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When Paul Gibson is in the coach's box next to third base, he thinks about how to help Hurst L.D. Bell win. But the coach also thinks about a line drive coming his way.

"If I've got a big kid up, it's in the back of my mind," he said.

More people think about it after last summer, when Mike Coolbaugh, a base coach for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, died after being struck by a liner. Coolbaugh was struck in the neck, but his death led to Major League Baseball adding a rule that requires base coaches to wear helmets.

At high school games, however, you probably won't see any coaches wearing helmets. Gibson doesn't wear a helmet, and he hasn't seen a coach wear one. Plano West coach Kendall Clark hasn't seen one, either, but he's seen base coaches nearly get hit.

"I've had some balls hit at guys that, if it had been hit right at them, it would've hit them," Clark said. "They didn't have a chance to move."

High school players don't have the hitting power of professionals, but they use aluminum bats. And there are many high school players, Gibson said, "with the bat speed to do some damage."

The baseball rules committee of the National Federation of State High School Associations will take that into consideration when it meets in June. Players who serve as base coaches are already required to wear helmets, but the NFHS, which provides the rules for University Interscholastic League games, might also require coaches to wear them.

The issue is on the agenda, said NFHS assistant director Elliot Hopkins, the liaison to the rules committee. But, he said, "it's interesting that we're talking about helmets for coaches when the pitcher, first baseman and third baseman are not as far away as them."

That's true. But base coaches can't always keep an eye on the batter the way an infielder can. A base coach, especially at first base, watches the pitcher closely to make sure the base runner doesn't get picked off.

"He may have a chance to peek at the batter, he may not," Clark said. "And then you get a good left-handed hitter who can really yank one."

Neither Gibson nor Clark, whose teams open the playoffs this week, are pushing for a change. It's each coach's option, just as infielders can choose to wear a protective mask.

But next year, helmets might not be a choice for coaches. The NFHS baseball rules committee last met before the Coolbaugh tragedy, and Gibson said he wouldn't be surprised to see a rule adopted.

Some coaches would grumble about the rule. After all, they're adults and they know the risks. But for some coaches, the rule might be good news.

It would allow them to protect themselves and their macho exterior.

"It would be uncomfortable at first," Clark said, "but it's pretty much like anything else. You would get accustomed to it."