to help judge the kind of visibility you catcher and her mask have.
If it is clear she can see fine then I say let he leave it on. For many girls with glasses or long hair tucked under the back of the helmet, taking it off is sometimes almost impossible.
