[Striker991]

I hear you, Peter. When I first starting doing LL games, I tried to use the gear provided by the league. It didn't fit properly, and often it wasn't even in the equipment shed. In addition, as you said, they didn't provide cups and steel-toed shoes. So, after one game where a fast-pitch softball pitcher hit my instep twice in a row in the same place, I went out and bought my own gear. Aside from the usual thigh shots, I only received one bruise the remainder of the season, and that was because my shoulder pad had slipped and I waited to re-adjust it.

One note: The hint about keeping the face mask a little looser that I learned on one of these boards (might have been here) probably saved my neck (literally) a couple of times, too.

Thanks, all!