Mask or No Mask

[BobInMadison]

The point is, some people read DFP to get information.

I used to think it was no big deal if my DD 3 wore a mask or not. She asked for a mask. We got a crappy mask, and she eventually stopped wearing it. After reading DFP, and the horror stories, we reached an agreement. I would get her a nice new Rip It, and she would wear it. Since then there have been numerous times she was glad to be wearing a mask, and one time she was extremely glad a fielder was wearing a mask.

Somewhere out there is a parent of a 10u or 12u player wondering if his or her DD should wear a mask. That parent reads DFP for advice, and gets informed opinions. Maybe impolite, maybe Alinskyite, but at least informed.

If that parent reads DFP and runs out to get a mask, good. It won't hurt anyone, and might possibly save an injury.

 

[sleepwalker]

When I watched men's fastpitch softball in the 70's, there were some pitchers that didn't wear a glove. I don't remember seeing catchers wearing chest protectors. Many catchers didn't wear shin guards. There wasn't a batter that wore a batting helmet.

When I read the "View Men's Fastpitch Live Online" thread and watched the youtube videos, I noticed that every catcher was wearing chest protectors and shin guards. Every batter was wearing a batting helmet and the runners were leaving their helmets on while running the bases.

Were the men's softball players of the 1970's better athletes than the 2016 men's softball players and have better fundamentals? Are the men's hitters so much weaker in 2016, that they need batting helmets to protect themselves because they are no longer athletic enough to avoid getting out of the way of a pitched ball coming towards their head? You decide.

I propose that the game of softball is a dynamic game that changes. In the men's fastpitch game, I propose that the softball got a little heavier and a little harder when the ball was changed to some of these synthetic leathers and coated softballs. With some of these ball coatings and synthetic leathers, the age of the pitcher not wearing a glove disappeared. I am guessing that the harder softball made it less attractive to take one off of the chest for catchers, or off of the head for hitters. I am guessing that the athlete adapted to the change in the game of softball and not that the game of softball changed to the quality of athlete.

If the men's fastpitch game can change from no batting helmet to batting helmet over the years, I don't see why the women's game can't change from no mask to mask if the female athletes recognize that the softball is getting harder or the bats are getting hotter or the coaches are making the corners play closer to the hitter or the mound is moved back 3 feet when the pitcher is 13 years old, during the pitchers developmental years, or the strike zone is getting squeezed.

 

[Greenmonsters]

I suspect that the trends are due more to what is happening at the lower levels than what is happening at the top.

Is the hitting getting better/staying the same and/or the pitching staying the same/getting worse? Same or different answer by level? Any thoughts on future trends?

 

[JAD]

As more and more college level players are wearing masks, the stigmatism that only weak players wear masks is disappearing. My DD stopped wearing one at 16U, but there are times when I still wish she had it on! By the time she took off the mask she had developed very good control and she knows when she hangs a pitch "fat" down the middle of the plate and reacts accordingly.

 

[Pop time 44]

Is there really people who are so narrow minded to think a girl with a mask is somehow less of a player? Wow.


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[junkball]

So is the argum- I mean - discussion, about wearing a mask in the circle, or other positions on the field?

As far as the circle...I have zero problem or think anything, positive or negative, about a girl that does or does not wear one while pitching. YMMV. Great thing is that right now everyone has the freedom to choose. I choose to have my DD wear one while pitching. I am however disappointed when I hear parents get on their soapbox about another pitcher not wearing a mask - it's not their kid and not their liability.

I do think it's a little ridiculous when the outfielders wear them while playing for what it billed as an "A level" team. Can't think of any real A level players that are risking their faces playing 150' away from the batted ball. And really don't see the need for 2B or SS either.

<ducking for cover>

 

[canyonjoe]

Is there really people who are so narrow minded to think a girl with a mask is somehow less of a player? Wow.


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While I don't think they are necessary at every position I haven't heard anyone say that they have a problem with someone wearing a mask.

 

[Lenski]

While I don't think they are necessary at every position I haven't heard anyone say that they have a problem with someone wearing a mask.

Correct. Not one person has said they had a problem with someone wearing a mask. There are some people on here that love to blow things out of proportion.

 

[YOCOACH]

Nope. I find it a bit humorous however that you are seeing more of the top D1 pitchers and corners wearing them today because their coaches are trying to protect their "investments" even though you still have the "top" TB coaches telling their players 'you shouldn't wear them. Most college coaches think you're not secure in your fielding skills if you wear them.'

 

[obbay]

Is there really people who are so narrow minded to think a girl with a mask is somehow less of a player? Wow.

Yes, and some of them are college coaches.

I think it was in 2015 there was a confidential survey of college softball coaches (someone on this board posted a password-protected link that I can't access from my work computer) in which many of them anonymously voiced their dislike for the mask. A few years ago, the Georgetown coach published an article criticizing the use of the mask as an unnecessary crutch for weak players who should just "learn to field their position".

Last year, Carol Bruggeman, Executive Director NFCA, wrote a supposedly unbiased article (In a publication directed to players) asking the question "is the mask good or bad for the game?" in which her thinly veiled prejudice against the mask was revealed in a one-sided attempt to address the "issue".

As long as there is resistance from the top to this benign piece of equipment, there will be stigma and as long as there is stigma, there will be no shortage of parents who push for making it a requirement. The good thing is as more high-level D1 players appear wearing them, it becomes less of a novelty and more of a piece of equipment like an elbow pad.