Coach, do your pitchers wear masks?

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

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

Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
Not excusing the behavior but it was my understanding that the pitching distance in fastpitch is smaller plus the bats are hotter. When you combine those two things you really should be wearing a mask. Anyone who thinks otherwise should stand on the pitcher's plate and let me hit ground balls at them with a fastpitch bat.

It has nothing to do with technique and practice, it's about physics.
When I coached, I pitched batting practice from the circle. Up until 14u I trusted myself to field the balls coming back through the middle. At 16u the girls were stronger, the balls came much faster, and I was getting older ;) . I didn't wear a mask, but I refused to pitch without a net. Even then sometimes I would get hit in the leg because I landed outside the net's coverage.

DD was a pitcher and we required her to wear a mask until she was 18. Required may be a harsh term as she never even asked to not wear it. She also wore it when playing at a corner infield position. She continued to wear it through her freshman year of college. She stopped wearing it at that point. We discussed it, even though she was 20, but ultimately we made it her decision.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
When I coached, I pitched batting practice from the circle. Up until 14u I trusted myself to field the balls coming back through the middle. At 16u the girls were stronger, the balls came much faster, and I was getting older ;) . I didn't wear a mask, but I refused to pitch without a net. Even then sometimes I would get hit in the leg because I landed outside the net's coverage.

DD was a pitcher and we required her to wear a mask until she was 18. Required may be a harsh term as she never even asked to not wear it. She also wore it when playing at a corner infield position. She continued to wear it through her freshman year of college. She stopped wearing it at that point. We discussed it, even though she was 20, but ultimately we made it her decision.
Why is "required" considered a harsh term? We are required to do a lot of things in this life.

How did that discussion go? What was said? She wore a mask for 10 years and then decides she doesn't want to anymore? What was the rational? Peer pressure?
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Why is "required" considered a harsh term?
Required may be a harsh term as she never even asked to not wear it.

For the record I require mine to wear one in the MI. She complains about it once in a while (she says it moves around on her..which is obviously easy to fix by tightening it but she cannot manage to keep her room clean for a day so...) but if she got hit she would probably blame me and I don't need that shi*%
 
Last edited:

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
Why is "required" considered a harsh term? We are required to do a lot of things in this life.

How did that discussion go? What was said? She wore a mask for 10 years and then decides she doesn't want to anymore? What was the rational? Peer pressure?
I've told my daughter I will never allow her to take the circle without one on. I don't care if she's in college. I pay the bills, and she lives under my roof and follows my rules. As my Dad would say, "You don't like it? Find another place to live." Oddly enough, no one ever moved out under those threats, but we followed his rules.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
I've told my daughter I will never allow her to take the circle without one on. I don't care if she's in college. I pay the bills, and she lives under my roof and follows my rules. As my Dad would say, "You don't like it? Find another place to live." Oddly enough, no one ever moved out under those threats, but we followed his rules.
Old School. Probably a CPS investigation today.
 

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
Old School. Probably a CPS investigation today.
It was probably just a threat, but none of the seven of us dared to find out. I am trying to picture the scene at my house if CPS came to my house when I was a kid. My parents would have driven them away screaming!
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
Why is "required" considered a harsh term? We are required to do a lot of things in this life.

How did that discussion go? What was said? She wore a mask for 10 years and then decides she doesn't want to anymore? What was the rational? Peer pressure?
This is 2022. Blue and red are considered harsh terms depending who you talk to. It's hard to breathe without offending someone. You know how it is...

My point is that yes, we required our daughter to wear a mask when she was younger. But it was never an issue. She never debated it. Many of her teammates wore masks as well, so it was just part of playing softball at the time. When she moved on to college, it was different. During her freshman year it was just her and one other girl that wore masks. The coach at the time never talked about it, so the girls just went about their business. That coach left between DD's sophomore and junior year. The new coach had an issue with masks and was rude to the players about it. We discussed the situation with DD. She made the decision to lose the mask but continue to play softball. She was the #3 pitcher on a team that typically only used 2 pitchers, so there was very little chance of her getting hurt anyway. By the time her junior year was over, she debated even playing her senior year. She played in the fall but then applied for an internship for the spring. She told DW and I that if she was accepted for the internship she would quit the team. That's exactly what happened. It's unfortunate that she didn't play her senior year, but her head just wasn't in it anymore. She still loves the sport, but some of the "other things" involved were just getting to be too much.

Little story about this coach. Near the end of her senior year, DD reached out to the coach and asked if she could borrow a uniform and get her picture taken one last time on the softball field. Just a senior picture type thing. The coach said no. Not sure how one picture would have hurt anything, but the coach was adamant that she would not allow it.
 
Mar 10, 2020
734
63
Yes, travel ball, high school and in college. If you start playing for a coach only to find out later they disapprove of safety you didn't do your research before joining.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
Yes, travel ball, high school and in college. If you start playing for a coach only to find out later they disapprove of safety you didn't do your research before joining.
Unfortunately in DD's case it was due to a coaching change. Her coach during her freshman and sophomore years was fine with the mask. Our crystal ball was a bit cloudy as we didn't realize there would be a coaching change that resulted in the hiring of an anti-mask coach. We knew it was always a possibility. I guess she could have transferred to a different college, but she didn't want to do that.

I do agree that it is something players should consider before making a commitment. It's just that sometimes things happen that are outside of their control.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,468
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top