Dominating 8u: time to move on??

[SoftSocDad]

After a solid 2-month layoff, kiddo began practicing a week or so ago and is loving it. She's back in her groove and looking forward to a very exciting season. She's been using the 11" ball and pitching from 35'.

She's eager to face the challenge of moving up and is one of those kids who adapts well to almost any situation. I don't have (m)any reservations about her playing with the 9-11 year olds with respect to the dugout situation, nor do I have any real safety concerns. She likes wearing her mask and knows she'll have to wear it in the infield.

When the topic has come up, though, many unbiased softball people have suggested that - because she's a pitcher and that's what she wants most to do - I should keep her down in 8u.

She's been wanting and preparing to move up, but just found out that she would NOT be allowed to participate in all-stars or in a (neighboring league's) select program until she is age-eligible to do so a year from now. Competing for a spot on the all-star team was one of the things motivating her to move up.

My primary issue was always the overall weakness of our 8u program. I don't expect anyone else to be at her level locally - that's not the point - but I don't think it's a good idea for her to be on the same field with so many players who are so inexperienced. She's not the best 8u pitcher in our region - I've seen a few other girls her age who were a lot more accurate, though not with the same speed - but they're not in our league.

Other coaches whose teams faced her in the fall season remarked at her speed and when she was hitting the strike zone, she was untouchable. She gave up her fair share of walks, but I don't think she gave up any hits. One fairly notable TB coach (who was watching his granddaughter play) found me to talk about her and suggested I move her up because she 'should be playing TB 2 seasons from now'.

Now, I know some will take issue with my position but, for me, the issue is bigger than just doing what's best for my daughter. I'm interested in boosting the quality of our league and I think that results from increasing participation levels over time. Some parents might look at our 8yo and say 'Wow, my daughter could be that good in a year or 2' and really encourage their girls to stick with the game. But what about those parents who'll gripe about how unfair it is for their brand-new 8u players to have to face a little fireballer who will turn 9 in the summer?

As much as I tell people not to overthink things, I myself am a classic overthinker, and in this instance, I've somehow convinced myself that it serves the greater good for me to be concerned about the gripers not bringing their girls back to play in the years to come.

I will add that, knowing it's no longer a given that she is moving up, our daughter has asked me to decide for her...something I do not relish at all. Initially, the deal was that she'd move up if I felt she was ready, but now that we're in GO time and have to declare in just a few weeks, she is ready...and the deal has changed. She tells me she still wants to move up if I think it's for the best, but that she'd be content playing 8u one more season.

So, with all that said, what are some of your thoughts on our situation? And do you have a different philosophy for pitchers vs position players?

 

[chinamigarden]

My daughter played TB 10U when she was 8. Move her up, if your thought process is to develop her, and she is really that far ahead of the rest of her league, then the issue about All Stars should not be an issue at all.

 

[FPMark]

If your daughter is good enough to get pitching time in 10u, I would move up. "Your only as good as your competition." is a true statement no matter what position she plays. Don't know why she wouldn't be eligeable for all stars though. I would ask if she plays 10u and is not eligeable for 10u all stars, can she play all stars with 8u? If not, just see if she can pick-up with a travel team for a couple tournaments instead.

From what you've said it sounds like she's ready to move up. By the way, doesn't 10u use 11" ball and pitch from 35' also? Around here anyway it doesn't change till 12u (12" ball 40' rubber). Good luck whatever you, or she, decides to do.

PS... I would let her decide.

 

[quincy]

We had an 8U pitcher in our League that tried out for the 10U national team. She was in 8U because neither her hitting nor field skills were there yet. We had a player on our 8U team that lead off for the 10U Team when she was 7, she can hit. She wants to pitch and that skill and her fielding was lacking so she played 8U.

Both the above players are examples of dangerous players in 8U. I was not comfortable with my DD playing against either one.

