Each player is required to have their own glove. (Elk River Youth Baseball will provide each team with a catchers mitt).

In general, at the younger ages from Pre-K to 3rd or 4th grade, you’ll want your child to have a glove that will fit his/her hand properly.  The child will want to be able to open and close the glove with ease.  You don’t want to buy your child a glove that is so stiff they can’t open or close it and thus not be able to catch the ball.  A great option is the look at used gloves that are already broken in. Look online, at used sporting goods stores, or friends and family that have already outgrown their younger age gloves.  At the younger levels, kids will be playing all over the field, they are not specialized into positions at that age, thus get a glove that will feel comfortable to them.  We don’t want the child out there with mom or dads adult softball glove that he/she can’t raise their arm up to catch a ball because the glove is too heavy. Remember, they don’t have the strength for that. 

There are a number of gloves that are lighter and can easily be broken in faster which are typically made up of more synthetic material vs real leather which would be good at early ages.  As the kids develop and grow stronger you’ll want to start considering better quality gloves made of real leather that will require a much longer break in period. 

Below are 3 links that can be used as a guide to buy a glove for your child: