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Game Face Revisited
by Dave
Friday, September 29, 2006
I very much enjoy admitting when I am wrong. And I have been very wrong with respect to the safety device known as the "Game Face."
Sometime ago I suggested on this forum that "somebody ought to develop a better product" than the Game Face and I stated privately that I hope no state passes a law making it mandatory for any position - mostly it is used by pitchers and third baseman. The reason I wished for a better product was I had seen the thing in action and it looked unwieldy. To me it was a catcher's mask for infielders. I magined it was heavy and would lead to acne where the mask comes into contact with the skin. Girls wouldn't like that and would opt not ot playt softball if they were required to wear it. I hoped no state would make it a mandatory piece of equipment for a number of reasons which I won't go into because that is an involved political discussion. But I also thought any girl who wanted to protect herself would see its value and learn to live with the negative consequences. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
I recently began coaching a team of girls who, while I knew them from various places, were largely unknown to me in a competitive fastpitch softball setting. One of these girls, our third baseman, became aware of the Game Face and ordered one immediately. She didn't give it a lot of thought. She saw it and said, I have to get that.
Peer pressure is a complicated matter and I guess I largely don't understand its power. Prior to this girl joining our team, my youngest daughter wouldn't even allow discussion regarding the Game Face. She wasn't going to wear one and that's that. Now she's going to wear it and that's that. I didn't get to put my foot down. She put hers down. Buy me the Game Face or else!
I ordered one that evening and it arrived the other day. I was shocked when the postman walked up to the door carrying this little box. I was sure I had mad an error when I placed my order. I thought maybe this is some sort of attachment to the gear, perhaps a replacement strap. When the mailman handed me the box, I could tell from the weight that I must have ordered a strap or some other accessory. So I carefully opened the box expecting to have to use it to return whatever had been shipped. But to my surprise, it did in fact contain the Game Face.
The Game Face is truly about as light as a feather. I don't know the precise weight but I think a regulation softball is about 6.8 ounces. This item seems to be about half that. If you put one on, you barely know you are wearing something. It is truly an engineering marvel. I wish catcher's masks were made this way. Those babies are heavy. You are always aware you have one on just by its weight. The Game Face seems as light as a pair of sunglasses.
You'd be wrong if you thought the lightness of the Game Face indicates any sort of weakness. When I first told folks about how light it is, they reacted by asking how does it protect you? I replied, those were my first thoughts so I put the thing on the ground and threw balls at it. It took direct hits without any sort of damage. Trust me, somebody figured out how to make something very strong without adding weight. If you avoid trying the Game Face because you worry about its weight, you're wrong. And if once you get one, you think it flimsy, think again.
My next concerns with the Game Face were that it might obstruct one's vision and thereby make fielding grounders difficult. I imagine that at first use, it might seem a little awkward in terms of getting used to seeing bars in front of your face but they really do not obstruct your vision. I'm a "two finger typist" and I'm typing this piece while wearing the Game Face. I'm wearing my daughter's youth version which doesn't quite fit me properly and if any size would obstruct my vision, this one would. This thing does not obscure one's vision on the ball field. If I can type with it, anyone can field grounders with it on.
OK, so hopefully, I have convinced you, the parent, that your daughter needs the game face. I think I've dispensed with the potential issues of weight, obstruction of vision, etc. The thig works and will not have sgnificant negative side effects. But even if you're convinced, somehow you have to convince your daughter.
If you've ever seen the Game Face being used, you probably had an experience like I did. The first time I saw it, this tiny girl playing third had one on. Underneath the Game Face, she was also wearing a pair of sunglasses. The effect on her appearance was to give off the impression of insanity. She looked to perhaps be the offspring of Hannibal Lecter. I stayed about as far away from her as I could. But in the middle of the game I saw her remove the mask and her sunglasses and she transformed into a perfectly normal little girl.
So my first piece of advice about you convincing your daughter to try one is to convince her that she will come off being an intimidator. This will only work if your daughter enjoys that aspect of competitive sports. Some do and some don't. But if yours does, try convincing her that she'll scare the other team.
If this approach doesn't work, you are going to have to try manipulating peer pressure. I have to admit to being a male plodding around in the female universe of fastpitch softball has its disadvatages. I cannot understand the mindset of girls who must wear matching sliding shorts and guards (regardless of ASA rules), who have to have the same jacket as everyone else, or who want expensive, but IMHO ugly, Etnies because everyone on their team has them. At the same time, they aren't willing to put on a safety device which might protect their faces from terrible injury. But let somebody else have one on and all of a sudden, its a must have item. So my next piece of advice is to find somebody who matters to your daughter and let her see this person play with the Game Face on. If that doesn't do it, maybe you can find some way to get another kid on your team to try it. Maybe you can work this peer pressure thing to your advantage. And if you cannot, maybe showing some real life stories of injuries might help.
