DD will be starting 10u in the fall. I've heard the pitching is pretty wild and she needs to be ready to get hit by a pitch occasionally. I was planning on getting her an elbow guard. What about the knee/shin guard? Any others?
DD will be starting 10u in the fall. I've heard the pitching is pretty wild and she needs to be ready to get hit by a pitch occasionally. I was planning on getting her an elbow guard. What about the knee/shin guard? Any others?
Yes, 10U rec ball pitching tends to be pretty wild. It also tends to not be very fast. I recommend not putting a lot of focus and effort into discussions of HBP. Multiple times, I have seen young players who are very concerned about HBP, and the first thing they judge on a pitch on the way is whether it will hit them. Once they clear that hurdle, then they judge whether it's a pitch to swing at. When the pitching is very slow, they can get away with all this and still have time to swing. However, this process creates a problem as they continue in the game and start facing faster pitching. There will be a point where there simply isn't enough time to make those judgments and still execute a good swing. Progress further, and the swing process will need to start before the pitcher even releases the ball.
All that said, if a couple pieces of protective gear help her stay focused on hitting,and not freaked out about HBP, go for it.
FWIW, my DD has lead every team she's been on (8U rec - 14U TB) in HBP. She wore and elbow guard briefly last year, but it was mostly to allow a bruise to heal without getting hit there again.