I coach a 10u team that moved from Rec last spring to Travel last fall. I have 5 players who are 08, which means they will move up to 12u this fall. The mojority of my remaining girls are 09s. My intention is to move a couple of my 09s up to 12u with the 08s so that I can keep the bulk of my girls together. I'm struggling with how best to handle the players who will not be invited to move up. One in particular, really has me conflicted. Her parents are the most supportive that I have, they are first to arrive, last to leave at every practice or game, they never complain about PT and are willing to help in any way possible. But the girl is far below the others talent-wise. She's more on par with a 1st year 8u player. Often times she "gets lost" in the field and can't remember what she is supposed to do. BUT, she is always positive, always happy and is just excited to be a part of the team. It is totally my fault. I took her on because I needed a body at the time. Any advice?
Needing Advice on Moving Up
- Thread starter RCR
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Not sure how your competition level is in your area's tournaments, but we have the same exact issue and are purposefully keeping all '09 girls in 10U and not moving them up.
We think playing strong competition in 10U will be better for them than moving up to 12U. We're already a very small team and I can't imagine some of these girls in 12U. The '08 girls will need to find other teams and the bulk of our team will stay in 10U. We're going the opposite route and keeping the bulk of the team in 10U.
I certainly imagine you've considered that angle and it doesn't work for you. Perhaps your DD is '08 and has to move up or is ready to move up, or the 10U competition isn't that great and your girls need tougher competition.
It's not easy. We really wanted to keep the team to only '09 birthdates so we wouldn't have this issue, but it proved impossible.
Is there a coach that is ready to take over the 10U travel team? Bring him/her to a practice and introduce him/her. That could be a first step to sharing with girls and parents that the team is breaking up and there will be opportunities for everyone. The particular girl you mention probably knows (as do her parents) that she isn't ready for 12U ball. I could see them being grateful for the opportunity to be on the 10U travel team if you present it correctly.
We think playing strong competition in 10U will be better for them than moving up to 12U. We're already a very small team and I can't imagine some of these girls in 12U. The '08 girls will need to find other teams and the bulk of our team will stay in 10U. We're going the opposite route and keeping the bulk of the team in 10U.
I certainly imagine you've considered that angle and it doesn't work for you. Perhaps your DD is '08 and has to move up or is ready to move up, or the 10U competition isn't that great and your girls need tougher competition.
It's not easy. We really wanted to keep the team to only '09 birthdates so we wouldn't have this issue, but it proved impossible.
Is there a coach that is ready to take over the 10U travel team? Bring him/her to a practice and introduce him/her. That could be a first step to sharing with girls and parents that the team is breaking up and there will be opportunities for everyone. The particular girl you mention probably knows (as do her parents) that she isn't ready for 12U ball. I could see them being grateful for the opportunity to be on the 10U travel team if you present it correctly.
You might be able to approach it from a safety standpoint, with her parents. She's going to be playing against girls who at times might already be 13. While you love having her as part of the team, if you can't put her on the field for her own safety, you're robbing her of the experience and playing time that she needs. It will also help if you can help find a good place for them to land.
Then again, they might see right through that (although there is likely some truth in it, if you're describing her accurately). I feel for you, that's never a fun spot to be in.
Then again, they might see right through that (although there is likely some truth in it, if you're describing her accurately). I feel for you, that's never a fun spot to be in.
- Jun 8, 2016
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Just tell the girl, and her parents, the truth e.g you think she will develop better getting another year of more playing time at the 10U level. Unless the parents are totally clueless, it should be fairly obvious to them that this would be the best course of action.
We think playing strong competition in 10U will be better for them than moving up to 12U. We're already a very small team and I can't imagine some of these girls in 12U. The '08 girls will need to find other teams and the bulk of our team will stay in 10U. We're going the opposite route and keeping the bulk of the team in 10U.
I certainly imagine you've considered that angle and it doesn't work for you. Perhaps your DD is '08 and has to move up or is ready to move up, or the 10U competition isn't that great and your girls need tougher competition.
We have considered keeping the 09s down, but we are blessed with 3 09s that are very talented girls that would dominate 10u comp. Plus, it is a super tight knit group of girls.
I certainly imagine you've considered that angle and it doesn't work for you. Perhaps your DD is '08 and has to move up or is ready to move up, or the 10U competition isn't that great and your girls need tougher competition.
