Sunday, January 31, 2016

REPOST: MOUTH GUARDS




First posted at the blog on Sunday, February 1, 2015



Early season's cold days
Hand warmers can benefit
pitching, hitting, throwing


The Wesley Wolverines play their first game in chilly February. Then March can get very cold on a windy field and last year even the Myrtle Beach, SC, games had a couple of cool days.


Hand warmers can be a great aid for helping softball players stay warm. They are portable, inexpensive, fit in a uniform's back pocket and packs of them are easily stored in an equipment bag. 

Once exposed to the air, the Grabber Hand Warmers brand (illustrated here) should stay warm for seven hours.
 

Hand warmers are available at almost all sporting goods stores.

Customized fit
Mouth guards available
from team athletic trainer


Custom Wesley mouth guards...

Pictured here, Wolverine pitcher Lily Engel is having her bite molded for a mouth guard, compliments of Wesley's Sports Medicine staff, prior to last season's (2014's) first softball game. There's no charge for the custom mouth piece.

Lily acted on much appreciated advice from fellow teammate pitcher Lindsay Siok. Players have praised these custom Wesley guards as “better” than any they have tried before.

Value of mouth guards...


It has been argued that a softball infielder, especially pitcher, third base and first base, is more than twice as likely to get hit by a line drive than their counterpart in baseball. This is reasoned based on field position to plate distance, the softball's larger surface area and certain position player's tendency to step, even rush at times, toward the batter as the ball is delivered to the plate.

Commercial mouth guards...


Besides the Wesley mouthpiece from the trainer, there are, of course, many commercial brands of mouth guards. Check the video below for a special design, which, actually, has been on the market for several years, called the "ArmourBite® Mouthguard with patented Power Wedges™ by Bite Tech"...




MOUTH GUARD AT THE HOT CORNER (3B)/ FALL BALL 2015...

Wesley Wolverine freshman #13 Utility Ashley Royer (Lititz, PA)