Face masks?

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

This article was in yesterday's online USA Today:

Kentucky becomes first state to mandate additional face protection in softball | USA Today High School Sports

What say you?

MTD, Sr.

[Mountaincoach]

Bravo!! Very proud of my state's high school association. We had at least two very publicized hits this past season. One almost ended the career (And could have possibly ended her life) of a college signee. The kid was apparently very much against wearing a mask, but changed her tune completely after she recovered. The other bounced off the facemask of a pitcher who was able to throw the very next pitch. Both videos were very frightening to watch. They mandated the masks for pitcher and the two corners.

[ASA/NYSSOBLUE]

We all know who here is going to fuss and fume about this....and I say foo on them- I always feel better when I see at least the P wearing one, and better when the corners are wearing them. I can't imagine someone opposing mandating a relatively inexpensive, proven available safety device, simply because it is "overreaching", and that it should be "personal choice".

Bravo to Kentucky, and I expect other jurisdictions to soon follow their lead, until NFHS wakes up and smells the coffee....and maybe USA JO also...

I would not be surprised to see NY (non-NFHS) to do so sooner than later - we mandated coaches helmets couple a years ago...

[IRISHMAFIA]

I wonder what will happen if a player wearing a mask gets clobbered and seriously injured or killed. Remember, there is no standard set.

Not big fan of the government sticking their nose into this or other sports situations.

And I tire of the cowardice demonstrated by coaches and parents who WANT such a rule mandating the masks. If it was that important to them, why is there a need for a rule or law to get them on their players/daughters during a game?

[Big Slick]

I echo Mike to the fullest.

It isn't necessary to mandate, as now it is optional (and not prohibited). If a coach, player, parent believe the facemask is in the player's best interest, then that group can decide for the player to wear one. Or allow the player to make the choice.

And as Mike said, when you mandate, you must make a safety standard. And at this time, there is not safety standard for a facemask.

[Manny A]

I, too, agree with the minority. Why does it take a governing body to mandate what responsible parents and coaches should do? If batting helmets weren't required by rule, would they let girls bat without them?

Yeah, perhaps other states will take similar action, but I don't see this becoming a FED-wide requirement without a NOCSAE-approved device on the market.

[CecilOne]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

If it was that important to them, why is there a need for a rule or law to get them on their players/daughters during a game?

Exactly.

[Andy]

Does this mean that Dad can twist some wires together and weld them in his garage, attach an elastic strap and call that a mask?

Without a standard or definition of the requirement, this is what could potentially happen.....

[chapmaja]

My first thought was absolutely there should be a requirement to wearing face protection. (I almost had a slow pitch pitcher get drilled in the face tonight, missed her ear by about 2 inches. Ironically, the opposing pitcher pitches in a catchers mask because he took a line drive to the nose last season and had to have surgery to repair the nose.)

With that said, if there is not a manufacturing standard in place for these facemasks like there is for batting helmets then the rule needs to be looked at.

We had a similar push about 15 years ago for pole vaulters to be required to wear helmets. The problem was that there was (and still isn't to my knowledge) a helmet specifically designed and tested for pole vaulters to wear. One school mandated helmets and a student athlete was wearing a skate board helmet, landed on the mat poorly and flew off the mat, hitting his head on the standard. Despite wearing a helmet, he suffered a significant concussion. His parents settled out of court with the school district that mandated the helmet use. The reason the district settled was that they were requiring equipment to be worn that was not designed for what it was being required for.

Since there is not tested and approved safety mask for the purpose, the KHSAA might be opening themselves up to legal action if someone is injured or killed while wearing this piece of protective equipment.

With that said, I would still much prefer a pitcher or corner infielder wear a mask of some sort. I don't think it should be mandated because parents should require it of their children. Sadly we see to many cases of "I don't want to wear it" turning into "I wish I had been wearing it."

[Rich]

I've coached young players for 2 years, and I required even the outfielders to wear them. Our fields are crap and I've seen base hits bounce up and hit players in the face.

I know that masks will get fewer and farther between as the kids get older. I know this -- as long as I'm paying any bills MY daughter will wear one no matter what position she plays.

[Rich Ives]

As someone on a "you'll get sued" list - how do I know if the mask is sufficiently protective? What do I need to do to meet such a rule? What if we select Brand A and it fails and we get sued by someone who claims we should have known Brand A is no good? What basis does either of us use in such for such a claim?

[Tru_in_Blu]

Curious if my umpire's mask is NOCSAE rated/approved.

Where would I see the markings?

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Tru_in_Blu

Curious if my umpire's mask is NOCSAE rated/approved.

Where would I see the markings?

It likely is not approved, unless it is approved as a catcher's mask, and even then, the approval will likely require it to be paired with an approved helmet.