Dominating 8u: time to move on??

[SoftSocDad]

PS... I would let her decide.

Absolutely. She's always been so independent that it came as a surprise to me. She's been preparing to play 10u (11"/35', yes) and has openly announced that she intended to become a #1 pitcher. She only began talking about possibly returning to 8u when I (foolishly) mentioned it.

 

[SoftSocDad]

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.

You are so right on every point here, especially considering how weak our 8u program is. She's got the most experience, so she's expected to be among the best, but she's also a great athlete, and is tall and strong for her age. Many parents would not want their 1st-, 2nd-, or even 3rd-year players having to bat against her or receiving throws from her. There were some complaints in fall ball (from opposing teams, of course) and suffice it to say, the general level of talent in the spring league is nowhere near that in fall.

She may just be a little rusty from the layoff, but if I were making a fair assessment of where she's at, I'd say she needs to work on her batting quite a bit. But she doesn't seem to have missed a beat in fielding, throwing, or her true love, pitching.

 

[SoftSocDad]

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 pressure 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..

lol @ three years from now! So, so very true...

Brag time!

In my estimation - and admittedly, I don't know much about softball - I would say that she's definitely going to be in that top 30% in pitching and defense. Based on what I've seen in these first couple of weeks, though, I would not say that her batting is there. She's got a beautiful swing (Daddy's opinion), but seems to be having trouble with timing right now. I thought she was a better hitter last year. She's also got a great glove behind the plate. She doesn't have any experience throwing to second, but she gives her pitcher a good target and doesn't let anything get past her, assuming it's not a completely wild pitch.

She can play anywhere in the infield, but loves shortstop. She plays the hops well, and gets that ball over to 1st quickly. She stands in to receive line drives and knows to look for the double play if there's a runner on. She turned a couple of those during the fall season.

But the thing I love most about her - aside from her work ethic and the fact that she's a team player who demonstrates great sportsmanship - is her HUSTLE. She never gives up on a play and she's the first one in and out of the dugout between innings, while many of the other girls are walking...a personal pet peeve of mine, but I can't/shouldn't/won't say anything.

I wish that had caught on with more of the other 7-8s out there, but all she can do is set the example. She can't make anyone follow her lead.

But what you say about confidence-building is also true and that is what I've been hearing from a few other parents...some who'd moved theirs early, some who'd resisted the urge to do so.

I can't wait until 2014. lol