Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Facemasks for infielders/pitchers-Mandatory??

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Should facemasks be required for infielders and pitchers? Tightening bat standards will not eliminate the problem, as nothing will 100%. I am in no way a fan of mandates, but it is not a pretty sight when dd takes a shot. FF

 

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I think that the corner player and the pitcher should be wearing a mask. I have had this same conversation with my players and parents. Some have taken the talk to heart and purchased one. Others are more worried about looking goofy . My dd has one and truly recommend them.

Mike

 

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basically you can look at the results of this pool done about a month ago on here and see that the majority think making them mandatory makes sense.

http://www.game-ex.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1207072534

 

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I would not let my DD play third or pitch without one.

 

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Everyone in the infield wears one on our team...

 

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Our team now makes them mandatory for the pither,first and third. S/s and second also wear them many times.

 

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All kids under 16 should leave it up to parents/coaches -- After then a pitcher/infielder should know if they want one or need one. Never make it mandatory!
I saw last night in our game,the opposing pitcher almost take one in the face,but her quick glove stopped the ball from contact.

 

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I agree leave it up to the parents and/or coach. But I don't agree with only until 16. At 16 they are still their parents responsibility. They still make a lot of choices based on what their friends will think, not what is best for them. Once they are 18 and are responsible for themselves then they can make that decision on their own.

 

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krm: In that poll, it is not clear what the majority thinks. 88 voted to make it mandatory, 70 voted to leave everything as is. And then another 100 or so (I didn't count) voted for other measures that did not include either of those two options.

For the purposes of finding out whether the OFC public thinks face masks should be mandatory, the poll wasn't really designed properly. We don't know how many of those people who voted to tone the bats down and all of that would vote if faced with an either/or choice on face masks.

 

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I feel that it should be up to the parent and not the coach. I've been a coach for the last 12 years and I don't like to mandate anything on the girls. if the parent brings them to practice and they have it then that's treir choice, not mine. I'm still not a fan of the batting face mask, my dd ask every year if she can take it off, that to should be a choice. We live in a nation that's suppose to give us choice and complain when the government takes it away, but we want to do that to our DD's.
I had a girl last year start wearing one and we as coaches thought her game accually got worse instead of better.
I say leave it up to the kids and parents.

 

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I read alot about the facemasks and protecting the head, but what about the heart protectors as well?

 

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strongly encourage, and do everything possable to persuade , but not make it mandatory . pitcher and 3rd are the 2 that need it. 3 does'nt camp on home plate like the 5 does. and I don't see the need for other infielders to wear it. MD

 

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My DD where's one faithfully. Last night at practice, she wasn't going to put it on, her team can hit and hit well, plus they see her more than any other pitcher. I wasn't sure about making them manditory until Valley Extreme May 2007 tourney. 4 pithcers took one to the face that weekend. One was in our game, the pitcher had a mask on and still left the field bleeding. I hate to think what would have happened had she not been wearing one. That did it for me. At least pitcher and 3rd.

 

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I would personally like to see it happen and also for a softer core ball and tamer bats. There WILL be a major defining injury moment that will happen to someone but I hope it's not soon. Not of question of if, but when.

I don't know why the heart guard is not pushed for the ladies more? Is there a reason for that?

 

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I live with results of a ball (baseball) to the face when I was 14. I played 3rd base. I have had 4 plastic surgeries, a reinforced eye socket, part of my nose bone is prosthetic. Worst of all, I have a hard time breathing through my nose. It is a constant irritant for me. That event changed my life. Knowing what I know now, if I had the option of a facemask, I would choose to wear it. I have made that decision for my girls. I care for them too much to take the chance that anyone of them would have to go through what I have. It is a silly debate in my eyes.

 

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joeA, ?I kind of understand where you're coming from. ?The votes for an either or poll may show something different. ?But, only 26% of 274 people voted to leave all as is. ?The mandatory facemask was the majority over everything else including doing nothing. ? Which is all was was saying above. ?What I took away from the pool, and we're all different of course, is that people want something done, which was all I was looking for. ?That being do something or do nothing. ?My dd doesn't pitch and or play 3rd, but if she did, she'd be wearing one. ?Too pretty and precious to me to even take that chance. ?But I know we all look at how much of a chance is really being taken though, so I'm surely not saying that anybodys dd is not as pretty and as precious to them. ?Of course they are.

