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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
About Face
Greater Louisville, KY
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By: Tom Lane, WDRB TV - Fox 41
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The field hockey face-mask debate continues, but after an injury, protection is more important for one player.
Rachael McAllister never saw it coming. “She’s dribbling, I’m on her right. I reverse my stick. Her follow-through went straight up into my nose. At first I felt numb, not really sure what just happened. I looked down and blood was flowing into my hand. I took a knee and started bawling.”
McAllister, a junior midfielder at Assumption, had a broken nose. She played that weekend with a protective mask although she said it was very tough to breath. She had surgery about a week after the hit…missed a couple of games and then returned to the field, playing with a cage-like mask which she plans to wear the rest of this season.
A 2004 study by Wake Forest University reported, “Studies have consistently shown that injuries in field hockey are numerous and can be serious. Most serious injuries result from being struck by the stick or the ball…when struck forcefully the hard plastic ball travels at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.
“Most injuries are to the face, hands and lower limbs. Fortunately, injuries to the eyes are infrequent, but when they do happen, they tend to be severe.”
After a string of injuries, including one where a young girl lost her vision, protective eyewear became mandatory for high school field hockey players in parts of the Northeast. It is not mandatory in Kentucky or in most other parts of the country.
Assumption head coach Debbie Judd is a member of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. She said mandatory facemasks were discussed at their meetings two years ago and were voted down, in part because of a study that showed teams that were wearing masks in New York State actually incurred more injuries than teams that did not wear them.
Like other area coaches I talked to, Judd is not a fan of making masks mandatory. She does believe the game has become faster and perhaps more dangerous in recent years thanks to stick technology.
“Hockey used to be more finesse and passing…they don’t need that much power,” says Judd. She added that going back to wooden sticks and having some fields groomed better would eliminate many injuries. Still, she doesn’t think the problem has been a big one here over the years and, speaking as a former player, says “I would rather see the ball better and be able to avoid it than feel safer and be hit by it.”
Other area coaches agree that limiting one’s peripheral vision is a downfall of some masks. Collegiate’s Wendy Martin says, “The masks that we have at the present time do obstruct view at times and I would like to see better goggles or masks to offer the kids.”
Liz Lewis of Sacred Heart adds, “My job is to teach proper tackling and hitting techniques so that injury does not occur.”
The cage-like mask McAllister is currently wearing is not allowed during USA Field Hockey events, like the festival she’s playing in during November. They are deemed dangerous to others on the field. She says she will likely wear one of the newly approved plastic goggles, even though they don’t really provide any protection for her nose. As for next year, she’s not sure.
“It’s hard being the only one wearing it,” McAllister says. “But I never want to feel that pain again.”
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