Super Heroes Wear Facemasks

When Mizzou’s pitcher Finucane,  took a line drive to the face Sunday during super regionals – we immediately put up prayer requests. Personally, as a parent to TWO high school aged pitchers, seeing this worst nightmare actually come true, sent chills down our spine, as we sure it did to every single parent and player. It is a worst nightmare. And just the day before we sat a field where an outfielder lost a ball in the sun, and got hit on the head and was LIFE FLIGHTED to the nearest children’s hospital. (We are so thankful for all the prayer requests and are even happier that she is okay)

A few weeks ago, we posted an article on our blog in regard to Facemasks as well from a parent of player who didn’t make her daughter wear a facemask – but in hindsight wishes she did. You can read that right here.

Of course this causes a heated debate. 

Here’s the thing. Whether you or your daughter wears a facemask is 100% a personal choice.

At SIFG, we don’t believe that the issue of ‘to face-mask or not to face-mask,’ should be written into some sort of formal law, costing a ridiculous amount of tax payer money.It is more a matter of common sense,  and the lack of common sense in this world is perhaps one of our biggest problems.

From a coaches standpoint, he or she should have the right to require face-masks if they wish, since it is his or her name on the insurance certificate for the team and ultimately his or her responsibility to keep players safe. This is true of travel organizations and school ball organizations as well.

That being said, when reading some of the comments from both players and parents – especially those opposed to face-masks, our blood began to boil. Not because we so whole-heartedly believe that every single player on the field should wear one, but because the issue started to become one of boy versus girl.

 

Some folks mentioned the sissifying of our daughters. There were comments that girls need to man-up, others asking what kind of message it sends to ask our fastpitch daughters to wear them when our baseball playing sons don’t.

People saying that Jennie Finch didn’t wear one when pitching to baseball players so neither should anyone else, and lot of comments saying that girls today are over-coddled and over-protected.

Then of course parents and players talking about how fast their (daughters) hands are, that the girls can be taught to field correctly to avoid being hit, that if girls played the game right they wouldn’t have to worry about concussions, or broken eye sockets and noses and missing teeth, as if an injury like that would be something to be ashamed of.

Does this mean that the Mizzou coaching staff did not properly coach Finucane?

And of course, all these insinuations that somehow wearing a face-mask shows weakness, or makes you less interesting to college coaches. Blah blah blah.

Well, you know what? It doesn’t.

And we are not going to sit by and just allow people to berate girls as a whole – or even allow the message to be sent that the desire to be safe, and possibly avoid a life changing injury, makes them a sissy.

In fact, we don’t think that girls should have to PROVE themselves one way or the other in this day and age?  Are boys who don’t wear cups somehow more masculine or stronger that the boys that do? 

Why do football players wear so many more layers of padding now, than they did years ago?

Should race-car drivers forego helmets and safety equipment because they are highly skilled and talented drivers? I mean if they know how to drive so well, whats the problem? Maybe we should start allowing adults to decide for themselves whether they want to wear a seat-belt? Have you ever seen how much equipment a hockey player wears? The list goes on and on.

And as far as baseball and softball – according to sports science and tons of research, the SPEED and POWER of softball has been proven to be faster and more intense than baseball. (Although we recall several baseball players being hit as well)

As for us, when our  17-year-old daughter comes out of her stride pitching and releases the ball, she is standing 36.12 feet away from a batter who is lunging TOWARD her, a girl may we mention, that has been trained to transfer all of her strength and power into a specialized, highly technologically enhanced bat that is precisely designed to carry a dense ball as far and as fast as possible directly at her.

And she will wear a mask.Because she loves her face and her teeth. And so do we. 

But don’t you dare call her a sissy for doing so. Or any girl who chooses to wear a mask for that matter. Just like no one should call a girl who doesn’t wear one stupid. 

Yea! So of course we made a shirt. We want to spread the word, and get the message out that wearing a facemask is NOT a sign of weakness. If just one of two girls realize there is nothing uncool about wearing a facemask -and are saved from a life altering injury one day, then all is well!