Playing Up 8U-10U

[stox]

My daughter (2016) is in her third season of 8U rec league this spring, playing up all of 2023. She's eligible to keep playing 8U through the end of 2025. She also played 8U rec all stars in 2023 and plan to do so again in 2024 and 2025.

I wanted to hear others experiences with moving their girls up early on the 8U-10U transition. I've heard good arguments on both sides. Some say to keep her down so she can dominate as a second year 8U. Other say to play up so they can start seeing kid pitch and playing real softball.

Our rec league isn't particularly deep in terms of talent. This spring comprises of 2016 and 2015 girls and she evaluated in the top 10. When the 2015s move up she will likely be a top 2 player in the league.

I am considering moving her up in spring 2025 as 2 years of coach pitch seems enough. If I do that, do I keep her in 10u or 3 years? Keep her playing up a year in rec until she moves to travel?

Happy to hear others thoughts.



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[earlg3]

Does the league have teams with kids that can pitch or will she just be attending games to get walked and to watch her pitchers walk people?

I only ask because there might be more development for her in 8U than in 10U just based on the game actually being able to be played.

 

[stox]

Does the league have teams with kids that can pitch or will she just be attending games to get walked and to watch her pitchers walk people?

I only ask because there might be more development for her in 8U than in 10U just based on the game actually being able to be played.

It's a good point. My guess is there will be a handful of good pitchers but it is likely a walkathon for girls that are learning to pitch for the first time. I haven't seen any 10u rec games in our league, but in conversations I've had with a parent only 2-3 teams are in the running to "win" the league because their pitching is head and shoulders above the rest.

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[TigerD313]

My daughter went to coach pitch in rec at age 5, I actually joined this sub to see if I should let her join kids pitch at age 6 lol.

We found a great 10u that she's played for at ages 8 and 9. When it was time for those girls to go to 12u my daughter decided to stay at 10u for another season.

Going back this third year with a new team she taken more of a leadership role, moving to SS and leadoff. Hey confidence also went way up playing with girls her own age.

I thought playing up as much as possible (I was close to letting her go 10u at 6 years old) as fast as possible would be the best for anyone but I guess just like everything else there's pros and cons

 

[Sonerai]

The first question I would ask, is your DD having fun at the 8U level? If she is having fun, not bored and still learning it may be okay not to move up. If she is already one of the best on her team and getting bored with the level of play, I would consider moving up. If you keep her on 8U, let 10U teams know that she is willing to sub if they don't have enough players. We did this in our league and it was a great opportunity to get some experience at the next level without fully committing.

I was going to move my DD up to 10U one year early, but she had just started pitching at 7 and I kept her down to get more experience (our 8U is girl pitch). It was the best decision for her and she came into 10U with a lot more confidence.

 

[Chilixa]

Does the league have teams with kids that can pitch or will she just be attending games to get walked and to watch her pitchers walk people?

I only ask because there might be more development for her in 8U than in 10U just based on the game actually being able to be played.

This is what I would ask as well. Your kid probably will get to swing the bat and field the ball more at 8u. 10u (especially in rec leagues) is for developing pitchers and catchers. If your kid wants to pitch move her up and let her start learning.

Only other time I suggest moving up early is if your kid can no longer throw safely to the kids in 8u. You don’t want your kid to try and throw softer just to make it easier to catch. But if you move up early be prepared to do a lot of individual work with her on hitting and fielding that she won’t get from games.


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[CoachCeetar]

The first question I would ask, is your DD having fun at the 8U level?

yeah, this. Is it like a local/town league in that all her classmates and friends are in 8U? Because then, no don't move her up. When in doubt, keep kids with the people they like.

I think the jump to kid pitch and tracking the ball is a huge jump and worth making though, versus 'dominating' a coach. Though the lack of a ton of reps fielding because of wild pitching certainly is a concern. In our 3/4 (10u) rec town league, it's 2 walks an inning and then after that the coach pitches. Keeps the game moving and makes sure there are plays.

Another thought is which coach is pitching to her. How are they pitching to her? Can they adjust and do a windmill and throw harder? At least she'll have the practice tracking through the arm circle and waiting on it. I intend to this for my 1/2 (8U) girls that can handle it this spring.

Our league was classified as 3rd/4th last year (10U C), but because we're a small town with limited players, we only had third graders. Only 2 of 12 of the kids were 9, meaning we basically could've played 8U. There were some...trying games in regards to walks and struggling to hit. They learned a ton, and they had a blast. We played two tournaments and a 12+1 game season. They without a doubt learned a ton more than they would've otherwise, and if we keep the team together and play at that same level (Depends on numbers, filling rosters, etc) I have no doubt they'll be extremely competitive.

 

[stox]

This is what I would ask as well. Your kid probably will get to swing the bat and field the ball more at 8u. 10u (especially in rec leagues) is for developing pitchers and catchers. If your kid wants to pitch move her up and let her start learning.

Only other time I suggest moving up early is if your kid can no longer throw safely to the kids in 8u. You don’t want your kid to try and throw softer just to make it easier to catch. But if you move up early be prepared to do a lot of individual work with her on hitting and fielding that she won’t get from games.


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Good points. So given that 10u rec is very developmental for pitchers, it probably doesn't benefit my daughter's hitting that much to be in 10u. She is learning to play catcher, so development at that position would be a reason to move up to 10u.

One other thing is that she is eligible to keep playing 8u all stars even if she moves up early to 10u in rec. We love the summer all star circuit, and is really the reason why I hope to keep her in this league through 10u; however, the league currently does not have the depth at pitcher to field more than 1 competitive 10u all star team. Last summer, the 10u A team takes all the top pitchers, so the B team routinely ends up in last place at all star tournaments. My hope that when she is age eligible for 10u all stars she has a good shot making the A team, and I think getting a year of development at catcher in 10u rec will help her accomplish that.

Throwing safely is actually one of the main reasons I moved her up to 8u early in the first place. So this is also on my radar.

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[tomorrow]

When the actual 10u rec softball game takes place it might be one of the worst sporting events ever devised for young girls unless they add something to limit walks.

 

[quincy]

If I had the opportunity to start over again DD would have played slow pitch in 10U. The FP games can be brutal because of the pitching.

I am not sure your DD would learn to much being a C at 10 U.