USA Today's Sports Section

Let Each Person Decide for Themself...

It seems hard to believe requiring a mask will happen in the near future, if at all. These rules have a way of trickling down from college to HS to TB (take for example the return of metal spikes in 18U and now 16U after then returned in HS).

I can understand both sides of the argument, but why does a sanctioning organization such as ASA need to regulate all safety equipment? If a parent feels a mask, heart guard, or body armour is necessary, then let them deal with their child directly. To force someone else to wear one of these items if they decide they don't want to is wrong. It is that player's (and their family's) choice to decide how to best protect themselves.

 

my son actually wore a flack vest type thing when he started playing 10U baseball. I did it for two reasons... protection and so if he really got pegged it wouldnt make him afraid of the ball. It worked!

 

I would like to see the masks made mandatory for pitchers. I've seen a lot of them in use and they don't seem to have a negative impact on the game.

They're inexpensive ($20 at Grand Slam, Raleigh).

They're an excellent tool when teaching kids to handle hot grounders; you don't have to worry about their face.

When the helmet cages were being discussed there was this same kind of controversy. How many faces have been saved since? And it's not even an issue anymore.

Unless we switch to wooden bats it's extremely risky facing the powerful batters of today.

 

Softball247 wrote:
It seems hard to believe requiring a mask will happen in the near future, if at all. These rules have a way of trickling down from college to HS to TB (take for example the return of metal spikes in 18U and now 16U after then returned in HS).

I can understand both sides of the argument, but why does a sanctioning organization such as ASA need to regulate all safety equipment? If a parent feels a mask, heart guard, or body armour is necessary, then let them deal with their child directly. To force someone else to wear one of these items if they decide they don't want to is wrong. It is that player's (and their family's) choice to decide how to best protect themselves.
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I agree what Softball247 wrote, why do we have to force everyone to wear a mask if they don't want to? It should be left up to the individual. Just because someones DD got hit, you want to make it mandatory. What if she took a line drive off the knee and got crippled. Does that mean special knee devices have to be mandatory. I understand the positives in wearing a mask, but why do we have to all force everyone to wear one when there are such few injuries on line drives to the face. My DD took a bad hop to the face playing 2nd. She wore a mask for a few months, then discarded it. Let the parents or DD make the decision, Don't make it mandatory.

 

Softball247 wrote:
It seems hard to believe requiring a mask will happen in the near future, if at all. These rules have a way of trickling down from college to HS to TB (take for example the return of metal spikes in 18U and now 16U after then returned in HS).

I can understand both sides of the argument, but why does a sanctioning organization such as ASA need to regulate all safety equipment? If a parent feels a mask, heart guard, or body armour is necessary, then let them deal with their child directly. To force someone else to wear one of these items if they decide they don't want to is wrong. It is that player's (and their family's) choice to decide how to best protect themselves.
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I agree what Softball247 wrote, why do we have to force everyone to wear a mask if they don't want to? It should be left up to the individual. Just because someones DD got hit, you want to make it mandatory. What if she took a line drive off the knee and got crippled. Does that mean special knee devices have to be mandatory. I understand the positives in wearing a mask, but why do we have to all force everyone to wear one when there are such few injuries on line drives to the face. My DD took a bad hop to the face playing 2nd. She wore a mask for a few months, then discarded it. Let the parents or DD make the decision, Don't make it mandatory.

 

Better be sure....

Last Fall my DD was hit on the thumb by a pitch in a game. We were playing in Greensboro and I took her to Moses Cone thinking the thumb broken. When we got there another girl was already in the ER from the same tournament having her brain scanned from a shot to the head with a ball. She had a concussion, double vision, and a wicked headache. It was scary. People who know us know we've already been through an ACL, and once you've been through something like that you thank GOD it wasn't a head injury. I'm all for choice when it comes to equipment and especially a Game Face, but a little common sence goes a long way. JMHO.

 

I view it like the seat belt / infant car seat laws. Some people aren't smart enough to make that decision for themselves, let alone their children. Accidents happen, regardless how talented or prepared one may be.

 

uh oh...

 

Uh, the reasoning that someone isn't smart enough to decide for themselves sounds like the government philosophy of present day Cuba...