Pitching and Pitchers Discussion questions for pitchers who wear the face guard

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My friend and I were talking softball last night and the question of pitchers wearing the mask came up. (His daughter is a very good pitcher). I'm debating asking our board about making them mandatory for our pitchers . Would like some input from the girls who wear them ---has it changed any approach to your game ? has it been difficult to get used to wearing ? any girls who tryed it and just were not comfortable with it and gave up on it ? I'd like our girls to wear them on in the circle and at 3rd. MD

 

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Good question!!!! One of our parents got their optometrist to donate enough money for us to buy three for our team. We haven't sprung them on the girls yet, but will be shortly. I'd love to know if it is difficult to adjust to or not.

 

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My daughter wears face guard, it was hard getting use to at first and I thought about letting her throw w/o it. Changed my mind when I heard about girls getting hit while pitching, safety 1st. IMO

 

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My DD wears one and at first faught me like crazy. She said it was hot and bothered her. As she had no choice, she got used to it and now without thinking grabs it everytime. She also plays first and third and wears it. It has NOT changed her pitching at all and in fact made her more confident. She is only 12u but our organization is having more and more of the older girls wearing them and no questions asked.

Too many HOT bats and strong girls!!

Kelly

 

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Same as everyone else. She wears it pitching and playing third. She now doesn't even think about it. 12U. I gave her a few articles and cut out the article in the Akron paper about Abbey from the slammers and what happened to her in Bloomington. In. Any parent that goes on line and reads the game face web site would require them to have a mask no ? asked.

 

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Great thoughts and comments.... we are also considering making it mandatory for 10's, 12's and 14's.

 

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After hearing the awful stories, and some close calls this year, my DD will be wearing one next season. Wonder if when batting helmets were made mandatory if the girls complained?? Then came the face gaurd on the helmets. lol ;D Now the game face should be made mandatory equipment as well. Then they will wear them without thought. In the end its all about safety and protecting the girls from 300$ bats in a fast paced, great game!

 

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Our DD plays 3rd. She had a hard time getting used to it at first. Now she feels like she can play more agressively because she feels safer with it on. I would recommend for 3rd, 1st and pitcher to wear them.

 

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i just purchased a gameface for my daughter, at first she was afraid people would laugh, but i told her a little laugh is better than a broken jaw... she is trying to practice pitching with it now, and she says that its actually pretty comfortable,, she just complained that she would have to move her ponytail..lol

 

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My daughter played 10u and actually asked me to get a GameFace for her. Without hesitation i bought it. She actually throws harder because of the confidence she has wearing it. Will definately enjoy next year when she moves up to 12u knowing she has it and will wear it.

 

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My DD plays 10U and has worn the game face all year at 1st and 3rd and has only complained about it when it was really a hot day. Other than that she plays more aggressive and confident on those occasions of a hard hit line drive and never goes to the field without it.

 

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DD is 14. She asked for one last year after barely avoiding a line shot, so I bought it. Wore it twice while her teammates made jokes about it. :'( She then stopped wearing it & put it away until the begininng of this summer. I was not comfortable about her pitching & playing 3rd knowing she had the mask & wouldn't wear it. I finally told her, no mask = no pitching, no 3rd base. She wears it, but says it is uncomfortable on really hot days. She said it moves too much when she sweats. Other than that, she'll wear it without too much rumbling. She even voluntairly wore it when playing 2nd this past weekend. I'm curious if anyone has any suggestions for those who sweat alot. Is there anything you could put on the pads?

 

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Same as the rest of you. My dd played 14u this this year and we bought one for her after a line drive went flying by her face. She complained at first but got used to it. She also complained about about the padding and how it made her sweat too much. Acne is not good when your 14

 

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my dd had trouble breathing with a mouth piece and she on her own wanted a gameface for pitching....never has she had any problems with it...she has wore it every game since the day we got it ........personally i think it should be worn by the 1st-3rd base and pitchers.....very small price to pay for the safety of dd

 

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I'm a pitcher and my opinion on this is that their are so many injuries while playing softball that you should never even think about not wearing a face mask/guard. My friend once got hit in the face by a line drive and she had to go to the hospital and she couldn't even finish the game. I was pitching and she was playing shortstop. She broke her nose. Ever think about her being closer to the ball getting hit? Like 1st 3rd or pitching? She might of not been able to play for the rest of her life. After that I always wear a face mask when I'm pitching. If I get put in the game in the middle of the inning I always go get it from the dugout. I wear not a gameface but a face mask called bangerz. I usually wear a mouth guard, also. I like the bangerz because it doesn't get as hot as a gameface and it doesn't affect me at pitching at all. Thats my opinion on wearing a face mask!!

 

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My Daughter is a pitcher and first base and DOES where it, also my third base wears it to. And not to bash on anyone, but who is the adult/parent, she did not have a choice because she is 10 and I am her Father. She has wore it for two years now, she doesn't hesitate to get it out of her bag when she goes out on the field. She said at first it was kind of weird but she does not want to get hurt, her input was listened to, but I made her wear it. I would feel bad if I had listened to her at first not wanting to wear it and she was hit.

 

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thanks for all the input MD

 

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After our pitcher took one off the mask at Stingrays, we made it mandatory for pitchers and 3rd base. By the time we played at Disney, we never had to remind them once to wear it. It became a part of their uniform. Next year it will be mandatory again - no mask, no play!!

 

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Being a mom of a newly developing pitcher - thank you to the organizations and individual teams who have made it mandatory for their players to wear protective gear while pitching. As the kids get older, it becomes much more difficult for them to wear protective gear and still save face (pun intended) amonst their peers. As we see more and more pitchers (infielders in general) wearing protective gear, it is less of a joke to poke fun at the player who stands out because of the game face. Seeing more and more wearing the game face - just starts to look like the norm, just another piece of equipment - THANK YOU!

 

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My daughter wears one and got use to it quite easily . I think its a matter of not giving a girl any options ,...your wearing it ,...an thats just the way it is . She thinks nothing of wearing it now ,...just another pc of gear .