The bottom line? Metal spikes not good in high school

I don't like spikes. Let's put that on the table as an appetizer right up front. I don't like spikes.

In nine years of coaching college-age girls in summer softball, the four worst injuries I've seen -- and all four were darn ugly -- came as the result of players wearing metal spikes.

And now they're coming to high school softball.

As players and coaches prepare for the start of the 2008 season with the official opening of practice on Monday, they also prepare for the onset of the spike era in prep softball.

Late last summer, the National Federation of High School Associations approved the use of metal spikes for high school softball.

According to the NFHS Web site release, Cindy Simmons of Oregon, the chair of the NFHS softball rules committee, cited better traction on nearly all surfaces, as well as reduced slippage on the bases, especially home plate, as the rationale behind approving metal spikes.

The release then went on to say that current rules prohibit runners from using illegal tactics when sliding and that if sliding is executed correctly, the risk of defensive players being spiked will decrease.

"We had gotten the proposal for several years from coaches and we had always explained it that we didn't allow metal cleats because of safety," said Mary Struckhoff of the NFHS, and a former assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Association, who made it clear the wearing of spikes is optional and not mandatory.

"They came back with the traction issue and the more the committee discussed it the more the issue of superior functionality came into play. The NCAA can use them and high school boys can use them in baseball. We know we get injuries with molded cleats and we think this might prevent some of those injuries, like some ACL injuries."

Sorry, that doesn't sell me. Nor did it sell the IHSA's softball advisory committee, which recommended not allowing Illinois high school players to use metal cleats. That recommendation was not approved by the IHSA board of directors.

"If we would have had that recommendation accepted we would have been breaking away from the NFHS rules," said the IHSA's Kurt Gibson, who administers softball for the association. "It's rare for us to even have an advisory committee recommend not following an NFHS rule but the coaches on the committee wanted it on record they were opposed to it."

Gibson, like many coaches in the area, isn't totally sold on high school kids using metal cleats.

"I'm always wanting to see some sound logic for a rules change," he said. "This was one where the Federation said it's not any more dangerous wearing metal cleats and they couldn't offer a reason why they allow boys to wear them and not girls. But I've never seen any statistical data and that made me uncomfortable. My personal view was against it."

So, too, are many coaches.

"I don't like it," said Burlington Central coach Scot Sutherland. "We're so concerned about safety, why are we going to this? With a regular slide, good or bad, there's a good chance of getting ripped up. How many kids will be sitting on the bench for a week or two because they have stitches from getting spiked?"

Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith doesn't like it either.

"I'm not a big fan of metal cleats in the high school game," he said. "I wish the IHSA had said no. It's going to cause some serious coaching on our part to teach the kids how to use them properly."

For that reason, there is a very good six-page article posted on the NFHS Web site (www.nfhs.org) with comments from college and travel ball coaches on the issue of transitioning from rubber cleats to metal. I would recommend all coaches and players read it. Click the softball tab and it's right there.

But I still don't like spikes and no one yet has given me a compelling reason to. Lindsey Hall, Melissa Folsom, Sabrina Drogos and Kathleen Chase and their bloody trips to the hospital remain strong enough reasons for me to not like spikes.

"At the onset I'm afraid we'll see a rash of injuries," said Wolfsmith, who added that his team is divided on wearing them or not with returning all-area and Illinois State-bound catcher Elizabeth Kay the one player who has already purchased her new metal.

Therein lies another problem. Struckhoff cited the fact metal spikes are worn in college. While it is a high school coach's responsibility to ready athletes for college, we all know the percentage of high school players who will actually play college softball is low. College coaches have training programs to transition players to metal spikes -- why does it have to be done in high school?

Additionally, summer travel teams aren't allowed to wear metal spikes, so now we're going to have some kids wearing metal in the spring, rubber in the summer and then back to metal for high school. That makes about as much sense as our winter weather.

Another metal spike issue is that there's no age limitation. Freshmen through seniors are allowed to wear them.

"I'm a little leery of them and I think it could hurt with the younger kids," said Cary-Grove coach Tammy Olson. "Summer teams don't use them and that will make it inconsistent."

Olson, who is leaving the wearing of spikes up to her players, played college softball and says her transition from molded to metal went without incident. But …

"I've known a lot of girls who injured themselves by spiking themselves," she said. "Most of the injuries I've seen were self-inflicted."

The IHSA's Gibson also didn't like the inference about preparing kids for the college game.

"We serve different kids," he said. "My concern is that we're not changing rules just for the next level. I'm always protective of our codes. It's not mandatory but I also know since it's allowed there are going to be a lot of kids out there who will be wearing them. Umpires have rule coverage to handle illegal slides, coaches will have to prepare kids for metal spikes and, to the National Federation's credit, they have put some education out there for coaches."

Then there's the coaches who are OK with metal. At Barrington, the 2008 Fillies will all be wearing them.

"All of our kids are going to wear them at the varsity level," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson, who said he does have concerns with the summer issue and the transition issues from molded to metal.

"We wear team shoes and have since I came here in 1993. We haven't had a ton of spike injuries over the years but if we have issues with metal cleats I might have to rethink it."

Larkin coach Larry Hight is all for metal spikes.

"I'm an old baseball guy and I like it," Hight said. "They're allowed to wear them in college and I think it's OK in high school too. I think metal spikes is the way to go. They help a lot with traction."

Hight agrees the onus of making sure kids use metal spikes properly will be on the coaches.

"With girls that don't know how to slide it could be a problem," he conceded. "We as coaches are going to have to address that."

The issues are many, but here's another one. On the aforementioned article on the NFHS Web site, Simpson College coach Henry Christowski said the most serious metal spike injury he's had was when a girl slipped on the bathroom concrete. That might make you chuckle but most dugout floors are made of concrete.

"There's some training that has to go with it," Struckhoff said. "You don't put on any new piece of equipment and expect to be perfect with it. Wearing metal spikes is like learning to walk again."

Bottom line? High school softball players will be allowed to wear spikes this year. So, I would implore all players, coaches and parents to educate themselves and to look at the safety issue far far ahead of better traction.

And if you guessed I still don't like spikes, you're right.