We had a 7 year old player on our Team last year and I encourage her parents to move up to 10U this spring. (They took my advice) She wants to pitch, sort of, and she will not be able to pitch playing 10U but she will be middle of the pack skill wise in all her other skills. As I explained to her parents, pitching in a game is invaluable experience and they need to sacrifice that so she can improve her entire game. If she wants to pitch, keep working on it, just maybe scale back a little bit aiming for next year.

After just moving my DD from 8U to 10U fall ball, I am surprised how much better she became in the field. Her throwing hitch, looking to see who she is throwing to, has almost disappeared. She also learned how much work we need to do on her hitting.

Spring is such a long season that it will benefit your DD playing with players closer to her abilities, I think it will also benefit the 8u program. You do not want individual players dominating a Team or League in 8U.

 

[fastpitch]

If she would be the best 8u player there and can truly compete and pitch with 9-11 yo's then she should play with the 9-11yo's. She will be better in the long run playing with better competition.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

How's the rest of her game, you only mentioned pitching? If she would be in the top 30% of the player's in 10U for all skills than certainly move her up. If you decide to keep her in 8U and she is the dominant pitcher, have her work on another pitch (i.e. the change-up) so she can get some game experience without the pressue of the farther distance of 35 feet and better hitting. You said she has her fair share of walks. Have her play a game within the game to see if she can start hitting her spots and walk less girls each game. Maybe you let her be the big fish in a small pond for one more season and let her have some fun being the best player in the league. Might do wonders for her confidence. Good luck, there is no right or wrong answer and three years from now you'll wonder why you stressed about it at all..

 

[sluggers]

I went through this with two different daughters playing rec ball. Your DD will strike out 70% of the batters she faces. She will walk 25%. Once your DD starts throwing strikes, the batters will simply get up there and wave their bat at the ball. The other team will bat for perhaps 5 minutes each inning.

I used to pitch my DD three innings and another pitcher 3 innings. I worked with the other pitcher on the rec team as well. So, by the end of the season, my team was batting around each inning, and the other team wasn't getting a runner on base. We were winning games 40-0. The parents from the other team would get mad at me--so I used to let anyone who wanted to pitch the last two innings each game--so, we would win 40-20. The whole thing was ridiculous.

Why didn't we move to a travel team? There were no 10U travel teams at that time.

 

[NVfishing]

We've decided to put together a group of 6 and 7 year olds that will be playing up. These are the girls that are already past their respective piers. The other TB teams in this region are going to do the same thing. DD will play 8U league this spring instead of T-ball and will be playing a few select TB teams that may have older girls(10U). Having kids play with other kids that are as good as they are brings them to a new level. Having them play with kids that watch butterflies or draw circles in the dirt doesn't teach them or develop their competitive nature.

 

[Hoover's Dad]

We went throught the same thing last year with our daughter. She would have been by far the best player in 8U coach pitch league. We moved her up based on how she did in summer camps after she finished her 7 yr old season. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but some of the girls at the camp were girls she would be playing with and against. Side by side, she was as good as those 9 yr olds when she was 7.

We moved her up at age 8, it made the 8U crowd mad, becaue the best player had left them, there were 10U parents mad becaue there was an 8 yr old playing up. When they saw her outplay there DD's the first few weeks of practice, there was not another word spoken.

She played on a select 10U travel/rec team in spring and then on a 10U asa travel team in the fall. So she is 9 right now, and basically has two full fastpitch seasons under her belt, at the time her classmates are starting there first fastpitch season.


If your DD is in the upper 10% of her 8u league, she will most likely be in the upper 2/3 of the 10U league.

I would explain every thing to her, allstar selections, not getting as much playing, then explain the pro's of moving up- being challenged by better players, having to challenge herself to get better to compete. Then let her decide.

 

[NVfishing]

League is no big deal playing up. Some girls don't have athletic ability and others do. It stands out in league play. Some girls will never be what the parents hope. That's alright. The better girls are nurtured and developed on the travel ball teams.