Elena Delle Donne Basketball Face Guard and Alternatives: Mueller, Qiancheng
Elena Delle Donne Face Mask seems like a random thing to put into Google. Well, I didn’t start there. I started with basketball face guards in general and she kept popping up as a high-profile WNBA player who wears one. I have followed her career off and on since she was a college player at Delaware and she has always been inspirational.
She has faced a lot of adversity and recently wrote an article on her battle with Lyme disease. We will get more into her story, but let’s focus on her faceguard. I searched and searched for the exact brand and am still looking for it (so are others based on this tweet). I will find it but in the meantime, I researched and wrote up some alternatives that look similar below.
Top Basketball Face Masks, Guards, and Shields:
Top Basketball Face Masks, Guards, and Shields
This section covers some of the top-rated face masks on the market. New styles and shapes of guards get designed all the time, even 3D printed at home, so it is vital to make sure you select a reputable product that suits your needs.
1. Mueller Protective Face Guard
The Mueller face protection is made from crack/shatterproof medical-grade polycarbonate to handle most collisions on the court.
The downside to this brand is that it is one size fits most, meaning that someone out there does not work. The mask can also get very slippery once you start sweating and moving around.
2. Qiancheng Protective Face Guard
The Qiancheng face protection line is made from a similar crack/shatterproof polycarbonate and comes in different sizes to adjust to the wearer. They also offer versions with a high nasal bridge for those with higher sitting noses.
One downside to this brand is that the straps sit prominently on the side of the head and do not secure the back fully out of the way.
Who Is Elena Delle Donne
Elena Delle Donne is recognized primarily as an American basketball player who is highly awarded and led teams to championships. She is a role model for many people, placing health and people above money and basketball games.
Delle Donne would be named the MVP of the 2019 WNBA. Delle Donne would also be the first woman to achieve membership to the informal 50-40-90 club of professional basketball. The 50-40-90 membership means she has over a 50 percent field goal efficiency, 40 percent three-point goal efficiency, and a 90 percent free-throw shooting efficiency, all while wearing a face shield.
Why Elena Delle Donne Wore A Face Guard
Delle Donne suffered a nasal fracture during the first quarter of a July 2019 WNBA game. As a result, she had to miss two contests until medically cleared to play.
Delle Donne wore a protective face shield following the fracture to prevent any further strain or injury to her nose until she had a chance to heal. What made headlines was that she continued to wear the protective face mask throughout the season. She even thanked the manufacturer of her face guard after such a successful year.
Several NBA peers rocked the cover in a show of support while they attended games played by Delle Donne. Tina Charles wore a similar face shield in a 2016 game against Delle Donne, where Charles was the victor in the full medical-grade plastic face mask.
Elena Delle Donne Face Mask and Incredible Footwork
Delle Donna is wearing here face mask in these clips, but the more incredible part is her footwork!
Face Shield vs. Mask vs. Guard
Whether you use the term face shield, face mask, or face guard, the focus of a product should be whether or not it performs for the reason you bought it. Many devices that protect the face have the terms shield, mask, and guard used interchangeably. However, you can argue that there are slight distinctions between each category, which gets proven with an internet search for these terms.
Gerald McHale, a little-known orthotist, is credited with creating the basketball face mask. He helped players like Chris Webber and a high-school-aged Bryant play through facial injuries.
Face Masks
The term “face mask” could refer to any number of different devices that mask your face. Face masks can be anything from a cloth covering your mouth to a plastic mask to prevent injury. Since the term “face mask” is so broad, if you seek something that is a medical grade or hard plastic, you may need to search “shield” or “guard” to get the results you want.
Face Shields
The name shield conjures up images of protection, and while this is true for most face shields, it is crucial to make sure that your shield meets the intended purpose. Individuals can purchase face shields to block flames during welding or as basketball face shields, which is why reading the manufacturer’s specifications is essential.
Face Guards
A faceguard can still refer to various products, but the intention is to guard your face. Many face shields are also called guards in the personal protective equipment industry, so the truth is about looking at the design and safety ratings of the products. A guard may also get designed to protect a specific area of the face, like the nose.
Who Should Get This?
What a product gets called is really about marketing and not connecting users with the correct product, so whatever your intention, review the safety ratings and determine if they are suitable for your athlete. Whether it is basketball, rugby, or any other sport, if you need to protect your face, a protective face guard can help.
The Benefits of a Protective Face Mask
Whether you call it a protective face mask, shield, or guard, the benefits of wearing protective gear on your face remain the same. Despite the marketing boost from a basketball star like Elena Delle Donne, the benefits are more athletes of all kinds, including rugby, soccer/football, and American football.
Injury Prevention
The purpose of a protective shield or guard for your face is to help protect the face from maxillary, nasal, zygomatic, and orbital injuries. With sports like basketball and soccer, the game ball may come at your head and connect with your nose or cheek, causing a break. Guards that provide a barrier and absorb blows will prevent injuries during gameplay.
Healing Protection
In addition to protecting against future injuries, hard face masks can also safeguard against active injuries while they heal. If the damage does not prevent the athlete from playing safely other than the risk of contact, the player can use a guard to protect the injury once healed enough.
Absorbs Physical Contact and Reduces Head Trauma
Head trauma is a huge concern for sports where balls get quickly and aggressively thrown at your face. Having a faceguard of any kind may reduce the effects of head trauma on the brain when the product is to absorb the impact of oncoming sports equipment.
Increases Player Confidence
While having a plastic guard on your face may not be the most comfortable gear, it can give the wearer a different sense of comfort. Faceguards can provide the wearer comfort and confidence while playing due to reduced risk of injury and subsequent pain. With the threat of pain subsiding, the athlete can focus more on the game instead of harm.
Summary
As sports kick back into full swing and safety is at the top of everyone’s list, Elena Delle Donne’s protective face mask has surged in popularity as an awesome gift for basketball players. Though she was not the first to don a medical-grade plastic mask, her incredible performance on the court while wearing the faceguard (and a knee brace) has given this safety product more recognition and interest.
Whether an Elena Delle Donne face mask is right for the sportsperson in your life or not we hoped you enjoyed learning a little more about her.
Gina Wayland
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