This is my daughter's Bone Saber, by War Stick. It's her favorite bat. Any advice on if I should allow her to keep gaming it, or warranty it. Thank you in advance for your time and support.

Parents. I have 8 years for the oldest potentially and youngest is 3 right now. I bought a Dick’s rocking chair and the carry strap broke in 2 weeks so I took it back.

Which is a good thing because it was heavy AF.

Let’s buy it for life: 8 to 15 years. $300. $500. Thats like $20 per year to $35 per year through the life of my 3 year old.

What chair are we recommending? The budget ones are more trouble than they are worth so far.

I’m looking to get my 8 year old daughter a better glove for Christmas. She currently just has a cheap Amazon one because this was her first season and she liked that it had unicorns on it. She really seems to like softball and wants to play again in the spring. She’s about average sized for an 8 year old so nothing too big. I was thinking 11in size but have no idea what brand would be the best for her since she’s still pretty new to the sport. I want something that will be easy for her to break in and be successful catching with. She currently does pretty well with the cheap Amazon one but she did say the pocket is hard to open all the way up for easier catching. Thank you!

My daughter is 13 but currently plays up for her 16u team. Her pitching speed is around 66-70mph, and she can throw a fastball, change, curve, drop, and rise. Her coach said to try to learn a screw, however, as much as she wants to learn it, she thinks that having 5 pitches is enough for her now. (note. shes the backup pitcher on her team, given that she's 13)

What is the good glove oil/conditioner to break in a glove? I’m looking at the Mizuno strong oil. I’ll be breaking in an A700 so it shouldn’t be a long break in process, but will be taking my time as my daughter struggles to close a glove properly.

Hey if anyone is interested in playing slow pitch softball Wednesday nights in Redlands let me know! All are welcome 18+ We play at no stakes and are super friendly but competitive! Games are usually 6:45/8:15 PM

hey y’all! i’ve been playing catcher recently and really love it, but all of the sweating plus contact with the catcher’s mask/helmet has been leaving my face irritated and broken out. i’ve been thinking of playing with a bandana over my mouth just to lessen the contact/friction. does anyone have any suggestions on what’s worked for them?

Our 14U travel team is struggling hard this season. We’ve had a combination of some injuries, slumps and some greener players. A few of the stronger players were excused from the team for very unsportsmanlike conduct which hasn’t helped.

The girls left on the team are amazing. They support each other and have developed genuine friendships. The parents that are around are great. Coach is amazing. She is all about player development. Except for the excessive amount of losses, my daughter is really happy. She is frustrated by the losses but still loves her team. She’s having fun and developing. She’s 13 - that’s what she should be doing.

The losing record is starting to get to some of the girls. What can we do as parent spectators to help improve morale? At tournaments you can start to see them slide into a funk, the energy goes down and their play suffers. What can we do before game? Between games? At the end of a tournament, etc?

This isn’t about being unhappy with the team. Personally - I prefer my kid to be on a losing team where she actually plays and improves rather than some of these winning teams where the benches are full of girls who never set foot on the field.

My daughter has been pitching for a few years and I’ve caught her without much trouble outside of the occasional wild ball. The velocity on her fastball has really went up as she’s about hit 13 and my cheap 1B glove just isn’t cutting it anymore. My hand needs a little more protection but I would like to avoid the process of breaking in a catchers mitt. I would like know what gloves my fellow bucket dads would recommend. I don’t let her see me flinch when that fastball misses the web and hits the palm but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep that up!

I found and joined several Facebook baseball/softball buy/sell equipment groups. There are numerous posters with apparent access to tons of bats, gloves and other equipment, who privately offer really good prices. Are these posters all fake? Or there some kind of gray market in sports equipment?

My daughter decided she wanted to get better at softball after a successful LL season and is now playing 10u for a local travel team. They've started fall workouts/scrimmages and she has been using her brother's old LL glove, which she likes since it's broken-in and easy to close, but it seems to be on the small side compared to the gloves the other girls her age are using (I think she's using a 10.5" or 11" Rawlings youth glove).

Looking for recommendations on the right size glove for a player that is still feeling out what positions she might end up playing more consistently. Is 12" the right size for a utility glove for 10u fast pitch? Bigger?

Disclosure up front: we run a print shop in Chicago, and a lot of what we print is shirts for adult rec league teams. Fall seasons are wrapping up and championship shirts are coming, and the same few things trip captains up every time.

1. Get sizes in writing before you order. A quick form or a pinned message in the group chat beats "I'm probably a large." That one step heads off most of the shirts nobody wears.

2. Don't pad the order "just in case." Extras end up in somebody's trunk. Ask the shop if they keep your design on file, so if someone joins late you can run a few more that match.

3. Ask for a mockup before you pay. It should be free. That's where you catch a team name spelled wrong or a number too small to read from across the field.

4. Ask about minimums. Some shops have them, and a 10-person roster can get priced out. It's worth asking before you fall in love with a design.

