In field protection

Enka- Sorry for taking your comment about CC the wrong way. It just sounded to me you were thinking CC was doing something that wasn't fair. My bad.

However, your comment about me not wanting to protect the young ladies is way off base. My point is that since we aren't taking the same precautions for the boys, then why are we sometimes "over protecting" the girls. (I don't have a son, but I promise parents of boys care just the same about their kid's safety as we do our DD's). Instead of trying to protect the girls from every type of injury in the game, why don't we as coaches of these young ladies teach the correct fundamentals including bunting, baserunning, playing the corners, etc? If the coaches don't know these fundamentals, then if you have your teams best interest at heart, there is nothing wrong with attending a coaching clinic or 2 during the year and/or purchasing videos and books to learn howto teach these fundamentals correctly.

The game should be made safe as possible, but if we aren't careful, we will be requiring the girls to wear body armor before you know it. Some safety things are good (such as the facemask on the helmets) but I feel with the girls being taught the proper fundamentals and proper ways to play the game, the risk of injury is greatly reduced.

 

Protection

The point was and had nothing to do with CC. The point was that with the athletes that CC brings to the field, then some of the weaker teams they play need protection and its not a girl vs boys thing. I brought up CC because everybody or most everybody on this board can relate to the quality program they bring to the field each and every year and by using them try to make the comparison of weaker teams vs a top notch program like CC. It is just a matter of fact. I don't look to see what baseball rules are because they don't apply to softball and therefore I see no point. I also did not bring up legal or illegal equipment. Just saying that I have watched many a HS team and some are very very good and some are very very lacking in fundamentals. Those are the ones that will get hurt. Not trying to over protect but as I stated previously my DD plays in college and I would love it if she wore a face mask. Why? because the better athletes and better coaches teach all phases of the game, including how to pitch inside. If you are not athletic enough or aware of where you are at the plate or how a pitcher might pitch you or how a coach might want his/her pitcher to lay claim to the plate then lets give them protection. Not sure why you would be so opposed to protecting our young student athletes....[/QUOTE]

I am absolutely supportive of face masks on helmet and feel it should be used on baseball and softball. I have seen terrible injuries occurr and they had nothing to do with poor technique. One of the best players I have seen in the state fouled a ball off right into her face and fractured several facial bones, another was bunting, and still another was on the base paths and was hit. As far as pitchers wearing mask, I think that is up to the parents or the child if they want to wear them. Moving the rubber back to 43 feet in HS ball is probably a good idea but probably the younger kids 10U to 14U are receiving many of the injuries. I think we maybe a little better off today than the past since rec. ball is not played as much by the better players now that so many travel teams have developed. It used to scare me to death to have to play kids in rec league that had little if any training playing softball. As many of U remember, U had to play these kids in infield and outfield and every other inning even before U had time to help them learn to protect. I left Mint Hill rec. league because of the fears of having someone get hurt and the fact serious ball players could not advance because of the need to spend great deals of time teaching all kids to do well. Hey I enjoyed helping all the kids but most had no desire to play beyond the rec environment and my daughter and others on her team did. Getting long winded but basically I am not a fan of dictating rules and regulations, not a fan of liberals who think we should past laws because we do not want to be held responsible or do not want to hold others responsible. However, FACEMASK are excellent to protect the lives and faces of all the wonderful kids that play softball and baseball. Small price to pay!

 

Blues-

What are your thoughts regarding the new HS rules about scratching out the batters box and also how to prevent neck injuries caused by the facemask when sliding head first?

 

Some rules are just downright silly....No doubt. I for one don't really advocate sliding headfirst but I have seen football players dive headfirst and not really sure how they land that keeps them from getting hurt. We slide headfirst on many occasions this summer to avoid tags and had no injuries...I guess its like any other equipment change. You get used to it and how to make it work for you.

 

I am glad I was able to clear that one up ... I guess my my point is that due to the lack of quality coaching in way too many HS programs or the feeder programs you are going to get the weaker players at the Varsity level. Just wanted to protect them as much as we can. Of course after watching some of LBlues pitchers throw as hard as they did this summer I might not be opposed to full body armour either...lol..

 

Masks etc

First Enka U are getting Deep here talking about the Blues pitching! Ha Ha. Thanks for the compliment! Bmac Scratching out the batter box is fine with me, honestly I see few umpires that enforce the box anyway. Not managing the batter box really can hurt your junk pitchers and I guess if U wipe out the back of the box, could bother power pitchers. Again umpires usually let it go. Sliding, honestly should always slide with head up but I know it is tough. We have been fortunate to not have had anyone hurt sliding into a base this summer and fall. We also try to teach to go to inside or outside of bag if at all possible to avoid many of the issues with ankles and face. We utilize the hook slide and glide by slide when ever possible and it has really helped our success ratio and cut down on injuries. Not sure I have added anything but U know me I like to talk to much. Get well Enka!

 

I don't mind the face mask requirement on batting helmets. I think the statement that poor bunting technique is the reason for the injuries is being overblown. I have seen two all conference players in the nw4a go down with injuries where they were swinging and fouled an inside pitch off that went directly into the face. One avoided serious injury, but was scary with the amount of blood at the time, while the other player missed 2 weeks with an eye injury. Poor technique was not involved, they happened to swing late and underneath an inside pitch and it shot it up into their face. Too many people are pointing the finger that hs coaches are not teaching proper technique. I will argue that may happen in some situations, but most coaches I know are much more qualified than is being given credit.

 

Bunting would not be the only situation that wearing a face mask would help prevent injury, but the main one. Foul tips on an inside pitch would not be as frequent as the bunt I think that was the point. As for the poor feeder programs not teaching the necessary skills and then showing up at the HS level unprepared is a reality. And unfortunately there are more less than desirable HS coaches out there.than you might think. A lot of time its whoever will take the job. This is not to take away from the good ones that are out there but this is not the standard but the exception. If your DD played for a good HS coach as mine did then consider yourself the minority not the majority.

 

Batting helmet masks for softball are currently very poorly designed. They are very bulky and heavy. Their weight constantly pulls the helmet down in front. Vision is restricted. They are definitely a case of overkill and new designs and testing need to be done. Lighter materials could be used. Less material could be used. The openings in a softball mask don’t need to be small enough to exclude baseballs.



Swinging and tipping the ball into the face rarely happens. Bunting with improper bat angle is the most common cause of the ball being deflected into the face. It is crazy to shrug this off as inadequate coaching. Yes, coaches who fail to teach it properly put their players at greater risk. But this type of injury can happen to any player at any level regardless of how well they’ve been trained.



Some of the best coaches out there are HS coaches. Good and bad coaches exist everywhere. They certainly are not exclusive to school ball or travel ball or anywhere else.

:imagestor

 

Would moving the rubber back 3 feet help protect the pitchers or give the hitters more of a chance to see the pitch. College Pitchers are very good, High School Pitchers are very average a lot of them would have even more trouble at 43 feet. Now moving it back for Travel ball I would agree with, becuase they can handle the distance and most of the hitters can hit it hard. Having the pitchers wear mask is a tough issue. I don,t think anything is bad if it helps protect the kids. But on the other hand we don,t want to turn FastPitch into SissyBall. People like Fast Action.