Player Safety Tip: Why You Should Use A Mouth Piece

Player Safety Tip: Why You Should Use A Mouth Piece - You probably know someone, or know somebody who knows someone who has been hit in the mouth by a batter ball. Perhaps it has happened to you! In fast pitch softball, the pitcher, 3rd baseman and 1st baseman, as you well know, play quite close to the batter and occasionally reaction times are just not fast enough. In other cases, a bad hop might shoot up and nail you big time right in the kisser. More often than not, the result of being hit in the mouth is broken teeth or worse yet, teeth knocked completely out. Mouth pieces have been successfully used in all types of contact sports for years and have a proven "prevention" track record. They are readily available in all sporting goods outlets and are affordable with a price range of $2-$20. All it takes is one bad hop or frozen rope line drive and a mouth piece will pay for itself in unnecessary trauma, not to mention thousands of dollars in dental costs. We urge you to consider wearing one. A toothbrush can get the dirt out of your teeth...a mouth piece can keep your teeth out of the dirt. Get one and get used to wearing it. Avoiding an injury situation before it happens is better than treating it after it happens.

Deanna Vecchio also joins Lady Tigers

Also joining the Lady Tigers staff is Deanna Vecchio. Deanna will be an integral part of the Lady Tigers Coaching Staff as we enter our Summer Tour. Deanna’s coaching credits begin seven years ago with her work with the 12&U Shore Magic and her work in Maryland as the co-founder of URASTAR Softball, an organization organizing softball camps and clinics for high school players. She worked as the assistant varsity softball coach at Metuchen High School for two seasons in 2005 and 2006. In 2007 she was picked up as the assistant softball coach at NCAA Division-3 Drew University. Deanna has collected an impressive list of collegiate and post-collegiate accolades. She received a full softball scholarship to play at the NCAA Division-1 level at the University of Maryland- Baltimore County (UMBC) from 1999-2002. Leading her team to Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships in 2000 and 2002, Deanna was named NEC Player of the Year (2002), a 4 time first-team all conference performer, 2nd team Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-East Team, and the 2002 UMBC Senior Athlete of the Year. She was named by the ASA a Class A All-American and helped her StormUSA team win a national championship. Her name appears in the NCAA Division-1 record books six times: 17th overall for stolen bases per game; 13th in 2000 for average stolen bases per game; 20th in 2001 for average stolen bases per game; 2nd in 2002 for runs per game; 23rd in 2002 for batting average; and 23rd in 2002 for average stolen bases per game. She holds the career record in the NEC for runs and is in the top 5 in twelve categories for NEC single season records, including 1st in runs, hits, stolen bases (2000); stolen bases per game (1999); stolen bases (2001), and 1st in batting average, runs and stolen bases (2002). At UMBC, she holds career records in the top-ten of 14 categories, including 1st in runs, stolen bases, and stolen base attempts, and 2nd in hits. Her prowess is potent, as one of the all-time best short-stops in both UMBC and NEC history as well as a national standout.

Nutrition Tip of the Week

Dietary Fat

Don’t fight the fat when it comes to sports nutrition. Between 20% and 30% of your caloric intake in your sports nutrition diet should be fat to aid metabolic processes as well as for energy. Favor monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which do not have the negative cardiovascular effects attributed to saturated fats.

Omega 3 oils are considered a good form of fat. A good place to get these essential fats is from fish. Olive oil is another healthy source of good fats. This form of fat helps keep our good cholesterol up and the bad kind low. Health fats have also been shown to aid in proper joint lubrication.

Be aware of the types of fats in your diet.