Baseball-kids with glasses catching

[Anonymous]

DS just started baseball and for some reason he wants to catch and he’s getting to do it. Unfortunately he also wears glasses and it’s impossible for him to wear them with the catchers mask bc he can’t whip it off for a play. For now he’s not wearing his glasses when he catches which is fine but thinking that’s not a long term solution. Do sport glasses work for this?

[Anonymous]

My son's friend got contacts in 4th grade so he could play better.

[Anonymous]

Get him sports glasses. Walmart and other places have them.

[Anonymous]

How old is he and what level is he playing?

If it is AAA or lower, it is very rarely that the kids whip of their catchers mask. In AA it happened once last season. My kid was catching and always want to rip off the mask like the big leaguers, so he ripped it off in dramatic style the first pop up that happened.

My other kid has played Tball through majors, and I can count on one hand the times a kid has ripped of his catchers mask.

Depending on your kid's age, this might be a non issue right now.

[Anonymous]

If he's serious about it, get him contacts. My DD got her first contact at age 6, not because of sports but because her vision in one eye was very low and was getting worse. Glasses and patching her dominant eye was working. The opthamalogist first suggested it when she was 5 but, at that time, I couldn't imagine a 5 year old with a contact. I was wrong. The staff at the optometrist's office taught her how to put the in and take them out. I was surprised at how easy it was and how well she did. My DS got his first pair when he was 10.

[Anonymous]

OP here. DH is 8. I think that's AA? He seems to take it off for every play at the plate. He said the coaches told him to do it.....I think he feels like he needs to in order to see best too.

His prescriptions is such that he's supposed to wear them all the time but can get by without them.

I think we'll look into the sport glasses.

[Anonymous]

Get him sports goggles. My son does fencing and we got him plastic glasses to go under the mask. The metal don't fit well and fall off (he has two pairs). But, if it were baseball I'd get the sports classes which are much safer.

[Anonymous]

My DS had prescription swim goggles. I have also seen high school kids wearing the sport glasses. Make sure the kids take care of these glasses. Keep in a case so they don't scratch. Too many scratches = can't see well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DH is 8. I think that's AA? He seems to take it off for every play at the plate. He said the coaches told him to do it.....I think he feels like he needs to in order to see best too.

His prescriptions is such that he's supposed to wear them all the time but can get by without them.

I think we'll look into the sport glasses.

Why are the coaches having him do that? The mask is for safety and he should not be taking it off every play. It also slows down the game for the catcher to rip off his mask every play.

Instead of getting him contacts, i would work with him at home on catching a greater percentage of balls so that fewer balls get past him.

I just feel like his coaches are giving him bad advice.

[Anonymous]

^^^ The only time he shoukd be taking off the mask is for a pop up near the plate that he might actually catch. There is really no other reason to do this.

In fact, for safety reasons (concussion prevention) your league might really frown on this. In our little league, they want all kids to have helmets on any time they are around another kid holding a bat. Having an 8 year old catcher remove his mask repeatedly during a game is just opening the door for a batter to accidentally hit him i the head with a bat.

[Anonymous]

https://www.baseball-fever.com/forum/general-baseball/baseball-101-coaching-fundamentals/89392-catcher-when-do-you-take-the-mask-off

This is a link to a baseball forum with coaches debating when a little league catcher should remove his mask. The overwhelming opinion is never.

[Anonymous]

If he is old enough, contacts. Glasses will interfere with many sports as he gets older so I would talk to the eye doctor to see if he’s old enough, or what the appropriate age might be.

I was a softball catcher and I had the same issue. I don’t know if the “never take the mask off” consensus is just for young kids or if that changes as they get older (I played ball since I was 8 but only caught since age 13 or so) but at least at junior high and high school level I was always taught to ditch the mask whenever the ball went into play. It’s easier to see and less distracting.

FWIW, I was also a cross country runner and the times I would wear glasses, they bothered me a lot. They were always sliding down my nose. I’m sure it’s the same issue for track, soccer, basketball, and any other sport with a lot of running. Also, I’ve been hit in the face with a softball while wearing glasses (simply while warming up playing catch) and they cut my face. I know sports glasses are supposed to minimize that but if he’s able to get contacts I would just go straight to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he is old enough, contacts. Glasses will interfere with many sports as he gets older so I would talk to the eye doctor to see if he’s old enough, or what the appropriate age might be.

I was a softball catcher and I had the same issue. I don’t know if the “never take the mask off” consensus is just for young kids or if that changes as they get older (I played ball since I was 8 but only caught since age 13 or so) but at least at junior high and high school level I was always taught to ditch the mask whenever the ball went into play. It’s easier to see and less distracting.

FWIW, I was also a cross country runner and the times I would wear glasses, they bothered me a lot. They were always sliding down my nose. I’m sure it’s the same issue for track, soccer, basketball, and any other sport with a lot of running. Also, I’ve been hit in the face with a softball while wearing glasses (simply while warming up playing catch) and they cut my face. I know sports glasses are supposed to minimize that but if he’s able to get contacts I would just go straight to that.

I think with concussion knowlege over the past few years, ripping off the mask is now a dated practice. Also, the masks are better constructed with more visibility than what you might have used 20 years ago.

I have two kids in little league and have never had a coach tell a catcher to rip off his mask. My oldest is in majors and not one kid has ripped off his mask at that level.

My other kid did it once in AA and the coaches told him to leave it on.

[Anonymous]

I know theee have been baseball coaches on this board before. I wonder if any of them have an opinion on this, especially at little league level.

[Anonymous]

My 9 yo wears glasses and plays catcher frequently. He has sports goggles for all sports he plays because they are safer. He wears them even with the catchers mask. He's never had a problem. If he didn't wear glasses, he wouldn't be able to perform well in any sport so it never even occurred to me to have him take them off. Regular glasses on the baseball field are very dangerous.