Play up or not?

[kbailey45us]

Find a team that your daughter can grow and move up with for multiple seasons. The 10U A teams in our area would beat the 12U C teams. So if she is serious about softball and has the ability, I would always recommend playing at a higher level rather than a higher age. Older does not mean better coaching or training.

My daughter "played up" for most of her time from 8U-12U just because we joined an older team when we started playing travel ball - she was able to play at that level and I didn't know any better. At some point, you'll probably need to age adjust her, so she'll have to go through the process of finding a new team again. In my experience, it's much better for them to play better competition than to just play up for the sake of playing up (especially if it's a C level team).

I agree I want to keep her more with her age. Only concern with that is her birthday. With her being born in January and being with 2012 girls means she would play some 10U at age 11. Is that holding her back by doing that? The 10U team we are looking at would most likely have the exposure to former or current college players for guidance. Biggest thing is I don't want her to get bored or go out there and not be able to compete. The 10U team will have some great players though. Distance won't be a deciding factor as both teams are about the same distance from home.

 

[kbailey45us]

My DD always played on the "B" All-Star team. The rule of thumb for my DD was if she was one of the best 6 players on the "B" team and would play at least 2/3rds of the time, I wanted her to be on the "B" team, otherwise on the "C" team.

Rule of thumb is to play up one year if you meet the "Top 6 2/3rds rule".

Pitching is harder to predict. Every pitcher's parent wants two pitchers on the team and their DD getting more than 50pct of the innings. A coach wants 3 pitchers all vying for the top spot, basically splitting the innings 3 ways, and a 4th player who can pitch, but doesn't mind if she hardly ever pitches.

How fast does your DD throw from 40ft with the 12" ball? Does she have good control of a change-up? Does she have a drop? How much movement on her pitches?

The speed with the 12" ball is one of my main concerns. She is only throwing about 40 with it and thatvis on a good day. Early in the spring in 12U if she took any off and left one over the plate the older girls smashed it. Her placement is good and her changeup gets better everyday. She can also generate more spin with the 11" ball. If pitching was her number one goal it would be a lot easier because I would definitely say stay in 10U. I am actually leaning more towards the 10U just don't want to have to be rethinking where we are come next spring. As I said before she will have the ultimate say so as I think she would be fine either way.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

I don't think a forever home is realistic at 10U. Be prepared to move around for what's best for your daughter. Players interest wax and wane over the years, so expecting to stay with one group of girls all the way through 18U is unrealistic.

 

[kbailey45us]

I don't think a forever home is realistic at 10U. Be prepared to move around for what's best for your daughter. Players interest wax and wane over the years, so expecting to stay with one group of girls all the way through 18U is unrealistic.

That is nice to hear and understandable. Just dont wanna be those people that constantly change teams.

 

[NJZoo]

The speed with the 12" ball is one of my main concerns. She is only throwing about 40 with it and thatvis on a good day. Early in the spring in 12U if she took any off and left one over the plate the older girls smashed it. Her placement is good and her changeup gets better everyday. She can also generate more spin with the 11" ball. If pitching was her number one goal it would be a lot easier because I would definitely say stay in 10U. I am actually leaning more towards the 10U just don't want to have to be rethinking where we are come next spring. As I said before she will have the ultimate say so as I think she would be fine either way.

Many organizations will have 1st and 2nd year teams at each age level - so if she is a 2012, she will primarily be with 2012 year girls. Again, don't get caught up in age - it's about ability. Being older or younger doesn't necessarily mean that you are a better or worse player. There are plenty of 10U teams that would beat 12U teams, and plenty of 12U teams that would beat 14U teams. It's not about age, it's about the level of play.

Also, someone else mentioned this - think about the social aspect of playing with girls that are older. That's why we "age adjusted". My daughter was 11 and her team was moving up to 14U. On the field she could play at that level (low B/high C), but I didn't think it was appropriate for my 11 year old to be socializing with 14 year olds. They were all good girls, it's just that's a big age gap.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

That is nice to hear and understandable. Just dont wanna be those people that constantly change teams.

No one does, but teams fall apart, or your daughter passes them in ability.

We've been on three teams we thought would be "the" team between my two daughters. One broke up after one season, another had the coach move out of state, and the third wasn't what we thought it would be.

I sincerely hope you find the right fit for your daughter.

 

[_MIA_]

Put her on a team that gives you the least amount of nausea when you watch them.

 

[Strike2]

Put her on a team that gives you the least amount of nausea when you watch them.

Lol...boiled down to one meaningful sentence. Solid advice.

If she's good enough, I'd go for a decent 12U team over any 10U. Better softball and less screaming.

 

[DonnyS]

10u pitching distance - 35ft

12u pitching distance - 40ft

Good to know. My DD never played 10U. From a pitching perspective I'd play up. Going from 40 to 43 was hard enough. But I still think having fun overall is the most important whether that is at 10U or 12U.

Something else to consider down the road with playing up. My DD played/pitched in a returning college player fun game last summer after barely turning 14. The dugout talk with 20 year olds is much different than her 14U teammates. She heard a lot about pot, getting arrested, DUIs and abortion in the span of a couple of games. YMMV.

 

[Dabears17]

The speed with the 12" ball is one of my main concerns. She is only throwing about 40 with it and thatvis on a good day. Early in the spring in 12U if she took any off and left one over the plate the older girls smashed it. Her placement is good and her changeup gets better everyday. She can also generate more spin with the 11" ball. If pitching was her number one goal it would be a lot easier because I would definitely say stay in 10U. I am actually leaning more towards the 10U just don't want to have to be rethinking where we are come next spring. As I said before she will have the ultimate say so as I think she would be fine either way.

Unless she is throwing faster than 45 with the 12" ball, I would keep her in 10u.