Infield Masks

[KrisHur]

I'll never forget going to a team camp at a very strong D1 program, I *think* Anna was 13? The coaches had every girl there all throw their masks into one pile at the start of the camp,

Nopety, nope, nope, nope. I'd walk right down there and get her off the field. I'd tell that coach we're leaving, my daughter doesn't play for idiots who demands girls ditch safety equipment. Not wanting a broken nose or teeth or worse doesn't make you "afraid of the ball".

 

[docnsx01]

it is ironic that this post come up as just last night I had this conversation with my daughter who is leaving to play college ball on Tuesday and was asking about her mask.. she plays third base and has never been on filed without a mask at any level. she was never asked not wear or why she wears it.. she has had some concussions (like someone explained was warming up with team just long tossing in a llne and the girl in line next to her missed and hit my daughter causing her to miss some time.. ) she is aggressive at third and plays up. never a coach that has shown interest in recruitment asked about mask.. she sees it as part of her gear.. being in the medical field and having brother also a plastic surgeon it is in my opinion to wear as much protective gear she also wears the molded evo shield heart guard under her uniform that is not seen or known about why do we use elbow guards or now even the over mitts on the base path we need to protect our fingers and elbow but heart and face is not as imortant? . better safe than sorry .. I also don't understand the choices some universities or org. allow the kids to make a decision on a cage or no cage on the batting helmets.. to see anyone hit without at least the c-flap I don't understand.. I have heard they see the ball better and im like growing up you had a cage and was good enough to get recruited to a college and now you can't seee the ball.. if anything now is time to be more protected with the velocity and movement.. a facial injury besides career changing ( so called career ) but can be life altering and should be thought in that way. all this is a personal opinion and at end of day is a familial decision and wish everyone to stay safe both on and off the field ..

 

[ANNASDAD]

Nopety, nope, nope, nope. I'd walk right down there and get her off the field. I'd tell that coach we're leaving, my daughter doesn't play for idiots who demands girls ditch safety equipment. Not wanting a broken nose or teeth or worse doesn't make you "afraid of the ball".

Hey-hey-hey, trust me I get it! That was what seemed like a lifetime ago!

 

[quincy]

Several posts have made a good point about practice.

Not only should you practice with what you are playing with, or without, but practice does not always get the 100% concentration that games get and they can get chaotic at times.

 

[MNDad]

Be crazy to not wear one at pitcher or 3b. Other positions are optional. I tell my 14u team corners and p are must, 2 and short ok it with your parents first.

I’ll never understand the logic of mandating masks at some positions and not others. A level pitchers are going to have far better fielding skills and faster reaction times than a C level second baseman. A mandate should apply to every position or it should be like today optional at every position.

 

[CoachJD]

I’ll never understand the logic of mandating masks at some positions and not others. A level pitchers are going to have far better fielding skills and faster reaction times than a C level second baseman. A mandate should apply to every position or it should be like today optional at every position.

If you don't see why a mask might be more important and necessary for a pitcher than a center fielder, I don't think anybody is gonna be able to help you figure it out.

 

[CoachJD]

I'm in upstate NY as a coach and as a HS/travel official, and it's baffling to me why the BASE COACHES are required to wear the plastic helmets/caps when in their boxes but we can't make the girls wear face masks. And I get the liability issue, etc, but who all are playing the games here? Certainly not the coaches (contrary to their opinion) - if they aren't paying attention, that's their own fault. I've base coached multiple games where I've had to duck, dodge, dive from foul balls - if I got hit, that'd be my issue for not paying attention.

For my 16U rec team (which is mostly made up of younger girls - so it's like a 12-14U team in a 16U league), masks for all infielders and the pitcher are MANDATORY. This is my team rule (not a league rule). I don't care if the girl plays varsity, travel, what the case is. It's my rule. If a girl/parent doesn't agree with it, then they have 3 options: 1.) Outfield/catcher, 2.) Bench, or 3.) Dismissal. My comment about it is, "Just because I have team insurance doesn't mean I feel like using it because of your lack of critical thinking skills." Surprisingly, in 7 years of coaching, I can't recall a single instance where a girl/parent b*tched about having to wear a mask. What happens when they go to their school team is out of my control, but when I DO have control, this is how it is.

Base coaches wearing helmets isn't an NFHS requirement. That must be a state association policy. I'm assuming those helmets have safety certification, so it's easy for the association to mandate them.

I'm not interested in debating whether a coach can be paying complete attention and still be unable to get out of the way of a line drive in HS softball, but Mike Coolbaugh couldn't, and I'm betting he was paying attention at the time.

Have you consulted with a lawyer about your mandate? Because all the discussions I've had with decision-makers in my state are pretty much the same. If you mandate a mask, you're implicitly endorsing the mask as "safe." So when a girl wears a mask, gets hit, and still gets hurt, now you've opened yourself up to a lawsuit. If I tell my players they have to wear a mask and that particular mask malfunctions, I (and our school) don't have the protection of a certifying body.

I know masks are a good idea. I know the players should wear them. I wish all of my players would. But until there's safety certification, there's just no way we can mandate it.

 

[MNDad]

If you don't see why a mask might be more important and necessary for a pitcher than a center fielder, I don't think anybody is gonna be able to help you figure it out.

I understand why people believe it, I just don’t buy it. Most kids get hurt in practice so position doesn’t matter in those cases. In other instances a players age and skill are far greater risk factors than position.

 

[bmakj]

I understand why people believe it, I just don’t buy it. Most kids get hurt in practice so position doesn’t matter in those cases. In other instances a players age and skill are far greater risk factors than position.

Reaction time on a screamer line drive directly at P and directly at CF are vastly different, 35 feet after stride and follow through lets say for HS P vs 140 feet say for typical to shallow CF, that is 4x the Rx time for CF. not even taking into account ball leaving bat with same velocity will be moving significantly faster at 35 feet than it will at 140 feet (air resistance slows ball), so damage will be greater in case of a ball hitting the player closer.

 

[Beeg]

DD went to a tryout where no one wore their face mask. She's 14U and there were 16U and 18U trying out at the same time. Yet, at the start of the tryout, no one was wearing a face mask, including DD. I walked up to DD, handed her the face mask with my you-put-this-on-no-question-asked stare, and walked off. She reluctantly put it on. Guess what? As soon as she put hers on, several girls walked to their bags and got theirs also.

DD is a pitcher and a short stop. I will never let her play without her mask.

A high school pitcher at her previous district took one to her face, which broke to several pieces. She had to have face restructure surgeries to fix her face. A simple mask could prevent that. Why not?