Taping hands and taping fingers

Question
Dear Tom my name is Danielle I'm 14 my height is 5'8 and I've played OH for my 7th and 8th grade A teams right now I'm playing club for my second year and my dad says i need to tape my hands because i tend to jam my fingers alot and I'm always complaining about dry skin from hitting the ball :P but i have no idea how to tape my hands and even what kind of tape to use if you could give me some info on where to get the tape and some directions on how to tape my hands i would greatly appreciate it :)

Answer
Hello Danielle!

Thank you for visiting www.allexperts.com.  It's great to hear from you.

a) Taping hands.  In this part of the country, I never see girls tape their hands UNLESS they have an injury they're trying to protect.  And usually, that's the thumb area.  I'm coaching a 16's team right now, and none of them tape their hands at all.  

About dry hands, all of my girls use more lotion than they probably drink water.  haha  Yep, I even use a lot of lotion myself, if I spend much time hitting/serving at my players.  The nastier your hands are, the higher quality of hand lotion you want.  No, I didn't say what's sold at the coolest store!  haha  Maybe ask one of your female coaches/teachers what lotion they use.

b) Taping fingers.   I have occasionally seen girls tape their finger joints to make them a little stronger and less susceptible to injury.  You used to be able to actually buy little finger sleeves in some catalogs.  I bought a few packs a long time ago, and none of my players liked them.  So, when a girl now wants to try to make her fingers stronger, I just get some athletic/adhesive tape, tear it down the middle, then tear off about 8 inch pieces and wrap it around the little joints of the fingers.  

That's about all I can help you with!  I wish I could be of more help.

My team will be at Monument in Richmond next weekend (Jan 17-19), Capitol Hill Classic in D.C. in February, Shamrock in Roanoke in March, and BigSouth Qualifier in Atlanta in April.  If you're going to be at any of those, please visit me!  I'll be coaching Roanoke Junior 16 National.  

And please visit me at www.coachhouser.com.  I think you'll really like all the smiling faces!