Recommend beginner's catching equipment set

[tomzpc]

Thanks everyone. Have to decide if I should go with the smaller 7-9 set or the 9-12 set. My DD is 10 (will be 11 in July), but she's pretty little at 4'6" and 60 lbs. From what I've seen the smaller sets have around 12.5"/11.5" chest protect/leg guards and the larger sets are 13.5"/13.0". Helmet sizes seem to be the same. Hate to measure her for this since it's a surprise. If she was a committed catcher and I was spending a lot of money on a top of the line set then I'd be more concerned I guess. I hope that doesn't happen though as I'd rather her be a committed pitcher. =)

 

[crystlemc]

Your 10yo is much smaller than my 8yo! We got our 8yo the 7-9 set and it fits her just fine. The one thing I do like about the Adidas set is that the helmet is adjustable. Good luck to you and dd!

 

[tomzpc]

Your 10yo is much smaller than my 8yo! We got our 8yo the 7-9 set and it fits her just fine. The one thing I do like about the Adidas set is that the helmet is adjustable. Good luck to you and dd!

Yep, she's a squirt alright! =)

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I "think" that the chest protector that she has on in the picture is too big.

So is it 7-9 or 10-12? I bet she would wear 7-9. Could you measure a t-shirt (one that she is outgrowing) from the collar bone to the belly button?

Are you getting her a mitt, also?

 

[rydog73]

I would go with the 7-9. My daughter is 10 and has a 9-12 easton set. She stands right at 5' and 80lbs and she still has room to grow into it.

 

[tomzpc]

I "think" that the chest protector that she has on in the picture is too big.

So is it 7-9 or 10-12? I bet she would wear 7-9. Could you measure a t-shirt (one that she is outgrowing) from the collar bone to the belly button?

Are you getting her a mitt, also?

Yes, it was too big, but she managed. That's the standard team equipment that we got and it would be equivalent to the 10-12 set. Going to hold off on the catchers mitt unless she asks me for one. If she still wants to catch a lot come fallball, when she'll move up to 12U, then I'll get her one. For now she receives extremely well with her regular glove and there are very few girls (besides her) who have a decent fastball in our local 10U so the padding of a catchers mitt isn't necessary. Most of our 10U pitchers are topping out at 35 or most and some are even slower. Olivia throws 40-42 but she won't be catching herself. =) Only Bugs Bunny could do that. LOL

 

[tomzpc]

I would go with the 7-9. My daughter is 10 and has a 9-12 easton set. She stands right at 5' and 80lbs and she still has room to grow into it.

Thanks. From what I saw though the Easton 9-12 set has a bigger chest protector (I think that it's 14.5" as opposed to 13", or something like that) so I think that they run their 9-12 set bigger than All-Star which is what I'm leaning towards. I'll doublecheck those numbers though.

 

[MsDinosaur]

I agree with Amy on that current chest protector; it's too big. You can see in the picture that it's being bowed outward when she's in her squat. You don't want that to happen. If she's trying to block, a ball coming off that protector could go flying anywhere. Measuring an old t-shirt that comes to her navel sounds like great advice.

Those leg guards might be a little long (maybe an inch?), but they don't look too bad. If she's comfortable, I kind of like seeing kids with protection a few inches up the thigh. Those balls on the thighs hurt.

Yeah, Ry, I agree your DD's set fits her fine. Mine was probably about 4'5" or 4'6" when I bought her gear that was in the 9-12 range, but she's always been a lot stockier than this little girl and that makes a difference too.

A few years ago, my DD used a team protector that fit her about like the one in the picture. She liked it--I think she got a lot of cooling airflow streaming through behind the bulge. She wasn't happy when I made her start wearing one that fit against her torso, but she got used to it. ;-)

 

[tomzpc]

For what it is worth I just remembered that those pictures are from the spring and she has grown an inch, maybe even two since then.

Okay, I managed to get real measurements! Just had my tape measure in my pocket and went upstairs before bed time and started measuring the girls to see how tall they were. Then I said let's measure your wingspans. Then I said lets do kneecap to bottom of shin, then belly button to collar bone. LOL. She never suspected a thing. It was just dad acting strange, what else was new!? LOL.

So the answer...belly button to collar bone is 13". Middle of knee cap to bottom of shin is 12.5" Did I measure to the correct spots?

Here's the info from the All-Star Sports website:
The 9-12 fastpitch catchers gear has a 13.5" chest protector and 13" leg guards
The 7-9 package has 12.5" chest protector and 11.5" leg guards.
Both come with the same adjustable youth helmet.

I think that some of the packages from other manufacturers run slightly bigger and i think that maybe it's because they don't differentiate from baseball and softball. So I'm going to ger her the 9-12 all-star set since the size looks okay with a little room to grow, the price is right at 129.95, and the reviews on the all-star gear seem good.

Now, what color.....gah.....LOL. Leaning towards black since she's rec and know idea what her uni colors will be and they change from season to season

 

[MsDinosaur]

Hi, tomzpc. I wish I had bought black. It looks fine with every uniform color.