A lot of our first-time parents have emailed asking “what equipment does my daughter need.” Which is a great question, and one we used to have posted on our old website, and with the transition to the new (still not 100% operational website) we have lost that general information so this post will have to suffice.
The first few years of softball parents may not be sure if their child will want to continue as they get older, and this is completely understandable. The list that follows in in order of MANDITORY items for the first year, all the way down to the less necessary items that can be acquired as their interest grows.
#1 item that all players need to play softball in her very own glove. She will need a glove that fits her hand well, and that she can control easily (the glove may not close easily if it is brand new, but that is to be expected). With our younger players gloves can be small to fit their little hands and the softballs may not fit completely in the glove – this is not uncommon, so don’t think something is wrong if the ball doesn’t fit.
#2 Item your player will need is part of her uniform requirement: BLACK PANTS along with RED SOCKS. Part of the USA Softball uniform requirement is that all players look, UNIFORM, and as such it is required of our 10u and 12u players wear black pants, and red socks. With the 6U and 8U teams we are a little lenient on this rule as their games are not officiated by USA Softball officials, but we would still like them to be in the habit of playing in the proper attire.
#3 Water bottle. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Each player should have her own water bottle, we don’t have them as teams. We play a sport in the spring, summer, and fall (that is NOT called because of heat). We run, we sweat. We need to rehydrate! Water bottles to practices, water bottles to games, everyone!
Now we get into the NON - MANDITORY items:
#4 Batting helmets: We have them, enough for each age group, they are communal use, and everyone can share them; however, if you would like your child to have one, please feel free to purchase one. PLEASE NOTE THAT PER USA SOFTBALL RULE 3 SECTION E.1: “Batting helmets …. Must be double ear flapped … MAY have chin straps … MUST have a securely fastened face cage” This means that a player MAY NOT wear a baseball style helmet with only one ear flap, and a player MAY NOT wear a helmet without a face cage – so please do not by these for your softball player.
#5 Per SAU-16 league rule ALL players taking an INFIELD POSTION during a game are required to wear a defensive fielder’s mask. We have 5 on each team to fulfil the requirements of this league rule. However, I can not tell you how much that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND EACH PLAYER have, and become accustomed to using her own. I can tell you that currently, EACH Coach that has a child, or children, in this league has a child that has their own fielder’s mask and uses it. You can find them on Amazon for between $20 and $30. Just do a search for Softball Fielder’s Mask, and you will see many choices, RIP-It is a common company to manufacture these, however Champro also makes them along with other manufactures and either aluminum, or high density plastic, is a good option of material for these.
#6 Bats: Everyone wants to have their own bat, but they don’t need to – each team has 3 or 4 that are appropriately sized for the age group. If you would like to purchase a bat please make sure you get a size and weight that is appropriate for your player’s size and weight. Dick’s Sporting Goods has a good read on sizing bats here: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/.../softball-bat.... Bat info can get a bit confusing, even with the information on that link. If you have more questions, ask any one of us and we can help you figure it all out. Please, though, for a first-year player don’t spend an outlandish amount on a bat. People look at bat prices and say, “is a $400 bat REALLY better than a $70 bat?” and my answer is ALWAYS “not with a $4 swing it isn’t.” For another analogy – if you play golf - can you take Tiger Woods’ $600 driver out of his bag and bomb your tee shot 350 yards right down the middle of the fairway – probably not (maybe you can – can I have your autograph?) – but, could Tiger take YOUR $250 Driver out of your bag and hit his t-shot 300 yards down the middle of a fairway, PROBABLY. Good equipment makes good players better.
#7 Batting gloves: sure they are fine, are they required, no. If you get them, just make sure there’s not too much extra length at on the fingertips. Prepare to go through about a pair per season either because of player growth, or because of player use.
#8 CLEATS – PER USA SOFTBALL RULES only 14U, and higher, ages may wear METAL cleats, even when they are allowed to, I would say I see less than 50% wearing them. 12U player SHOULD have cleats. 10U players yes or no, either way, personal choice. I don’t feel that 6 and 8u players can actually put enough downward force into their cleats to actually dig into MOST infields (Beanie field especially it gets extremely firm and packed as it get warmer) so 6 and 8u players don’t really need them, but again, if they have them for another sport and they want to wear them, we aren’t going to not allow them to, they just have to be plastic until they start playing 14U ball.
#9 Softball Bags – I think this is an almost mandatory item just for the sake of the parents (have your players keep everything in their softball bags and you always know where it is, not hunting for items on practice, or game, days. Softball bags can be whatever size, what ever shape, what ever color. Just make sure they have your player’s name on them so that everyone knows whose is whose. Pro tip - SMALL, good for us, snacks should be kept in softball bags – practices can be long, games can drag on, sometimes you just need a small snack, and when you have it in your softball bag that’s just a bonus.
Ok, I think that’s everything, if you have any more questions, or if I forgot something on this list, please feel free to reach out to us: [email protected]
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