INMHO it is probably more of experienced parents that do not enforce masks. I know many parents believe that defending yourself is a part of the game. And accidents do happen. And I agree that the lesser skilled players should be protected. One of my DD friends is a pitcher at a pac 10 school and in the first game this past fall she took a line drive to the face and had 40 fractures. This kid throws in the high 60-70 range. The bones in her face between her eyes and the bridge of her nose are still healing so she wears a ******** mask to protect that area. she came back better than ever and is like 20-5 for her school as a true freshman. there is an inherent danger to a pitcher or corner infielder, the fact is that there has always been that danger in fastpitch. Even before there were masks. Yes bats and balls are hotter as well as the everyday velocity of pitchers has increased. That in and of itself increases risk. However, I believe as a parent of a kid who wants to play at a high level must learn to pitch and play with the respect the game deserves. As a pitcher one of the things that drives the point of location home, is the fact that "if I put down the middle I could eat it". Now that should be respected and not feared. If you are afraid to throw down the middle chances are you will make enough mistakes getting the ball driven back at you would not be a problem. I am afraid that teaching the FEAR of getting hit takes away from the learning to play this game effectively with respect for the game. I am sure that at some point it will become mandatory till a certain age. Until then, however, you will have coaches and parents that disagree with masks. There is still a strong contingent of NCAA coaches who do not recruit "masks". While you can make the argument that if a player plays as well with a mask as a player with out one, what is the difference? The difference is the PERCEIVED mental strength of the player who wears a mask. If that player has the fear of getting hit what else is she afraid of?
I am not an advocate either way I see both sides. My DD did wear a mask until recently and she actually feels better about her game now that she does not wear it. She said she feels like it actually held her back to some degree. I do not know to what degree she is referring to, but I know that since removing the mask she has become infinately tougher. Now I am not naive enough to believe that to be all due too the mask. Most of that probably comes from MATURITY any way. I do know that several of the NCAA D1 schools that are looking at her have all said that the would rather not see a mask. Even the coach of the girl that got hit. Once she has the ok from the Doctor I would say she will take her mask off too. But, that is only speculation. My point is this. This is a game that should be fun for all. The kids that I see having the most fun are the ones that have a deep rooted passion for this game and play it hard. While other types of kids find it fun as well, the ones that have the deep passion are the ones that put in all the extras to play as high of level of ball as they can muster. Whether or not a kid wears a mask should not affect the ability to have fun. At some point, however, she might need to prepare herself for life with out a mask. Especially if she is really talented and the thought process of college coaches does not change. In the last few years there has been a couple of pitchers at the D1 level take line drives to the face. Probably the most notable was Alicia Hollowell from Arizona. She got hit earlier in her spring season missed four weeks and came back to win a national title. Without a wearing a mask. It was scary but at the same time made her a better PITCHER. It made her pause and evaluate the critical importance of executing each and every pitch and it's location.
