- Jun 12, 2015
- 3,848
- 83
A lot of young players are afraid of the ball. It seems like a mostly normal phase to go through, especially since the young ones are still learning the skills they need to field effectively & can get injured due to that. And yes, the mask may help them have the confidence to learn faster. Mine was definitely a little more scared after she took a hop to the chin at pitcher when she was in 8U. The mask definitely did help her move past it. I imagine by the time they're high school aged, college aged, etc, if they're successful players they're not scared and using the facemask for confidence anymore. Most college players don't look particularly scared of the ball, whether they wear a mask or not. It's just another safety measure, and if they've been playing with a mask for years and years it's not going to impact their play negatively.