high school and metal cleats-pros and cons

This year high schools have the approval to wear metal cleats. I am looking for research based studies on performance as it relates to side effects of injury in our young growing females. Need expert leads, to find relevant information to make an informed decision on my daughters up coming season. Thanks for your input.

No research here, just experience and input:

I always thought that using the metal in fastpitch was a bit of overkill :--I mean with 60-foot basepaths--by the time you dig in with them to run, you're already there !You don't have the type of big leading-off or the distance to cover that you do in baseball. And when you have the early spring western PA slop on the infield , it's like being on ice :-[---NOTHING will grip that mud, you just sink in it more >. I still recall a certain rec-ball game about 3 years ago at Kiski--my girls looked like they were mud-wrestling on a slip-and-slide

More than just baserunners will be wearing them, and that is of bigger concern.

Outfielders running across wide open slippery grass outfields, will definately benefit from the better traction. Even on hard outfields the traction will be better. Infielders moving across hard or soft infields will benefit from the better traction.

Rubber or molded cleats just don't dig into the grass or infields like steel cleats. It will be better for anyone that wears them.

You might be hard-pressed to find any true research or scientific data on this subject. It likely does not exist.

It would be nice to think that the NFHS had such data available to them when they decided to make this rule change. They did not.

According to Mary Struckhoff, NFHS Assistant Director and co-editor of the NFHS Rule Book, the NFHS had absolutely zero scientific information available to them when they approved the use of metal cleats. She revealed this in a speech given at the ASA National Convention last November.

When the 2008 high school rule changes were first announced last summer, a press release gave this justification for the new rule:

"Metal cleats provide better traction for athletes on nearly all surfaces, including hard, wet or under-maintained fields," said Cindy Simmons, chair of the NFHS Softball Rules Committee and assistant executive director of the Oregon School Activities Association. "They also help prevent slippage on the bases, especially home plate."

Last month, the NFHS posted an article from "Fastpitch Delivery", a publication of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, on their web site that deals with the transition to metal cleats that college coaches have dealt with for years. While not a scientific study, there are many anecdotal accounts of what these coaches have experienced, and some of that might translate to what we can expect to see in high school softball this year.

(Link to article: http://www.nfhs.org/core/contentmanager/uploads/Transitioning_to_metal_cleats.pdf )

I find it interesting that only one of the coaches quoted makes any mention of injury to the knee as a result of the cleats. That coach does not allow any of his players who might be recovering from a previous knee injury to use metal, as he seems to feel that the extra traction increases the possibility of reinjury to the weakened joint.

I would also note that, in general, college players will be bigger, stronger, more skilled and better trained than the typical high school player.

It appears that the 2008 season will be the test-bed for how this new rule plays out- and the high school players will be the guinea pigs.

If you go down to the high school section it has 34 posts on this same topic. If you go to J J Huddle they are beating this topic to death. You will get input from coaches on Huddle.