We have considered keeping the 09s down, but we are blessed with 3 09s that are very talented girls that would dominate 10u comp. Plus, it is a super tight knit group of girls.
I've been pondering a similar dilemma in my own organization. We've always had a 10U team, but the past few years have formed a 9U team to compete at the Rec/All-Star level (USSSA). So we effectively have 2 10U teams. The older team is a mix of 08-09, and one 2010, the younger is 2008-2010 (only 3 2008's).
I'm not looking forward to having to address the questions from parents who's kids are currently on the older 10U (playing 10C) who may not want to move up to 12U this fall. Last Spring, I thought we needed the mix of ages b/c of a lack of pitching (we ended up using a few guest players to pitch until our girls got more experience). But I also soon realized that from a coaching perspective, it's going to be difficult to keep a consistent team together. The younger girls are ALWAYS going to be the younger girls - b/c by the time they're ready to "shine" in their age group, they're pulled up to the next brackets.
Maybe this is more of a 10U problem, where there's rarely an 8U travel opportunity, so it's more likely to be a mix of ages. Even though I'd hate to lose the 2010 girls from my team, I'm starting to think a single-age team may be the simplest in terms of continuity, Of course, I'm sure I'd be thinking the exact opposite if I only had a limited number of '09s available.
RCR - I think the advice above has been good. Chances are if the parents are as involved as you say, they realize the reality of the situtation. In fact, it may be why they're such great parents - they're thankful for the opportunity you're giving their daughter. For the ones you need to leave behind - and I think this was already mentioned - it should be much easier if there's a 10U team identified that they can move to as a group.
I'm not looking forward to having to address the questions from parents who's kids are currently on the older 10U (playing 10C) who may not want to move up to 12U this fall. Last Spring, I thought we needed the mix of ages b/c of a lack of pitching (we ended up using a few guest players to pitch until our girls got more experience). But I also soon realized that from a coaching perspective, it's going to be difficult to keep a consistent team together. The younger girls are ALWAYS going to be the younger girls - b/c by the time they're ready to "shine" in their age group, they're pulled up to the next brackets.
Maybe this is more of a 10U problem, where there's rarely an 8U travel opportunity, so it's more likely to be a mix of ages. Even though I'd hate to lose the 2010 girls from my team, I'm starting to think a single-age team may be the simplest in terms of continuity, Of course, I'm sure I'd be thinking the exact opposite if I only had a limited number of '09s available.
RCR - I think the advice above has been good. Chances are if the parents are as involved as you say, they realize the reality of the situtation. In fact, it may be why they're such great parents - they're thankful for the opportunity you're giving their daughter. For the ones you need to leave behind - and I think this was already mentioned - it should be much easier if there's a 10U team identified that they can move to as a group.
- Jun 8, 2016
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In order for there to be continuing continuity the girls who are playing up need to be on the same level as the older girls. If I was a parent I wouldn't have my kid playing up if I didn't think this was the case anyway. On my DD's team, the leadoff hitter and 3B, main SS and 4th batter and #1 pitcher are all 09's born in the latter part of 09 (October,September and November respectively).
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- Jul 14, 2018
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The tough love answer is that as the girls get older, it becomes increasingly difficult for a group who have been together since they started playing to stay together. The 10U-12U line is often the fracturing point where the very best players seek out the A-level teams, the decent players go with B-level, and the rest stick with Rec and school ball. As much as the coaches and parents want to keep a good thing going, there comes a time when the needs of the players have to take priority.
The conversation that you need to have with the girl who isn't ready to move up and her parents is definitely a tough one. If it's any consolation, it's good practice for you as a coach to start having those conversations as the game gets more competitive moving forward.
The conversation that you need to have with the girl who isn't ready to move up and her parents is definitely a tough one. If it's any consolation, it's good practice for you as a coach to start having those conversations as the game gets more competitive moving forward.
- Jun 8, 2016
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In my DD's org, after 12U things get more cutthroat as the top 14U,16U and 18U teams are usually national level teams (in particular 16U and 18U) e.g. play in PGF nationals, etc and the best girls from other teams in the area start to migrate over to the org (along with a few others in the area)
Player/parents will be far better off to be where she belongs rather than avoiding the conversation and bringing her up with you. As an AC one year we took a girl who was a weaker player but was a hard worker, etc. Our pride as coaches told us we could bring her along. But with limited time, there's only so much you can do. Looking back, she would have been better served being on another team at her level.
