I don't know if you your dd is a pitcher or plays the corners truth, but I would like to know just until I can understand you view point.
I have spent a couple of hours each week at pitching lessons with my dd for about 4 years. Motion and technique is all that we work on. We don't worry about speed, it is just breaking down each part of the body and the motion to obtain the desired results, which is either striking the batter out or making her hit it where we want the ball to go.
I only have the equivalent of a Masters degree in statistics but I would believe that even if it was required of every player on a 12 player team to wear armor (chest protector) at $90.00, and a game face at $50.00 that would total about $140.00. Now let’s replace all our composite bats with wood and aluminum bat, at and average of $200.00 a piece (and that is cheap bats) and my dd carries 2 or 3 bats depending on the weather. Wow: I figure I can save about $440.00 per player just staying with the game face. That is a saving of $5280.00 per team. I think we will stay with the game face.
If your pitcher is finishing knees bend and glove on the ground and is in a perfect defensive position I would believe that they are playing slow pitch. The better pitchers have a great follow thru with their pitch which leaves them in an unusual position. If they go defensive too soon they will pitch high, and the speed will drop off. There will be no way under the sun to throw an over the top drop ball, and even the change up has a follow thru that will leave them somewhat open to a hard hit ball.
The safety equipment is the evolution of the game. The same as seat belts were in the car. Accidents (symptom) are a result of the invention of the auto (which I would assume would be the disease) so would you propose that we go back to horse and buggy, or simply try to treat the symptom to improve society. The same is what the majority of parents and coaches are doing with the safety equipment in softball. Weather it is mandatory for your dd on a specific team would determine if she played on that team or not, that is your decision.