Advice needed for getting my baseball obsessed 7yo daughter to even entertain the thought of making the switch to fastpitch

[HunterMO]

I don't think preferring baseball over softball is that uncommon. Kids/people just don't talk about it. If given the choice, my DD would play baseball over softball 10/10 times. In terms of consumption, baseball is far more accessible than softball. It's better marketed and better produced. It feels like there's hundreds of youth baseball teams in every town/city. And at the young ages (5-10), girls and boys are pretty well equal in terms of physical ability. Only when growth spurts and puberty start to intrude does the difference begin to be noticed.

Let her play baseball. Support her in it. She will figure out on her own (as she gets older) that there isn't a big place for females in higher level baseball. At least for now. But there are avenues to pursue it as long as she wants to. I suspect however, that once she gets to 10-12 years old...the draw of playing with all girls will outweigh playing baseball with mostly boys.

In the end, the sports are similar enough that playing baseball won't hinder her at all. Keep her excited about a stick-and-ball sport. Enjoy the laughs, snacks, and friends. Zero reason to worry about baseball vs softball at 7-years old. Let her be a kid who wants to be doing something outdoors.

BTW, my DD started in local rec-league baseball around 7-yo. She didn't play formal softball until 11. As a Sophomore she played 50% of her time on Varsity and produced as starter/top player for her regional travel ball team in "A" and "Open" 16u and Highschool divisions. Now, as a Junior, is a starter for Varsity and ultimately will finish her softball journey next year. Some of her friends/teammates (who started the same way) will continue their journey's into college.

 

[CoachCeetar]

I don't think preferring baseball over softball is that uncommon. Kids/people just don't talk about it. If given the choice, my DD would play baseball over softball 10/10 times. In terms of consumption, baseball is far more accessible than softball. It's better marketed and better produced. It feels like there's hundreds of youth baseball teams in every town/city. And at the young ages (5-10), girls and boys are pretty well equal in terms of physical ability. Only when growth spurts and puberty start to intrude does the difference begin to be noticed.

According to some charts, the average male doesn't pass the average female until like 14.

There's a 13 year old girl on our rec football team. She's literally taller than every single boy, judging by the pep rally anyway. She's probably taller than half of them EVER will be. She's an outlier for sure, but you can get pretty far along before there's any sizable muscle/strength advantage. Unless you're pitching, almost all of the skills are pretty transferable. Play the sports you want to play, with the friends you want to play with, gender be damned.

 

[HunterMO]

Yeah, I probably under estimated on where physical size starts to separate. But you're right. I see it in hockey quite a bit. Up until 14u, very common to have a few girls sprinkled in amongst the boys. Often in 12u/14u, the girls are noticeable simply by height (and of course long hair sticking out).