PC had a talk with DD about wearing a mask in the circle....

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Jan 31, 2014
292
28
North Carolina
I know this topic gets beat to death, and not really trying to revive it so much, but it occurred to me that I've never heard anyone say that a batter loses favor for wearing a shin guard or an elbow pad or the obvious batting helmet. Maybe someone here has mentioned it before. Has anyone ever heard a college coach address this notion? Seems like someone who's afraid to take a shot in the batter's box might be too skittish to hit effectively.

Pleased to say that PC was not advocating that DD stop wearing a mask. He thinks they are important. But also wants her to be aware of the recruiting environment, saying she will soon need to make a decision about it. I find it's a lot easier to make pejorative statements like "my DD won't cave to that pressure" before it starts to affect hopes and dreams on a personal level.
 
Jan 27, 2010
1,871
83
NJ
I haven't heard of any college coaches saying they wouldn't take a pitcher. We had a 3rd base told to lose the mask by an ACC school if she wanted to be taken seriously. Two of our pitchers verballed last fall to D1 schools, one of them a Big 10, and both wore masks.
 
Aug 19, 2015
1,118
113
Atlanta, GA
I wish I could remember who it was (maybe someone else will know), but there was a pitcher in the College WS on TV who wore a mask. The commentators said that her father is a surgeon and will not allow her to play without it. He said that he doesn't want to see her on his operating table. So, she wears it and is obviously successful. I don't really get what the big deal is. She wants to keep her teeth; so what?
 
Jul 14, 2010
716
18
NJ/PA
My DD is verballed to a D1 school as a catcher, so she doesn't worry about the mask controversy. But I did ask the coach how he feels about infielders who wear masks. His response: "I don't have a problem with anybody wearing a mask if they want to wear one. But I will say that I personally wouldn't look at a player who wears one."

Right or wrong, the stigma is still out there.
 
Jul 14, 2010
716
18
NJ/PA
If the difference is between a college scholarship or a non-fractured face, which would you take?

There's the fallacy...you're assuming that a player will fracture her face if she takes a scholarship. At the end of the day, facial injuries due to batted balls make up an incredibly small percentage of all softball-related injuries.

I'm not arguing for or against the mask...but it's not an either/or scenario. 99% of players who don't wear mask never have a facial injury. The mask protects against the 1% chance.
 
Oct 4, 2014
57
6
this is crazy. coaches who choose not to look at a young lady because she wears a mask is frankly, stupid. I bet they use a screen when pitching BP. I am fairly certain that no player ever uses this criteria when deciding where to play. Personally, I stopped pitching BP without a screen after 10u and I probably should have then as well. Finally, I believe this is a generational thing. old school folks who didn't grow up with masks will eventually retire and this will become a nonissue over time.
 
Jun 7, 2013
984
0
There's the fallacy...you're assuming that a player will fracture her face if she takes a scholarship. At the end of the day, facial injuries due to batted balls make up an incredibly small percentage of all softball-related injuries.

I'm not arguing for or against the mask...but it's not an either/or scenario. 99% of players who don't wear mask never have a facial injury. The mask protects against the 1% chance.

I made no such assumption. I asked a rhetorical question to make a point. The point being, are you willing to risk potentially serious injury for a college scholarship?

I agree that it is a rare event for a pitcher to be struck in the face by a ball. However, given that it happened to my DD those statistics aren't very reassuring.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Whatever you believe personally, don't let some third party influence your decision.

No college coach worth playing for has ever said "Oh she throws 70mph and has a wicked riseball but she wears a mask so my rival can have her' or "I went and saw her and she hit a 3 home runs including one they are still looking for but she wears a mask at third so nope". Or at least no college coach who is going to keep his job right now anyway.

Yes, there are still people out there thinking this but you can see it changing as this generation of players are coming through. Seeing more and more players getting to the age where they have been wearing batting helmet cages since 8U and now the fielding masks are more comfortable we are seeing those more and more in older age groups.

Of course the same coach saying "don't wear a mask" is the same coach who is throwing batting practice behind a HUGE screen.

Take that for what you will.

(Personally - to me it is a parents decision to make.)
 
Feb 4, 2015
641
28
Massachusetts
There's the fallacy...you're assuming that a player will fracture her face if she takes a scholarship. At the end of the day, facial injuries due to batted balls make up an incredibly small percentage of all softball-related injuries.
99% of players who don't wear mask never have a facial injury. The mask protects against the 1% chance.

Home owners insurance protects for that <1% chance and most people wouldn't consider not carrying it. The mask is just another insurance policy because when the 1% happens, it can be catastrophic. DD plays 3B and took a shot in the jaw from a bad hop (we don't play on the best groomed fields). She was sore for about a week after, can't imagine what would have happened without her mask. There may come a point where she decides to stop wearing it, but for now I'm glad she does.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,474
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top