Is a fielding Face Mask necessary?

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Oct 23, 2009
967
0
Los Angeles
This may be controversial, but is it really necessary to have your DD play with a fielders face mask? I'm sure there are strong opinions on both sides but my arguments against using them are a) its too distracting (poor viewing, uncomfortable, etc) to the infielders and b) why treat the girls differently than the boys? We would never suggest baseball youth play with a fielders face mask, why the girls? Of course I want to protect my kids/players from any injuries, but there is an inherent risk of injury in all youth sports that we/they have to live with in order to play these types of competitive games. I do have to admit that I cringe when I see 3B charging home plate during a possible bunt attempt and the girl swings away; these girls get extremely close to the batter!
 
Aug 4, 2008
2,364
0
Lexington,Ohio
Sofball is not baseball. The small ball game and 60 foot bases , this is like apples and pears. When you see a young 14 year old girl with her eye laying on her check bone, when a simple mask would have avoided the injury, then My dd will wear a fielders mask. Anyone that was at the National in Bloomington Ind a few years back would require your dd to wear one. Line drive shots are common place back to the corners with power slappers. No way do you have the time to get your glove up to deflect the hit. Go on The Game Face web page and look at some of the terrible injuries. As a father I spent hours in the ER with my daughter, over an eye injury. Now for the rest of her life she must have a yearly eye exam, because she bruised her retina. We were lucky , it could have been worse, like the above kid.
 
Oct 19, 2009
639
0
Once the kids get used to it they want to wear them. My dd wears one to pitch and has no trouble with the viewing whatsoever. If I could only get her shoelaces to stay tied for an entire game!

Sometimes I wonder if boys shouldn't wear them. I've seen kids carried off in ambulance and it's very scary. One big difference though is that boys wear their scars as a badge of honor, or a trophy. But don't you dare mess up a girl's pretty face!
 
Jan 15, 2009
585
0
I don't consider batting helmets to be especially comfortable or vision improving, but I think they are a valid safety requirement for a hitter. Face masks are not ready to be mandated yet, there is no NOSCAE standard to test to, and until there is no one is going to mandate a mask that isn't made to a safety standard, what happens when the mask breaks and makes the injury worse?? As a parent I'm glad my kid catches. Our 3B wears one and 1 of the 3 pitchers does. We haven't made it an issue with all the pitchers yet because sometimes you have to let stubborn people learn things the hard way. In the last year I saw a 1B only get part of a glove on a line drive that rearranged her teeth, another girl got blasted in the mask pitching and walked away fine and extremely grateful, another girl got drilled inthe face during HS lost 6 weeks and came back with a mask (always seems smart to wear after an injury, but it's some sign of weakness to wear before an injury).
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
I can see the mask for the corners since they play so close. Middle infielders really don't need them. When I see outfielders with them on it bugs me, unless they're playing with an injury and need the protection just in case. Still, an outfielder shouldn't need a mask unless the grass is in really bad shape. Just my opinion.
 
May 13, 2008
831
16
Some things to think about…

The amount of time it takes a softball to travel 40 feet at 60 mph is 0.455 seconds.

Bats are constructed to have an exit velocity of no more than 98mph (ASA standard). The return time of a ball traveling back to the pitcher’s plate at 98 mph is 0.278 seconds.

The average length of an eye blink is 0.300 to 0.400 seconds.

Think about that as you test your reaction time to click a mouse button: Reaction Timer

Of course most 10U kids aren't hitting the ball at 98 mph, but they pitch from 35 feet. They also lack adult reactions.

Also consider stride length, etc., etc. Corners (1B, 3B) often are positioned 30 feet away from the hitter.
 
Sep 6, 2009
393
0
State of Confusion
Without a doubt they should be worn for 3B. Defending the bunt, esp. with bases loaded, the 3B may only be 20 ft from the plate, or even less. At 90 mph there is virtually NO reaction time. Some girls with wear only mouthpieces, but that is foolish.

Technically, a pitcher should end her pitch in position to protect herself, but she will be about 35ft,( or 38 ft now at 16U which will help.) But many shots to body and head there still occur.

1B isnt as much of an issue, most leftys are slapping, not slugging, but it can still happen, just less frequently.
 
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
I caught one at 1st base, this season that I didn't even see. I heard my teammates gasp and it was in my glove.

All infielders should wear a mask. A bad hop can take your teeth out and a kid sliding in with a helmet/mask on, can nail you in the face, too.
 
Oct 22, 2009
1,532
0
PA
In baseball, at 12U they are pitching at 46 feet, older than that 60 feet 6 inches. Add to that the fact that a baseball is smaller and lighter, and carries less momentum (force) coming off the bat. A softball is heavier and the players are closer - a much more dangerous situation. You only need to see a kid (any kid, boy or girl) hit in the face and sustain a life-altering injury and you would change your mind. I fought my daughter tooth and nail to wear one, but she refused - until one day she got a bad hop on a hard ground ball that gave her a black eye the day before school pictures (luckily it was only a black eye). Now she wears the Bangerz face mask (she thinks it's more comfortable) everytime she puts her glove on to play catch.
 

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