Pitchers who show their weakness (by wearing a mask).
- Thread starter lewam3
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My daughter is a sophomore in high school was in at 3rd base for a bunt and got drilled in the face with as hard a ball as I have ever seen hit in a girls game. She had her mask on and was uninjured and stayed in the game unfazed. Without the mask her entire season probably would have been over and possibly some reconstructive surgery.
There should never be a debate on wearing a face mask. Please provide one good reason why, especially pitchers, should NOT wear a face mask. It only takes one line drive to cause such unnecessary damage, or undo years of orthodontics and thousands of dollars spent, or to end a career. I see absolutely no need to take that chance. I applaud the college pitchers for putting their health, safety, and career ahead of what some consider "weak".
CoachB25
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My daughter was hit in the face two times. Both times, she refused to wear a mask. That second time was the real deal and so, we didn't give her an option after that. If anyone wants to make this some type of macho things, walk out to your dd laying on the ground with her eyes rolled and stand there hoping that the ambulance get there fast.
Hey tough guy, we going to see you in 2 weeks?
wow
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Love seeing Barnhill with the mask. She is sending the right message!
All I am referring to Julie, is the fact that it may swing the opinions of those coaches who won't recruit girls or young women because they choose to wear a mask.
3ballbratz
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First off, I am a supporter of face masks. But wouldn't a player be more likely to be severely injured if they were hit in the top or side of the head ? Or let's say a line drive to the throat or heart ? Which is worse ? Just food for thought.
FastBat
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My daughter is only 12, but has been wearing her face mask since she was probably 6 years old. Thankfully, it's second nature for her to wear it now. One big reason I make her wear the mask is, at 12 years old, I have paid for braces for her twice. Once when she was 8-9 years old for cosmetic reasons, and currently 11-13 years old (off next year). I will not be paying for anymore braces, so she will wear that mask, if she wants to play softball. If she doesn't get recruited because of the mask, I don't care. I'm glad the big girls are wearing them.
Good conversation starter 3ballbratz.... My DD wears her Evoshield chest guard no matter where she is playing. Are these girls looked at as being weak also? Or do we just not hear about a debate over chest guards because they are practically invisible underneath a jersey? I've seen players miss a pop fly and get hit in the head and line drives to the throat, etc.... how do we go about protecting in that situation? Plenty to consider....
Linedrive21
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Perhaps I'll start a thread: " Parents of pitchers who lack the intelligence to have their DD wear a mask ".......anyone who allows their daughter to the circle w/out a mask is too ignorant to have a daughter talented enough to be a pitcher....here's a thought for those parents who don't demand a mask: Go out there yourself and let a hitter drill some line drives back at you ....
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tankerlab
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Nicely said! And in the earlier post about college coaches not wanting pitchers that wear a mask they could always play for Florida or Oaklahoma... and yes this post should be referring to the weakness being not intelligent enough to wear a mask...
Pacerdad57
Member
the need for the corners and pitchers to wear a mask shouldn't even be up for questions. these positions are at times way less than 40 feet from the batter. (the pitcher every single friggin pitch).
there is no reaction time left at this distance. i have actually had people tell me that their reaction times will increase as they get use to balls being hit hard right at them at this distance. unless you're talking about suddenly getting superhuman reaction times from somewhere, you're crazy. i crunched the numbers for different age groups, bat/pitch speeds, and bat exit speeds when i was a part of the facemask committee with Coach JWB. you cannot possibly build up a reaction to these split second returns from the box. i may not be a Dr., but i'm pretty damned sure there is a maxed out reaction time per person depending upon their neurological/muscular makeup that cannot be surpassed with training. and some are bound to have much slower reaction times than others.
just realize that the exit speeds from the box are sooo fast when you're thirty five or so feet away that most players will not be able to get their hand up to try top stop or deflect the ball, a vast majority of the times that it is blocked or deflected is nothing more than luck.
sadly there will not be any mandatory use of a mask until a national standard of what stress, strains and yield strengths would be required so that they could be labeled and the mrf's would not be open to such huge liabilities. this will probably never happen in the time span of anyone's daughter who reads this board. if no national standard exists, not national rule for mandatory use will ever exist.
soooooo, let's all just do the smart thing and as responsible parents make our DD's use this piece of equipment if for nothing else, as a precautionary measure. i'm sure you'll feel better if it bends a mask rather than breaks your DD's face.
JMHO
there is no reaction time left at this distance. i have actually had people tell me that their reaction times will increase as they get use to balls being hit hard right at them at this distance. unless you're talking about suddenly getting superhuman reaction times from somewhere, you're crazy. i crunched the numbers for different age groups, bat/pitch speeds, and bat exit speeds when i was a part of the facemask committee with Coach JWB. you cannot possibly build up a reaction to these split second returns from the box. i may not be a Dr., but i'm pretty damned sure there is a maxed out reaction time per person depending upon their neurological/muscular makeup that cannot be surpassed with training. and some are bound to have much slower reaction times than others.
just realize that the exit speeds from the box are sooo fast when you're thirty five or so feet away that most players will not be able to get their hand up to try top stop or deflect the ball, a vast majority of the times that it is blocked or deflected is nothing more than luck.
sadly there will not be any mandatory use of a mask until a national standard of what stress, strains and yield strengths would be required so that they could be labeled and the mrf's would not be open to such huge liabilities. this will probably never happen in the time span of anyone's daughter who reads this board. if no national standard exists, not national rule for mandatory use will ever exist.
soooooo, let's all just do the smart thing and as responsible parents make our DD's use this piece of equipment if for nothing else, as a precautionary measure. i'm sure you'll feel better if it bends a mask rather than breaks your DD's face.
JMHO
I've offered to coaches/parents that are skeptical about the usefulness of a mask....to hit them line drives as hard as I can, not from 43' but say about 34' (A combined distance of decent leap by the pitcher and a hitter up in the box) Oh by the way they have to stand on one foot.
Surprisingly, no one has taken me up on the offer. Chicken?
Yet that is exactly what we expect our daughters to do game in and game out. A mask protects a large portion of the face. I hope you never know the fear of waiting 7-days for the swelling to go down in order to determine if your dd will ever see out of that eye again.
Just wear a mask. All of us will sleep better.
Surprisingly, no one has taken me up on the offer. Chicken?
Yet that is exactly what we expect our daughters to do game in and game out. A mask protects a large portion of the face. I hope you never know the fear of waiting 7-days for the swelling to go down in order to determine if your dd will ever see out of that eye again.
Just wear a mask. All of us will sleep better.
tankerlab
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I just sent this to Assistant Commissioner Roxanne Price who oversees the sport of softball for OHSAA.
I guess Missouri cares more about their student athletes...
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...8.html&usg=AFQjCNGKNCNVJTvql2OYeX6_5f1JyNwj4g
I guess Missouri cares more about their student athletes...
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...8.html&usg=AFQjCNGKNCNVJTvql2OYeX6_5f1JyNwj4g
Spartandad
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All it takes is for something to happen once and you'll have a lifetime of regret. Someone is going to sue ASA or one of the sanctioning bodies. May not be found liable but defending a lawsuit is expensive.
Thanks for doing that. I believe in freedom of choice:
You wear one, you pitch.
You don't wear one, you can play outfield.
24GahannaLadyLions7
Well-Known Member
Just saw my first live comebacker in the Finesse/stingrays 12U game yesterday at Gapss.... scariest thing I have ever seen in softball-- all of mine will always have a mask on whether pitching or in the infield or you don't play
