Steel cleats

[catsbackr]

A guy gets on here and tells us a kid on his daughters team just got her leg sliced up and all you have to say is this?!?!?!

 

To the Gibbs parent , I hope everything is OK with this young lady. My heart goes out to her. I am with you. Metal cleats have no place in middle school and high school softball.

 

All I have to say is what?

 

I offered you a solution to what seems to be a problem, talk to the coaches, they can offer options for metal cleats.

 

What other solution did you offer, moron? All you did was whine like everyone else and then offer your condolensces after someone else was injured. Be part of the solution if you don't like metal.

 

I've had 32 games this year with ZERO injuries involving metal cleats. ZERO!

[fastpitch101]

All I have to say is what?

 

I offered you a solution to what seems to be a problem, talk to the coaches, they can offer options for metal cleats.

 

What other solution did you offer, moron? All you did was whine like everyone else and then offer your condolensces after someone else was injured. Be part of the solution if you don't like metal.

 

I've had 32 games this year with ZERO injuries involving metal cleats. ZERO!

 

Zero injuries . Well good for you! Let me be the first to give you a beanie button. I guess everybody elses injuries dont count. How about the thousands of coaches who coach our fine game of softball that have never played baseball and have never had a pair of metal cleats on their feet IN THEIR LIFE. How about all the hundreds a nd hundreds of coaches who coach girls softball who UNKNOWINGLY have less than a desirable knowledge of the game and skills like sliding. How many coaches do you know that coach high school baseball who have never had a pair of metal on their feet? NONE. How many boys play 18U travel in rubber cleats? Almost none . That is what girls , even elite softball athletes have been trained in all their life. Rubber and plastic cleats are different and if you say not , you need to put on a pair and play in them for a while. The training to wear metal isnt in place across the board for the majority of the girls that play middle school and high school softball and you are NOT going to fix that by strutting around with your cocky little attitude stating" my girls are fine". There are many good coaches in softball but face it: Girls are not ever, across the board have the training in place. Until YOU do something about THAT my solution is not to whine, it is to do everything in my power to take the weapons off the girls feet. Metal cleats are not needed in the middle school and high school game. Metal cleats ARE causing a lot of injuries.

[Antwan]

Some good points have been made in this thread. Let's leave the name calling out of it. If you can't...we'll close the thread. It's up to you.

[ksgovols]

First of all, I can't believe these girls that learn how to walk and drive in 6" high heels can't learn how to play in metal cleats. Secondly, if there is a learning curve in coaching the fundamentals of the game in metal as opposed to rubber, I think pre-season seminars or summer camps would be a great idea.

 

Since I've been reading about this controversy on coacht, I've asked every softball and baseball person that I run into as well as coaches and trainers what their opinions are. It's almost universal that the softball folks don't like the idea of wearing metal. They are either afraid that the proper fundamentals haven't been taught or they are just against any kind of change. The medical folks are against metal in middle and high school period for both genders just because of the increased chance of injury. A baseball coach even said a well designed rubber cleat could be equal to metal.

 

I also asked a long time friend of the baseball program when the last metal cleat injury to a baseball player on our team occurred. It was about 10 years ago. It's just not that common in the boys game for whatever reason. I don't think there's a magical teaching aid that the baseball coaches use. They don't hold a 'cleat' practice where all the guys do special drills and stuff with their metal cleats on. As a parent, I did some of that stuff, but my son has never played for a coach that mandated steel cleats or had special training sessions for their use.

[hits123]

Check this picture out:If this was your daughter would you feel the same.

All teams had the option of wearing metal...it was not mandated by TSSAA.Since they have been allowed, I believe (JMO) many of the injuries will be attributed to the technique softball players have either been taught or have learned on their own, of blocking a base with a leg on a tag play. With plastic cleats, it was not as big of an issue. Now that the metal cleats are being allowed, all coaches should re-teach their players how to tag a sliding base runner, WITHOUT using their leg to block the base.Saw one SS get cleated 3 times in the same game, because she was blocking 2B with her left leg on steals.As someone with a scar on their ankle from playing baseball, I can sympathize with the playersthat are hurt, and pass along best wishes for a full recovery.But I also think this topic should have been addressed by all coaches, to avoid these type injuries,and injuries from sliding with metal cleats

[Best]

First of all, I can't believe these girls that learn how to walk and drive in 6" high heels can't learn how to play in metal cleats. Secondly, if there is a learning curve in coaching the fundamentals of the game in metal as opposed to rubber, I think pre-season seminars or summer camps would be a great idea.

 

Since I've been reading about this controversy on coacht, I've asked every softball and baseball person that I run into as well as coaches and trainers what their opinions are. It's almost universal that the softball folks don't like the idea of wearing metal. They are either afraid that the proper fundamentals haven't been taught or they are just against any kind of change. The medical folks are against metal in middle and high school period for both genders just because of the increased chance of injury. A baseball coach even said a well designed rubber cleat could be equal to metal.

 

I also asked a long time friend of the baseball program when the last metal cleat injury to a baseball player on our team occurred. It was about 10 years ago. It's just not that common in the boys game for whatever reason. I don't think there's a magical teaching aid that the baseball coaches use. They don't hold a 'cleat' practice where all the guys do special drills and stuff with their metal cleats on. As a parent, I did some of that stuff, but my son has never played for a coach that mandated steel cleats or had special training sessions for their use.

