Chinstraps on the batters helmet?

....I was talking with a fellow who is very "into" fastpitch yesterday. The topic of facemasks came up, which led me to tell the story of my DD colliding at 1b with the defense 2b trying to get her out. Anyway, the collision drove DDs facemask into her teeth/braces and became one bloody mess. Yep, I got to see the 'ol, cut the braces off the teeth and then PULL them out of her lip! OUCH! Facemasks are a must, no doubt, but how can the chinstraps be geared a little better to avoid such a drawback? Has their been any modifications made TBR?

 

chin traps

Don't know of any modifications. The chin trap, as I understand it, was intended to keep the helmet on while running. Would the injury have been avoided if she was not wearing a chin trap. I'm not really a fan of it except in certain situations. They are not required in HS, only an option. Facemask are required. Sounds like maybe a freak thing where the collision was at just the right point to drive the mask into her mouth. Sounds very painful though.

 

Avoided is.....

...a good way to say "whos at fault". No chinstrap? Maybe the helmet flew off her head running down the line. ETC. It just makes sense to me TBR that a chinstrap should hold the helmet in place to AVOID all types of injuries. If this chinstrap on our DDs helmets were placed on a football helmet, .....here comes the lawyers. All I'm asking is with all of the much needed safety precautions being put in place, ...changing the bats pop, moving the pitchers mound back, chinstraps, ...OH, and Lord forbid, a kid, in a timeout, coming off the field due to a courtesy runner take her helmet off! They wear their head gear for a reason, why not make DAMN sure it stays in place?

 

Saw a similiar injury where a foul ball came off the bat into the mask and drove the mask back into the players teeth. Looked much worse than it actually was and certainly not to the level of the incident decribed.....but painful for the young lady nonetheless.

ERMS

 

The mask did its job.....

.....but why was it possible that the very product, the mask, be part of an injury? .....Look, I remember plastic chinstraps on my football helmet when I was 8. Then they went to leather or something like leather. Then the connectors on the helmet would pop off. Then they went to two connections onto the helmet. Get my point!!!!..its called progress in the right direction. In the 1940s, football players wore leather tobboggans without any facemask. The facemask in fastpitch is awesome, and maybe it should be mandated for the pitchers and the thirdbasemen. How far do we take safety in a sport?

 

You're right.....the mask did it's job. She kept all her teeth.
ERMS

 

Chinstrap may not be the problem

It has been a long time....But, thinking back to my football days I don't believe the chinstrap held the helmet in place as much as the tightness of the helmet. Generally speaking, I believe helmets on softball and baseball players have a lot of "wobble room". If you grab a football player by the facemask without a chin strap attached you would still find it difficult to move the helmet on the player's head. If you grab a softball player's facemask it will move all around the place. As long as kids wear helmets that aren't super snug I'm afraid these types of injuries are probably unavoidable. Now, let's see how successful we all are at getting these young ladies to wear a super snug batting helmet! I know mine won't....

 

chin

precisely what I was thinking in comparing a softball helmet / mask / strap to same for football. does the strap on a softball helmet fit under the chin or actually cupped on the chin as in football?

 

I Do believe !!

I do believe the proper fitting of the helmet is the key...as we all know our DD's heads are all different sizes, and in the past I have seen my DD putting on a helmet that she couldn't even see through,and it would turn 360 degrees on her head. There are spacers that you can buy to cause a tighter fit to your childs head. If a helmet is snug I don't believe it will come off by running, but in case of a collision there is always the chance that it might pop off,and leave the face vulnerable for injury !! Knowing schools budgets, our kids have to wear what they are given, remember this isn't the football program, it is girls softball,and there isn't much in the budget for our DD's !!!


--- GURU