Spazsdad wrote:JCates wrote:.I just do not want to have a young girl seriously injured if it can be avoided without compromising the game by wearing an inexpensive mask. If you want to take this to that lame morally superior argument because I care for and want to protect a young girl from being injured go for it.
By the way I have never voted liberal in my life, but I do evaluate each case and establish my views based on what I believe is best. I have never looked at this as a morally superior view...I just have seen kids get hit, and read cases of kids getting hit and I feel wearing the mask is a wise choice. It will not compromise the game and it will protect a girl from potential injury. What harm is there is that?
Since you are so concerned about player safety I will ask again, what type of bat does your kid swing? I would say your answer must be a single wall aluminum or wood, not a composite. Correct? Or would that compromise the game.
Also regarding the statements that there is no stigma attached to wearing a mask what do you base that on? Because you saw one D1 player wearing it? How many top level Gold and College coaches have you talked to about this topic? I would venture to say not many because there are many that flat out say they do not look favorably, to put it nicely, on players that wear masks.
Spaz...she swings a composite that is legal by the rules. Should the governing bodies change the rules to some other standard I will comply with no issues. Everyone would be under the same standard with the bat so there would be no competitive difference anyway. Regardless of what DD now swings, if I were to have her change to say, a wood bat, others would still be swinging the composites until rules restrict them. What does your DD swing? Do college and Gold level coaches want players that swing a wood or aluminum bat for fastpitch softball? I stated that the masks are making there way into the D-1 level of play. Unless I am mistaken, I did not state that there was a stigma, I stated a case where they are making their way to the D-1 level of play as others have done. As for the college player using the mask, that was in response to a previous post. I simply stated I saw the use of the mask during a D-1 college game at a time when this discussion was going on. I have, however, sent some emails to college coaches to get their views so I do attempt decent research despite the view of anonlooker.
Regardless, if you look at my posts, I have repeatedly stated my comments directed toward the younger ages where there are multiple levels of girls facing each other in the same age group. In 12U for instance, you have those players that you know willl be gold level players knocking the daylights out of a ball when there is an "average" level player on the other team playing at pitcher, 1st, and 3rd. Unfortunately, a lot of these parents think their DD is much better than she is and she has no mask to protect her.
I am not looking for a negative battle with this discussion. I just want the younger girls protected from injury. It is not being moraly superior, I simply care about these young ladies and am trying to look beyond the time they play softball. I think even you will agree that the majority of these young ladies will not play at the gold level or college level. I do honestly believe that now that the technology with masks have improved it will not hinder a great players ability for a scholarship. Coaches at that level have to win to keep their jobs and if there is a great player that can help that coach reach that goal that also chooses to wear a mask, I think she will get that scholarship regardless of whether or not she wears a mask.