 

 

Well, I agree , as others have said, if you grow up wearing metal and are taught and play during the summer wearing metal ,as well as are taught from those who also grew up wearing metal while playing baseball, maybe you are ok. Softball players dont wear metal in the summer and they have developed maybe habits permissible while wearing plastic but not while wearing metal. Also so many of our girls just do not play or get coached year round. They just pick up their bat and glove in the beginning of spring and put it back at the end of spring. There are so many of these girls like that out there it is silly to put them and others in harms way needlessly. Metal cleats are a mistake in our sport.

Your son probably never was coached solely in his sport by the availiable "english " teacher or " math" teacher (that has either never played or has limited if any experience ) like so many of our girls are. Great baseball coaches are not really knocking themselves over to become the next "girls" softball coach. Trust me. Dont get me wrong I love all the coaches I come in contact with, they are generous, kind and giving of their time to our girls, it is just that I am worried certain skills are not being taught and quite honestly as you said there is learning curve and quite honestly that learning curve may be on going in high school and middle school softball with the injuries continuing to happen year after year.

[JC#1fan]

Well, I agree , as others have said, if you grow up wearing metal and are taught and play during the summer wearing metal ,as well as are taught from those who also grew up wearing metal while playing baseball, maybe you are ok. Softball players dont wear metal in the summer and they have developed maybe habits permissible while wearing plastic but not while wearing metal. Also so many of our girls just do not play or get coached year round. They just pick up their bat and glove in the beginning of spring and put it back at the end of spring. There are so many of these girls like that out there it is silly to put them and others in harms way needlessly. Metal cleats are a mistake in our sport.

Your son probably never was coached solely in his sport by the availiable "english " teacher or " math" teacher (that has either never played or has limited if any experience ) like so many of our girls are. Great baseball coaches are not really knocking themselves over to become the next "girls" softball coach. Trust me. Dont get me wrong I love all the coaches I come in contact with, they are generous, kind and giving of their time to our girls, it is just that I am worried certain skills are not being taught and quite honestly as you said there is learning curve and quite honestly that learning curve may be on going in high school and middle school softball with the injuries continuing to happen year after year.

 

Your post addresses many of the issues that are valid in this disscussion. Most high school female ahtletes have grown up blocking bags with their legs and it was not a big safety issue because of the rubber cleats. Now this style is a habit and most high softball coaches have never played the game and even fewer have played in metal cleats, so how can they teach technique to replace the habit. A quality rubber cleat, like the Ringor brand is just as good as the metal cleats and if you have ever put them on your feet they feel more like a running shoe as far as comfort goes. There are to many other changes that could be made to help this game other than adding metal cleats.

[bluesfan]

Your post addresses many of the issues that are valid in this disscussion. Most high school female ahtletes have grown up blocking bags with their legs and it was not a big safety issue because of the rubber cleats. Now this style is a habit and most high softball coaches have never played the game and even fewer have played in metal cleats, so how can they teach technique to replace the habit. A quality rubber cleat, like the Ringor brand is just as good as the metal cleats and if you have ever put them on your feet they feel more like a running shoe as far as comfort goes. There are to many other changes that could be made to help this game other than adding metal cleats.

 

After reading post after post , I think the worst thing that has happened with metal cleats is that they were thrust into our sport and a majority of the parents, players and even softball coaches had No idea of the dangers, differences or problems that they would cause. The kids put them on without thinking twice about it. The coaches ordered team sets without knowing of any drawbacks. That is what caused the injuries in the first place. Believe it or not the news articles you read about are just the tip of the iceberg. Dont you know many, many dont even get reported on anymore. Everybody is scared of the two ugliest words in the English language " negligence and liability"

I vote to get rid of the things as fast as possible.

[DSOFTBALLCOACH23]

The worst part of this is that many of these girls will not be able to wear these cleats during the majority of the summer tournaments due to either the sanction they are playing does not allow it or many of the fields they play on will not allow metal cleats. I know several fields in East Tn will not allow metal cleats. So this diminishes their chance to get accustomed to the cleats even further. Plus a lot of coaches do not teach proper sliding technique and some still teach blocking the bag

[Best]

The worst part of this is that many of these girls will not be able to wear these cleats during the majority of the summer tournaments due to either the sanction they are playing does not allow it or many of the fields they play on will not allow metal cleats. I know several fields in East Tn will not allow metal cleats. So this diminishes their chance to get accustomed to the cleats even further. Plus a lot of coaches do not teach proper sliding technique and some still teach blocking the bag

 

Exactly!

[ksgovols]

/huh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":huh:" border="0" alt="huh.gif" /> No, the worst part is that noone was educated in the proper techniques to prevent injuries from wearing metal cleats and from what I'm reading, the high school softball coaches that we have aren't competent enough to teach that technique. It's pretty apathetic to just give up on educating the coach and go back to the idiot proof cleats for everybody. Naturally, it should be a choice for those that choose to wear them and proper technique should be mandated if anything is going to be mandated.

[Best]

/huh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":huh:" border="0" alt="huh.gif" /> No, the worst part is that noone was educated in the proper techniques to prevent injuries from wearing metal cleats and from what I'm reading, the high school softball coaches that we have aren't competent enough to teach that technique. It's pretty apathetic to just give up on educating the coach and go back to the idiot proof cleats for everybody. Naturally, it should be a choice for those that choose to wear them and proper technique should be mandated if anything is going to be mandated.

 

The hard part about educating the coaches is that many dont think they need to be educated and many dont know they need to be educated. I dont know which type is more dangerous. Please dont take that as a knock on coaches, it is not , it is just an observation.