10U line drive to her face

[CoreSoftball20]

Sorry, did not intend to offend your sensibilities.

Dont worry, you dont offend me like you probably want to

 

[grmerrill]

Easy answer. I'm my opinion the parenting philosophy of being the "lowest common denominator" is to put it nicely not the right way to raise children. "Everyone is doing it" or in your case "no one in baseball us doing it" is a philosophy I will avoid. It's hard enough being a parent and a coach without dealing with the unnecessary.

Like I said, my daughters like their eggs scrambled, not their brains.

For kicks and giggles I googled "softball teeth"..... perty.

Everyone in my car wears a seatbelt, no one rides the hump.

You can go back to undermining now.

Still no real answer. Other than baseball parents are bad parents? I find the fanatical nature of some regarding this issue truly fascinating.

You mean no answer you can refute.

Now if you care to stop backsliding and address the fact we are talking softball. You care to discuss baseball and masks, go there. You care to discuss the NFL, go there. Etc etc etc.

You didn't dispute any of the BUT statements I credited to you. Apparently you can't dispute the truth.

Fascinating is why you aren't content making unnecessary risks with your own kids, why you work so hard top influence others.

 

[grmerrill]

Riseball, I appreciate your posts on perceived vs. actual risk. In 4 years, I've only seen a girl hit in the face once, and ironically, the facemask on her batting helmet didn't prevent it. On the other hand, my own son has been hit in the face three times playing baseball.

Bottom line, some people aren't comfortable with a 1/x chance that their kid gets hurt, and purchases of safety equipment that may never be needed dump a lot of money back into the economy.

Personally I think it is brilliant piece of marketing by the manufacturers. They have obviously struck a nerve with the parents of female athletes to the point where people have become fanatical about the subject. Based on the comments of many on this site if you do not force your DD to wear a mask and encourage all others to do the same you are a bad parent and a Neanderthal that wants to see kids suffer everything from a black eye to decapitation.

Interestingly that same marketing strategy has failed miserably with the parents of male athletes. It is only natural to wonder why? I have to think that if it was promoted as a device that facilitated a higher level of performance, acceptance by the baseball side would increase.

The strategy of promoting a device that very well may prevent a serious injury has been extremely effective with the end consumer - the parents. Unfortunately, that message appears lost on the actual users of the devices. Consider that all of the college players in the game today grew up using required facemasks on their batting helmets. Then as soon as these players get to college many if not most summarily abandon the equipment. Are we to assume that they no longer see value in the equipment? Is it a hindrance to their performance? If college players are willing to abandon facemasks on their batting helmets why would we be surprised that very few players are willing to use a fielding mask?

Lol... sexist and the existence of a shadow global industrial softball mask complex.

And fyi, what's the percentage of girls that play 8u,10u,12u,14u,16u that actually make it too college? Will a softball in the teeth make them a better player more likely to make it? I guess to you the possibility outweighs the risks. But then again it isn't you feeling the pain.

 

[softballphreak]

You have obviously given this some thought and provide some good insights. I have yet to hear a truly compelling reason not to wear one such as increased risk, degraded performance, etc. In fact most of the reasons put forth against wearing one seem to align with social and aesthetic values. I did not suggest the abandonment of safety equipment by college players in the context of an argument either for or against. It was simply an observation.

Truth be known I think the argument for or against is moot in that it truly is a matter or personal choice. I just find intriguing the often fanatical passion of those who advocate the use of facemasks. Not a day goes by without the posting of a plethora of anecdotal evidence complete with often gory photos. Stepping back I have to wonder why? Are they seeking to convert other "non-believers"? Are they seeking validation for their values? I just find it to be a very interesting study in human behavior.

I suspect that many who promote the use of face masks do it for the reason that I do. I wish every pitcher and corners wore one because it just might save the face of one of them. That's the only reason I do it. Believing that even just one will be saved makes every effort I make feel pretty good. And reading what other supporters post makes me feel pretty good, also.

At the same time I hope they never need the masks. Even though the mask might prevent serious injury it won't necessarily prevent serious pain.

 

[Down and Out]

Lol... sexist and the existence of a shadow global industrial softball mask complex.

And fyi, what's the percentage of girls that play 8u,10u,12u,14u,16u that actually make it too college? Will a softball in the teeth make them a better player more likely to make it? I guess to you the possibility outweighs the risks. But then again it isn't you feeling the pain.

Don't you guys get it? Riseball is messing with you. He doesn't care what decision you make regarding the mask. He wants to know why you came to the decision you did. He stirs the pot to see how you react. He wants to to know if you're using logic or emotion. How do you back up a decision that can't be supported logically...We're all just test subjects in his experiment on human behavior.

This is purely entertainment for him. Wear the mask...don't wear the mask... he doesn't care.

 

[sluggers]

And, you know, I don't care anymore either...