Girls test metal

Some of Tennessee’s teenage girls have had to create some room in their shoe closets recently. Metal cleats are in fashion this spring.

The 2008 season marks the first time the TSSAA is allowing its high school softball players to wear spikes during games. The National Federation of State High School Associations has approved the measure, and TSSAA assistant executive director Bernard Childress said Tennessee is complying because it never wavers from the National Federation’s rulebook.

Childress said he received a copy of a survey from the NFHS during last year’s Spring Fling. He then met with various coaches and umpires around Murfreesboro that week and gathered their input before returning it. The NFHS notified state organizations of their ruling in July.

Most local coaches sampled expressed surprise at how quickly the proposal came up and passed. Childress said his understanding was that one person convinced the rest of the national committee to approve it. He didn’t remember the topic being on the survey before.

“Not only were coaches caught by surprise, the state office was caught by surprise,” Childress said.

Sporting goods sales representative Bopper Coppinger said a few local programs checked with the Athletic Shop in Red Bank about getting the spikes as a group.

“Most of the girls wanted them,” Coppinger said. “A few daddies said no.”

Coppinger said group orders can be taken care of in a couple of weeks — longer if the request is for something customized. He said individuals could come in the store and shouldn’t have a problem finding girls’ spikes in standard sizes.

Question of safety

Hixson coach Janet Tate wore metal cleats when she played in college but is among those puzzled by the decision. She pointed out that for safety reasons girls are not allowed to wear stud earrings while playing, yet spiked footwear was approved.

Boyd-Buchanan coach Jeff Stone suggests his peers may want to give refresher courses in the art of sliding.

“They’ve taken all these measures in the interest of safety,” Stone said. “They’ve dropped the core of the ball. They’ve added facemasks to the batting helmets. They’ve reduced the pop in the bats. This is kind of an interesting step. It almost seems like they’ve gone in the opposite direction.”

Soddy-Daisy coach Clifford Kirk is among those not in favor of the decision. He’s given his players the option of wearing the metal cleats but prefers they don’t.

“I think there are going to be some injuries develop,” Kirk said. “When you slide, it’s going to have to be with your feet up, whether it’s at second, third or home. I think there’s a great danger of being cleated.”

The prevailing argument is that boys have been allowed to wear them in baseball for years, even at the middle school level.

“They get a cleat mark and it’s a trophy for them,” Kirk said. “Not for a girl.”

Tate is concerned that those who aren’t college prospects may not play under control as well as the college-bound athlete. Ooltewah shortstop Kristin Whitmire said she likes how the shoes help increase her speed, but she does see a consequence.

“My only concern is me getting out of the way when someone’s sliding,” Whitmire said. “If I’m trying my footwork around the bag, I’ve got to be more aware of moving. If they’re going to hit me, I’ve got to be prepared for it.”

Smith in favor

Kelli Smith, now coaching at her high school alma mater Baylor, said she enjoyed wearing spikes when she played in college and was excited to hear about the ruling. The Lady Red Raiders got new uniforms this year, and metal cleats for all were included.

“I think a lot of things in the sport are dangerous,” Smith said. “You can get hit with a pitch. A pitcher can get hit with the ball. There’s potential danger, but like anything you weigh the risks and the benefits. You know how to get out of the way. I never once got cleated. I think I cleated myself more than anything else.”

Smith said there were lots of sore feet the first day of practice, especially considering much of the time was spent on conditioning and agility drills. She added that’s the only day she’s heard any complaints.

Baylor pitcher Claire Hufstetler said she thinks the cleats have helped her add a few miles per hour on her fastball.

“At first I really had to adjust to them,” Hufstetler said. “They’re a lot different. I think it’s added some speed. I get a lot more grip off the rubber.”

Smith is among the coaches who like that their athletes who plan to play in college can get accustomed to the shoes sooner. She did add that if things revert back in the future because it’s determined that playing in spikes is not in the best interest of high school softball players, then she’ll be OK with that.

Opposite directions

Soddy-Daisy baseball coach Steve Garland sees irony in the development. He said he has gotten to know some of the groundskeepers at AT&T Field, home of the Southern League’s Chattanooga Lookouts.

The coach said they’ve told him a lot of professional baseball players have gotten away from metal spikes and gone back to a molded rubber cleat. The reasoning is that the surfaces they play on are so good that any extra traction isn’t necessary, plus there’s less wear and tear on knees over 162 games.

“It’s funny that girls are going in that direction, while the highest level of baseball is going the other way,” Garland said.

Childress said the NFHS will examine the policy again at the end of the year. Supposedly coaches will have opportunities for input again then.

Looking ahead, Tate said if the high school game is going to mirror the college game in some capacity, she’d rather it be by moving the pitcher rubber from 40 feet from home plate to 43. Could that be the sport’s next hot topic?

“Two percent will go to college and play softball,” Childress said. “We’ve got to do what’s right for the other 98 percent.”