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radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Go Go Go equipment forum

Are there statistics on if equipment can make players better?
Brands
Type of leather
Bat size stuff
Etc...

The anal'yzation if a particular piece of equipment actually improves athletic performance.

Or are all gloves/bats created equal... and it's really the person using the equipment that makes the difference.

Enjoy the Feast 🦃
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
DD had a 2016 Xeno. Great bat. She grew a little and got her a bigger 2018 Xeno. Bat was not nearly as hot. Borrowed a teammates 2018 grey ghost one practice. BOOM. Ghost was noticeably better than 2018 Xeno. Got her one that day.

Gloves are only as good as you break them in and care for them. I have seen too many $300 pancakes.

Balls... Has anybody else noticed that the brand new ball is hotter for the first few innings and loses gas before game is thru. I think the cement in foul territory may play a role in this. I mean in MLB they throw the ball out every time it hit the dirt.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
Good Lord, where to start?

Great hitters are going to hit regardless! It’s just that modern composites up their performance. It’s really about mechanics!

Solid and smooth infielders, just like hitters are still going to standout, so why not do it with a bada$$ Horween baseball glove that has no velcro? ;)

I know Westwind is the King here of gadgets, gimmicks, and all things hitting related. I’m a little different, give me a shopping cart with 300 balls, a Tanner Tee, and a screen for front toss, I believe in repetition, yep tons of reps!

Same with infield work, lots of live balls and situational scenarios! Nothing beats “correct” work!
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Bats..blecch… I am sure there is some small advantage but in reality the biggest advantage is probably between the ears when a hitter has a bat they are comfortable with. With regards to gloves, biggest advantage is probably with regards to the durability of high end gloves if you take care of them.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Good Lord, where to start?

Great hitters are going to hit regardless! It’s just that modern composites up their performance. It’s really about mechanics!

Solid and smooth infielders, just like hitters are still going to standout, so why not do it with a bada$$ Horween baseball glove that has no velcro? ;)

I know Westwind is the King here of gadgets, gimmicks, and all things hitting related. I’m a little different, give me a shopping cart with 300 balls, a Tanner Tee, and a screen for front toss, I believe in repetition, yep tons of reps!

Same with infield work, lots of live balls and situational scenarios! Nothing beats “correct” work!
Btw don't care for velcro on catching gear either.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Balls... Has anybody else noticed that the brand new ball is hotter for the first few innings and loses gas before game is thru. I think the cement in foul territory may play a role in this.
Hmmm?...Will keep that question in mind asking around coaches i speak with and watching games.

What brand are you speaking of?
 

CoreSoftball20

Wilson = Evil Empire
DFP Vendor
Dec 27, 2012
6,215
113
Kunkletown, PA
Balls absolutely lose some pop after a little bit....same as when its super hot out, balls are less jumpy. In fastpitch im not sure
how much a ball in a game will lose as hits on it sometimes fluctuate, but slowpitch, the balls def get worse in a few innings. Also depends if you buy cheap or get decent ones.
 
Feb 25, 2020
953
93
I'll play. For 10u and below at least.

One thing I hate doing is wasting time. And IMO, if you don't have the best equipment, then you are wasting your time(at least in part). By best equipment, I mean the equipment that will help your player get better as fast as possible, not necessarily a 500$ glove or whatever. Other notable time wasters are teaching bad mechanics(or neglecting to teach any at all) and bad drills (hitting tires).

The biggest equipment issue I've seen for young players is glove weight. Even a few ounces can really inhibit a player's ability to move their glove around. And when they are trying to LEARN how to move their glove this really slows down their development. If you can't catch it's tough to play softball.

I think every young softball player should wear their glove with their fingers shifted also(Two in the pinky stall aka TIP). This allows young players to use smaller, and thus lighter glove as it makes the pocket deeper and lets the glove play a little bit longer. (EDIT: TIP allows for a 11.5" ~15 oz glove to be used at every position. Yes even catcher)

Weight in any piece of equipment has a big impact on these young players. DD pitches, and she despised when I would bring out "the white ball" to practice with. It's a 12" rawlings K-master. 12" Dudley thunderheat she had no complaints. The K-master would go all over the place and the Dudley would be not too dissimilar from an 11" ball. Low and behold I threw both of them on the digital scale and the Dudley was 6.5 oz and "the white ball" was 7.2. Get the lightest everything. Catcher's gear, shoes, gloves...

Bats are a different story. But then again weight is different than MOI. As a guideline get them swinging drop 10's by 10u. This will likely get them a bat where they can feel the barrel.
 
Last edited:

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
I'll play. For 10u and below at least.

One thing I hate doing is wasting time. And IMO, if you don't have the best equipment, then you are wasting your time(at least in part). By best equipment, I mean the equipment that will help your player get better as fast as possible, not necessarily a 500$ glove or whatever. Other notable time wasters are teaching bad mechanics(or neglecting to teach any at all) and bad drills (hitting tires).

The biggest equipment issue I've seen for young players is glove weight. Even a few ounces can really inhibit a player's ability to move their glove around. And when they are trying to LEARN how to move their glove this really slows down their development. If you can't catch it's tough to play softball.

I think every young softball player should wear their glove with their fingers shifted also(Two in the pinky stall aka TIP). This allows young players to use smaller, and thus lighter glove as it makes the pocket deeper and lets the glove play a little bit longer. (EDIT: TIP allows for a 11.5" ~15 oz glove to be used at every position. Yes even catcher)

Weight in any piece of equipment has a big impact on these young players. DD pitches, and she despised when I would bring out "the white ball" to practice with. It's a 12" rawlings K-master. 12" Dudley thunderheat she had no complaints. The K-master would go all over the place and the Dudley would be not too dissimilar from an 11" ball. Low and behold I threw both of them on the digital scale and the Dudley was 6.5 oz and "the white ball" was 7.2. Get the lightest everything. Catcher's gear, shoes, gloves...

Bats are a different story. But then again weight is different than MOI. As a guideline get them swinging drop 10's by 10u. This will likely get them a bat where they can feel the barrel.
Ohhhh nice like that topic!
Quality time! 👍
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
The biggest equipment issue I've seen for young players is glove weight. Even a few ounces can really inhibit a player's ability to move their glove around. And when they are trying to LEARN how to move their glove this really slows down their development. If you can't catch it's tough to play softball.

I agree and I have an unreasonable dislike of first baseman's gloves in softball. Players drop too many balls at the younger ages trying to figure it out.

It's probably just me but I wish they would just use their regular gloves.

I played 1B in baseball so I get it, but damn. 2B is covering 1B a lot of the time anyways (with a regular glove).

Unreasonable rant over...
 

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