Gotta agree, beg borrow or steal one, try and let the kid play. DO NOT ever sacrafice safety though.
Had a similar situation in Dixie last year, 13-14 yr olds. Catcher comes out to warm up, and I notice he has ump shin guards on, no plate at the bottom. Kid said he caught three or four games already that year with them. We stopped the game, chewed on the coach a bit and our league president scrambled and found the kid a pair from our equipment storage so he could play. Two weeks later I call another game for them, and hes got the wrong shin guards on again. Coach got talked to, their league pres got a call from ours. Situation like that I put it all on the coach, his job to outfit his players.
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