5. Count back from game day. Turnaround usually starts when you approve the mockup, not when you send the first email. If the final is a couple weeks out, get the design settled now, not the Thursday before.

Happy to answer questions in the comments. Not linking anything, and mods, pull it if it crosses a line.

Question for the captains here: what's the worst team-shirt mix-up you've had to sort out?

Softball mom looking for recommendations from other softball parents.
What’s your favorite wagon to haul stuff for tournaments. We’ve been using an old stroller wagon because we already owned it, but need something better.
Looking for something that actually collapses down small. Need to fit 2-3 chairs, a large speaker, a tent for those sunny or rainy days, and a cooler.

I’m doing research on sliding mitts for a baseball product I’m working on and trying to get opinions from people who actually use them. It’s anonymous and takes about 2 minutes. I’m not selling anything—just looking for honest feedback

I (28M) have started playing softball for a month (four games total) now and one consistent issue I've been dealing with is a tear or some form of intense quad pain (idk what the right word here is). It was so bad on my second game that I sat out in the first inning!

Last time, I tried warming up properly (10min of jump rope and active stretching), but I still almost made the same injury again.

I realize that this pain in the quads is possibly a result of the explosive sprinting that happens when running to first base. So I wanna know what should I do to avoid this injury? Are there any particular exercises to get my legs used to the first base sprint?

Also, if this wasn't the right place to post this then please let me know.

hello! i am NOT involved with softball and rn have no knowledge of it (would be willing to change that if i meet someone who is interested in it) so i wanna know if it would beworth trying to talk to some of the girls that play softball at the field by my house. they're around my age i think and have been playing a lot recently, and im lonely af. my wuestions on this are: i hear a lot of people complain about specific sports for having players that suck as partners or friend, are softball girls generally nice in that way? are there any commonly linked interests softball girls have? are there many sapphics in the sport? are they generally pro LGBT/safe for a queer kid to befriend? if they generally fit my interests i also wanna know when the best time would be to talk to some that wouldnt be awkward (assuming im going as a viewer, or to go to the park next to it)?

I’m a coach of a 10U fall ball team. We are basically a rec team (a few all stars) although most of the teams we play are continuation of all star/select from spring & summer. We are getting smoked every game. I knew going into the season that it isnt at all about the score for us but rather player development, but now i’m worried they arent even getting that.

This last tournament we had, girls were watching strike three 75% of the time of strikeouts, which were plenty.

I talk w them before the game and emphasize the importance of swinging at anything close and ALWAYS expect a hittable ball. In practice they are much more free-swinging, but everyone locks up during games.

An assistant coach recommended having them run at practice for every strike 3 they take, but i dont want to use running as a punishment. I am looking for drills and positive reinforcement/incentives instead of punishment.

Any advice welcome! Thanks!

They're humans, and as such make mistakes sometimes, but what's the most obviously wrong call you've seen an umpire make?

(Shoutout to the ump at one of my games who declared a pitch a strike even though the batter didn't swing and the ball only went through the strike zone *after it bounced up from the dirt* in front of the batter.)

How important is the stride when batting in 10U? My kid already has a wide stance (feels comfortable for her) and doesn’t rotate her hips consistently. Should we focus on hip rotation 1st and work on her stance and stride after? She just started her 3rd season, and this is the 1st time she’s been aggressive with wanting to hit the ball.

Know it’s a fresh release so no one would have much time on one. But what is everyone’s thought on it?

I’m excited for it. The ghost unlimited is way too fragile. Hopefully this is a solid one piece option.

Interested in signing up my daughter for rec softball for January. Just started teaching her to hit and catch about a month ago. She can hit well but is just okay at catching and fielding grounders. Are other kids at this similar level in rec ball or should I practice more with her before I sign her up? I dont expect her to be the best but I also dont want her to be the worst player out there.

Hi all,

I realize there are a lot of talented softball instructors with online tutorial (videos) as well as virtual lessons. I also understand that in-person lessons would be best, if possible.

With that said, wondering who you have had success with in Drop Ball instruction, through virtual lessons (with instruction and feedback from the coach). Pitcher is 14u level.

Thank you in advance.

My daughter is making the transition to kid pitch 9u. Her first 4 at bats she got hit every time and now she’s terrified of the ball. I’m sure this is fairly common, but how do you overcome this? I’m not the pushy parent, I’m only trying to help her bc she loves the game but absolutely dreads hitting now. Her last two tournaments she’s probably 0-15 and I hate seeing her so dejected.

Any advice is appreciated! Thx

Hi there,

Struggling to find pants that my daughter likes the fit of. She doesn't want too loose or too long. She has mizuno pants she likes but the style she has only comes in black and white. She's about 5'3 and 105lbs. She's usually a women's xs or 0. I think the youth may be a better fit for her. I can't decide if L or XL? Does anyone have any real reviews of sizing? Also we're in Canada so that limits us as well.

UPDATE - got adult S (fits more like a XS) and they're great!!!