metal cleats - injuries this year.

That's more or less what I was thinking--that the technique may be a big part of the problem. We need more of this type of input from players that have used metal cleats for years. Probably a lot of info could be gleaned from baseball on this subject.

One thing I have noticed is that on some cleats there is a cleat right at the end of the heel (3 cleats total in a half-circle pattern). Some cleats don't have the one cleat at the end of the heel. If it were mine and it had a cleat right at the end I would file that cleat off. That way there would be less chance of it catching and causing injury.

 

It's in the Technique...so true

Poor sliding /running techniques will get you hurt if you are weariing Keds.
My DD won't take the field in anything but metal. She likes the added traction in the grass, and the dirt. They are lighter than molded and help her run faster. She wears the new Mizuno replaceables at TB games. They are the closest thing to metal.
Defenders can get hurt by metal or plastic. Especially if their glove hand gets jammed. If anyone sharpens metal, they are out of line. Sharpening them will only make them shorter, and could increase the injury factor.
I encourage my DD to stay off the concrete.. and wear flip flops off the field. this seems to work.

 

To determine the effect of metal cleats on injuries, you would need to have injury data from previous non-metal cleat years. A baseline of data to compare to. Anecdotal reports of injuries that are guessed to be caused by metal cleats wont have much meaning.

 

I appreciate that... If you go back to when metal cleats were first announced that they were allowed, I was against them... injuries being the main reason. I only wish they would keep statistics of some sort to validate the change in policies especially one as important as metal cleats.

 

I think the bad sportsmanship is what needs to be removed--not the metal cleats. From what I've read on this thread the metal cleats are not the problem. It sounds to me that not training the players how to use them is part of the problem. Another more serious part is not teaching sportsmanship. Who allows their players to intentionally hurt another kid--with or without cleats? Anyone who thinks that hurting another player is ok if it helps you win doesn't care about the kids or the sport.

I'm sure there have been some situations where the cleats have actually prevented injury. Especially on a hard field or wet grass.

 

That is exactlly what I'm talking about. You must remember when we are talking about high school at least 50% of the players are seasonal players and don't get the righ instruction in many aspects of the game and with the wrong technique in useing metal cleats injuries are the result. I just think at the high school level we would be better served to stick with rubber

 

You are exactlly right. Thing is we can't really control that as many of the high school coaches are math, science, english, ect teachers who themselves don't know the correct way to do some the things in fastpitch. The one thing we can control however is whether the metal are allowed or not. When they decided to allow metal I thought it was funny that they made the girls wear a face mask on their helment but then put metal cleats on their feet to slde into or step on other girls not to mention twisting their own ankles or knees

 

I see really good softball players all the time who have lousy sliding technique. These are the players who are more at risk for sliding related injuries, metal cleats or not. Travel and school coaches need to do their jobs and teach these kids to slide right. Parents who are currently coaching their young daughters need to teach them properly from day one.

Metal cleats do not slip as easily and are allowing the high school players who wear them to play more aggressively. Requiring rubber cleats in high school in order to cover up for lack of training should not even be considered.

In high school, metal cleats are an option, not a requirement. They are certainly not the best choice for every player on every team. Parents can buy whichever they choose for their kid.