I'm taking the conversation to its logical conclusion, one I've tried to avoid but one which becomes more and more apparent to me as I plod along. The bottom line with the Game Face, or some sort of protection gear like it, is one day we are going to come to mandate it. In general I'm opposed to mandating safety equipment. I think "Big Brother" goes far enough already. I fear that one day every aspect of our lives will involve some sort of law mandating conduct. But the softball field is different. The softball field is dangerous.
In softball and baseball, we do not give a second thought to the required catching gear. Baseball catchers must wear shin guards, a chest protecter, a face mask with helmet attached, and, of course, a cup. Girls don't have to wear a cup though some sort of protection should be mandated but that's a discussion for another time. They wear everything else. The reasons are obvious. Similarly, batters have to wear helmets and in most places and divisions of softball, a face mask must be attached to the standard batting helmet. There's just no good reason not to wear a face mask when batting. Boys often don't have them due to some sort of ridiculous bravado but one day they most certainly will. I predict one day even major leaguers will have face masks on their batting helmets.
So I'm going to conclude this discussion by suggesting that we all have to find a way to work towards requiring the Game Face in competitive fastpitch softball. It isn't much of a burden. The device is lightweight and doesn't obscure the vision. Any player wearing one will quickly be accustomed to it. But in order to get it into widespread use, this must become mandatory. We must work with our local recreational organizations to see how to accomplish this. We need to write to our state legislators and see if anything can be done. We should press those in authority at ASA, NSA, Pony, FAST, etc. to work towards the day when this sport is less dangerous than it is today. The Game Face would be a step in that direction.
Permanent Link: Game Face Revisited
 
2007 Anderson Rocket Tech
by Dave
Monday, September 25, 2006
Well, I don't know about you but I'm excited about the recent approval of the 2007 Anderson Rocket Tech (actually spelled RockeTech) fastpitch bats. The bat will be available for sale October 1, 2006. If you're getting in line to get yours, you can line up behind me, cause I'm now ahead of you!
Our hitting coach suggests that once you perfect your swing, everyone will want to see what brand of bat you're using. I agree. A bad swing with a great and expensive bat is still a bad swing. And if you can't hit the ball, it doesn't much matter what kind of bat you're using. Even considering this, I now can say with complete confidence that not all bats are created equal.
At the beginning of last spring season, I wrote about several good bats with an emphasis on Louisville Slugger's Catalyst which comes in both -10 and -8. I was sold on the -10 because I liked it so much. I put my money where my mouth is - I bought one for a good price (beneath $200) and had my kid use it for awhile. She liked it a lot, at least until she borrowed a Rocket Tech.
The Rocket Tech was weighted quite a bit differently than the Catalyst. I believe the term of art is "end-loaded." This means the end of the bat has more weight on the end than those which are not "end-loaded." If you try swinging bats which are end-loaded and then those that aren't, the difference becomes easy to understand. The handle also felt more comfortable but the weighting difference made her swing more comfortable. She switched over to the Rocket Tech and began hitting more than my pocket hard. Several members of her team also switched from the Catalyst and the results were amazing.
Keep in mind that the ASA has speed limitations for girls fastpitch softball bats. All the top priced bats come in at about the same place on the tests the ASA conducts. So, there is no scientific way to say this bat hits harder than that and so forth. But because of the difference in weighting, my daughter's hitting dramatically improved.
Now, I've read a lot of negative comments about the 2005 RockeTech. Most imply that those who use them have an unfair advantage and, therefore, the bat should be banned. ASA never did ban the bat due to excessive speed. But there were some concerns with the Rocket Tech pancaking over time through use. Pancaking occurs where a bat begins to flatten out. If you've ever stood through an umpires bat examination, you will see most umps use a device which checks the roundness of the barrel. If the bat has flattened out beyond a particular point, it is disallowed. Our Rocket Tech nearly suffered this problem. A Pony ump first disallowed it and then after we asked him to reexamine it, it was allowed. But our bat was pancaking after just a few months use.
The 2007 Rocket Tech is supposed to cure the problems past models have suffered especially with respect to pancaking. Anderson has made some changes and this current model should not give you these problems. Obviously I have no experience with it since it isn't yet available but if I do, I'll let you know right away. And if you experience pancaking with this model, I urge you to share it with this site as well as the company itself.
You can make a purchase of a new 2007 Anderson Rocket Tech in a number of places. Dick's Sporting Goods offers it at under $250. Sports Authority offers it at the same price with free shipping and you can get 10% off orders over $100 at SportsAuthority.com which makes it perhaps the best buy of all. You can find these and other bats on ebay and perhaps you may find a bargain there. But since this is a new model of bat which isn't available today, don't expect vendors to offer cheap prices. And don't forget to add shipping to your total cost before deciding from whom to buy. Labels: hitting
Permanent Link: 2007 Anderson Rocket Tech
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