8U softball debate.... Your opinion please....

[smddad]

 

[SoftSocDad]

Get little pitching time and wouldn't be up to bat.

Why wouldn't everyone get regular at-bats on a 10u TB team? If you're saying that an 8yo could make the team, then that team isn't so competitive that some girls should rarely see the field or be in the lineup.

 

[Sweet Lou]

Why wouldn't everyone get regular at-bats on a 10u TB team?

You'd be surprised at the number of coaches who run a 10U B Team like they think thay have an 18 gold team with respect to playing time.

 

[Rocketech1]

So with all that said, if you can keep it all about fun and NOT about winning, then it can be a great experience.

There is this fallacy that somehow if you want to play at a more competitive level (i.e. travel ball, select, all-stars, tournament ball, etc) its only about the winning and not about fun. I completely disagree. For the more serious and dedicated player, playing with and against similar ability kids is fun and challenging. That is why ASA, for example, divided the classification into two different playing classes: Recreation and Travel. There is a classification for every type of player. The less serious players who want to just hang out with friends and have fun can play rec. The more serious and talented players can play on competitive teams that prepare for and play tournament ball.

There is a balance between giving every player the opportunity and skill sets to succeed and fielding the best team you can. My philosophy as a coach has always been a) teach softball fundamentals, b) field a competitive team, and c) and make sure its a fun environment. These three areas are not mutually exclusive.

 

[NVfishing]

Why wouldn't everyone get regular at-bats on a 10u TB team? If you're saying that an 8yo could make the team, then that team isn't so competitive that some girls should rarely see the field or be in the lineup.

on a team with girls that will age up. Being young and 10th batter or 13th batter your going to play every third game. Staying down she will play and bat in every game. People talk about getting their girls on teams where they play. Young girls on a stacked team have a hard time cracking the starting lineup.

I've seen a lot of girls come and go through programs. On one team they might be the 10th player. On another they could be top five. I like my DD coach. She will be going from 8u to 10u and my DD gets continuity.

 

[MsDinosaur]

It would seem a team made up of '02 kids would be at a bigger advantage than a team of '03 kids, yet still playing in the same age bracket. Obviously this is me looking from the outside in just not understanding it. I don't have any intentions of moving to softball travel until 12u at the earliest.

Yes, it's true. Our usual shorthand terms are first year whatevers and second year whatevers, e.g. first year 12Us. The second year teams do generally have an advantage; they tend to be bigger, stronger and to have more experience, but you can't always assume that they'll come out on top in any given matchup.

IMO the differences were especially noticeable in the fall seasons when you had teams that have just moved up, teams that are heading into their second year, and teams who were already second years and must move up in the spring, which had made the decision to stay down for fall ball. I thought I'd heard somewhere that some of the orgs were going to force fall move ups, but I'm not sure on that.

 

[CLM265]

Cents my two sense isn't worth much here it is. We don't have 8u around here so some of the early bloomers do practice with and play on 10U B teams. Never under estimate what a self driven dedicated 6, 7 or 8 year old younger sister can accomplish after being around her older sister succeeding at the highest level on an older team. By chance my young DD was asked to join such a team with some DDD (dedicated darling daughters) on it and her improvement over the winter practicing and playing with her team has been dramatic. She is so lucky to play with such self driven girls.

 

[justanotherguy]

There is this fallacy that somehow if you want to play at a more competitive level (i.e. travel ball, select, all-stars, tournament ball, etc) its only about the winning and not about fun.

Note, I was specifically saying to make sure it stays fun. The problem is that, more often than not, the coach's ego gets in the way and it quickly becomes about winning more than anything else. At 8 and 10u, if your focus is on winning first then I believe you've got it all wrong and will successfully drive more kids away from the game. It's not a bad thing at all to put motivated and athletic kids together for a travel team. However, once you start treating them like young adults then you've blown it, IMO.

I'm not going to endlessly brag here about my daughter, but she is one of the best players. However, she rarely cares about winning. Now, she certainly cares about HER performance, but not anyone else's. I've never seen her get mad at another kid for messing up. She's been on teams that won almost every game they played. She's also been on teams that have lost almost every game they played. The 2 teams that won it all are the teams she can't stand. It just seems in travel that it always ends up being about winning. It starts off nice and fun; but as the season progresses the "sickness" consumes the coaches and some of the parents. That's why we'll actually be stepping down from travel after this season is over. There'll still be lots of games to be played between rec and select, plenty that my girl can keep having fun and playing the game she loves... minus the obsessed coaches.