At what age do boys need to start wearing athletic cups?

[Anonymous]

GET THE CUP. I was a catcher, pretty good one. I was drafted in a late round pick -- I decided to go to college instead...and went a different direction (academics not sports).

In Grad school, we were playing a pickup game of softball...I did not have any equipment..but played...I was catching a new pitcher who had remarkably good stuff...when there was a foul tip. I was set up high and outside...and the batter got above the ball...I could not get the glove down fast enough, and the ball hit directly onto my left testicle. It swelled up to the size of a cantaloupe.

WEAR A CUP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baseball was 9 years old. Football- never.

They never started?

My kid never played football or hockey without one. The coaches checked every game in football. He never wore one for soccer, and never played baseball at all so I don't have an answer there, but the big idea is better safe than sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GET THE CUP. I was a catcher, pretty good one. I was drafted in a late round pick -- I decided to go to college instead...and went a different direction (academics not sports).

In Grad school, we were playing a pickup game of softball...I did not have any equipment..but played...I was catching a new pitcher who had remarkably good stuff...when there was a foul tip. I was set up high and outside...and the batter got above the ball...I could not get the glove down fast enough, and the ball hit directly onto my left testicle. It swelled up to the size of a cantaloupe.

WEAR A CUP!

Another OUCH story, yikes. I'm the OP of this thread, even though it's over a year old. Yes, my son has been wearing a cup since. 2 seasons of baseball. He doesn't complain. Hasn't been hit there, thank goodness. But I'm glad he's in the habit now.

[Anonymous]

I was 6 when I was allowed to wear one for karate, at age 6 I was a orange belt and when you became a orange belt you started full contact sparing so a cup was a optional part of the sparing equipment, now I'm 15 and in the adult class cups are highly recommended, cuz for one everyone gets hit there and two my sensi does cup checks before every class, he very lightly taps you to check if your wearing one if so moves along if you are not wearing on he very verry hardly kicks you there but that really hasn't happened in 2 years so I guess we all wear them...

Also when I started to play baseball at age 5 it was mandatory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baseball was 9 years old. Football- never.

They never started?

My kid never played football or hockey without one. The coaches checked every game in football. He never wore one for soccer, and never played baseball at all so I don't have an answer there, but the big idea is better safe than sorry.

Baseball- always after t-ball. It is the one sport that I can say definitively where every player should wear one (except for Tatum O'Neil).

Football- never. There's actually greater risk of injury from getting hit on the side of the cup and having it hit into the groin/thigh. If you watch the NFL, players never wear cups. Occasionally they'll "get the wind knocked out of them" but its pretty rare. Son plays varsity football now and has never worn a cup. They may get a foot to the area during a tackle but unless they're hit directly in the front, it likely will do at least as much harm as good.

Cups are designed to protect against a DIRECT hit from a ball. They're not designed for football.

I have no recent experience with soccer and none with lacrosse.

[Anonymous]

My son started wearing one when he was 9... He started wearing in baseball as it was required to every single practice and game.
Some other teams he plays with don't as I'm told by other parents...
And he has done karate since he was 4 and he never got kicked down there but the other day his friend got him there and really hard he was in pain for a week so now he wears one in karate too.

His brother also got hit there pretty good to by his sensi, trust me he was in pain for over two weeks now to every single class he wears one

[Anonymous]

Would you recommend one for 5yo soccer? Those kids just kick and kick.

[Anonymous]

My eight year old wears one when he goes to taekwondo tournaments. It's required for good reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baseball was 9 years old. Football- never.

Boys have to wear them if they play football. When they weigh in prior to each game they also "tap" their cup. No cup = your son is not allowed to play in the game. (This is ages 6 - 14)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Baseball was 9 years old. Football- never.

Boys have to wear them if they play football. When they weigh in prior to each game they also "tap" their cup. No cup = your son is not allowed to play in the game. (This is ages 6 - 14)

This was true when I played back in the day. The "no cup for football" PP sounds pretty detailed and thoughtful, but not anything I've ever heard of before. (Though since DS isn't football age yet and my info is decades old, so I may not be up to date.)

[Anonymous]

I was a receiver in 9th grade and on the day I forgot my cup, what could happen I was a receiver, I missed a football and it drilled itself right into my testicles. Sang soprano for about a year after that. If you're playing baseball or football or lacrosse a cup from the beginning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Baseball was 9 years old. Football- never.

Boys have to wear them if they play football. When they weigh in prior to each game they also "tap" their cup. No cup = your son is not allowed to play in the game. (This is ages 6 - 14)

This was true when I played back in the day. The "no cup for football" PP sounds pretty detailed and thoughtful, but not anything I've ever heard of before. (Though since DS isn't football age yet and my info is decades old, so I may not be up to date.)

Same here to they tap to see if you have one or not it's a pretty light tap. Same with my older son but they do the taps a little harder, my son always wears one, some of his friends don't so they can't play that game. This is ages (5-18)

And I feel sorry for his friends and coaches, my friends because they get taped in the nuts by the coaches,, and the coaches because they have to feel the kids down there.

[Anonymous]

What about tennis? I'd guess that would hurt too if it came at you? Do boys start wearing cups for tennis too?

[Anonymous]

DW here with harrowing story of testicular basketball injury. I wish guys could wear cups for basketball. My DH had a brutal injury in an adult league game.

DH got kneed in testicle by opponent. Iced upper thigh and testicle and entire area bruised. Freaked out, naturally, and got to doctor following a.m. No severe harm noted. Upper thigh took longest to heal with huge, nasty bruise and broken veins. One month later, bruise healed.

Shortly thereafter (stop reading now if you are squeamish), he ejaculated a small amount of blood. We both freaked out. Returned to same doc who said this was latent result of injury. Happened twice more and never again.

[Anonymous]

I had to start when ever I started sports because of my surgery I had when I was 3, I started karate when I was 4, and as I got higher rank I was getting hit more and more, now I'm 15 and I get hit at least 3 times a class, by anyone by my trading partners that are the same age as me or by 7 year old kids I'm teaching or my sensi.