As for mandating it, the reality is the risk is low overall. ?But the results each time it happens is pretty rough. ?Parents have the choice currently, as did the 2 sets of parents that didn't force their dds to wear them before they got hit in the head. (the 2 instances that prompted me to do this poll). ? They're very lucky and I'd bet you they think that now. ? Lots of things are mandated by the govt and most people hate it when that happens. ? Speed limits, bike helmets, seat belts, car seats for small kids, etc ,etc. ?But the problem is, if things are not mandated too many parents think it won't happen to their child. ?Which is human nature. ? What really should happen is the sanctioning bodies of softball should get together and discuss the issue, together. ?Listen to what the public has to say also. ?Coaches, players, parents, Doctors, etc. ?Then after that, either change it or not based on what was heard. ? If the decision is to not change anything then fine. ?At least it was very seriously addressed. ?But the one problem I have is with people so against "changing the game" they refuse to see that the game has already changed. ? ?Mostly due to the technology in the equipment and the advancement in the skills of the average player, overall, from a hitting standpoint. ?More girls work more months out of the year refining their skills than they did even 4 years ago. ?Then they get a Rocketech put in their hands that sends a well struck ball back at the pitcher 35ft away after release, or 3rd basemen, ?at 90+, at least. ?My dd uses a rockettech btw. ? ?Which is why my vote went to move the mound back and the facemasks, instead of changing the bats. ?I just started the poll to see what people thought. ?I'm not as passionate about it as it may sound, as my dd plays ss and outfield usually and never has pitched. ?But thats not to say I don't feel for the girls who do get hit, because as a parent, I can only imagine what that must feel like for those parents. ?Scary. ?

Also a reality, is that the softball community is only a few more ball to the head injuries away from the govt stepping in and making something mandatory. Wouldn't people rather the sanctioning bodies, where all of us may have at least some input into, make the decision rather than the govt? If not, big brother will step in and do something soon I'll bet. Question is after how many more balls to the head do we have before they do that. Then god knows that they, the govt, will come up with. None of us may like what they come up with.

 

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krm---another very good post . the sanctioning bodies need to take look and a listen. MD

 

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Again. Parents and coaches should be responsible for their own child/player. Yes accidents can happen anywhere on the field. My daughter is proof. She was playing left a couple weekends ago and lost the ball in the sun, it [highlight]tipped[/highlight] off the top of her glove and she still ended up with 8 stitches. She was lucky. No broken bones. Just an ugly gash on her eyebrow. So if you can get 8 stitches from the power that the ball has in the outfield. Why wouldn't you want to wear one (just in case) in the infield. It just makes no sense. But I think it is the parents/coaches who should enforce it.

I don't agree with people who argue that it should be left alone because they never wore them before. Look at how other sports have progressed with their equipment over the years. Would you left your son go play football in the equipment that was wore in the 50's? And they don't have equipment upgrades like our bats to try to keep safety up with. The football is pretty much the same as it always has been. All they have to worry about is the strength, size and ablility of the players which softball also has that to deal with. So many girls are larger and stronger than when the rules we made.

 

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I have seen them save a girls face.......... So I am all for it! 2 yrs ago when my youngest started it saved the coaches neice when she got blasted in the face and she had just borrowed it at the start of that inning!!!!!

 

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I started checking into it last season when I spent Almost $6,000 on DD's braces.
DD "Dad, I don't want to wear a Gameface because it looks goofy". :-[
Dad "Not as goofy as missing your 8 front teeth".
DD "I won't be able to see with that thing on"
Dad "Go to the mound and let me hit you a few balls" :
About fielding about 25 hard shots in a row without any vision problems.
DD "If you get me one I'm NOT going to wear it". >
Dad "Then your NOT playing softball"

DD has worn a Gameface for over a year now and LOVES it. ;D
DD NEVER pitches or plays 1st without it. ;D

DD was wearing her Gameface while playing 2nd this year for her middle school team.
A line drive was hit back to the girl that was pitching for us, The ball tipped off of her glove and hit her directly in the face. It was VERY SCARY. If you have ever witnessed this in person I think that it would have a VERY serious effect on your thoughts about wearing a MASK. Luckily, our pitcher was OK.
I don't even want to think about what COULD HAVE happened. :'(