Facemasks for ASA tournament play

[bgecoach]

What I wonder is where it stops. Will every player be wearing chest protectors and shinguards too? Sounds ridiculous, but it's a logical next step. Maybe the official ball should be changed to a Nerf ball to make sure nobody gets hurt.

you know when you consider my dd has been pitching for six seasons. at least 40 games a season. so that's 240 games @ 100 pitches per game = 24000 pitches and my dd has only been hit hard once. that turned into a painful lesson why you don't throw a belly button high cupcake right over the plate, they'll eat it right up the middle... when there is as many games played and as many players playing, there will be injuries. i don't care how much you protect a player. nothing wrong with prevention or being smart but you have to just let them play...

my dd has been hit in the face once. she was practicing and the catcher threw the ball back while she wasn't looking and of course called her name just in time for her to turn around and get busted in chops. bet she wouldn't have been wearing a mask then even if she did have one. it's just a part of playing sports.

 

[hallelujah]

You know, it's weird watching the sport evolve sometimes. I've been playing fastpitch for about 14 years, and obviously there were no facemasks back then.
It was even weird to see the helmets getting cages when I was little, but I've seen people like myself get hit in the face when batting before, so the cages make sense. With pitchers and fielders though, I know it's dangerous, but you have to learn to protect yourself. I remember being nailed with a line drive in the thigh when I was pitching, when I was little, and it was painful as hell. I can only imagine how bad it would be to the face, especially for a young kid. Though facemasks do seem like a good idea, I don't see any older girls past the age of 15 wearing them. I'm not sure how I feel about them, they seem good for safety, but how far will they go? Faces are important but you don't see people wearing a full-on body suit to protect the rest of their bodies. Will girls serious about them in college ball wear them in a few years? They should just learn to protect themselves and improve their relfexes.

I've seen OUTFIELDERS with the masks on before. Really. Why do you have a glove?

 

[coachkoot]

Facemasks

The utility of the facemask is obvious. The need? Well there is the question. When I was younger (much younger btw) we didn't wear any type of facemask in hockey. Referees apparently couldn't keep the yo-yos' sticks down so facemasks were mandated by every minor hockey system in Ontario. Now we wouldn't think of our kids playing without them. My youngest dd (13 year old pitcher) has a Gameface but doesn't like to use it. In 14U I didn't force the issue. Next year she will be playing 16U (although she will only be 14) and I will be doing everything in my power (influence? ya right) to have her wear it. My other dd is an infielder and I have to agree that other fielding positions should not require it. Third maybe (I played some third in my fastball career and there were many times when I look back that it would have made me feel more comfortable) but I really don't believe that any other position would require a mask for safety. As far as being mandated - I have seen more and more young pitchers wearing them in Ontario, and if this is Association (PWSA) is anything like the hockey regulators, it won't be long before they are required - in hockey country that is.