Silly season age group change??

[4 girl's dad]

Dec 05 player has been playing with mixed 04 and 05's this spring. Were a local team that competes in most games that we have played in. 2 of the 05's were invited back, one being my dd, and she wants to stay with the team. All of the others are staying down and finding new teams.

Our (the parents) concern is, is it too much of a jump? I've done several searches on here and honestly most say don't do it but I don't think staying down is a good option either, at least based on the local 10u team choices. She usually starts at 3b or catches and has aspirations of pitching.
Another parent made a good point of if a player is going to play any age extra years, it's should be 12u because most of the changes are done then, like bigger ball, 40' pitching etc, and they won't have to make the jump again. My other thought is she could move back down in the spring if 12u fall ball didn't work out for her.


What say you out there in DFP land? What are your experiences of this? Try outs are in two weeks. Do we go to both age groups?

Thanks in advance

Signed,
Silly dad

 

[chinamigarden]

If she really wants to start pitching, I would stay at 10u and get her started. If she moves up in age, and then starts pitching you will most likely not see much mound time. If she is going to start with this team and pitching is not a part of her future, I would move up.

 

[KPower]

When DD first started playing TB she was an 04 on a team of 03s. We kept her down at 10U when the team moved up and don't regret it for a second. She thrived this last year at 10s. Dominated at catcher and 1st base. It was a great year for her to gain confidence and work on technique. She is going into this tryout season with offers from 3 teams (including the #2 team in our state) with no need to attend tryouts. She has also been invited to several other tryouts from the HCs (including the #1 team in our state) who saw her play all last season. I think there is nothing wrong with being the big fish in the small pond - especially at 10U.

Another thing to consider - 12U girls will be a little more mature socially - my DDs bestie on our team last year tried to make the jump from 10U early and came back to 10s because she wasn't feeling like part of the 12U team. DDs friend was still in elementary school while all the other girls were in middle school. The girls on the 12U team looked at DDs friend as a little girl not a peer. Even though she was a good enough player to make the jump her confidence fell because she didn't have the support of her teammates. This team did include a lot of 2nd yr 12s though. If you are going to look to move your DD now I would suggest you stick to an all 04 team.

 

[The Maj]

In order to get her mound time, I would probably keep mine down provided there is a 10U team that meets my expectations. Also, IMO, I believe it is good for most kids to be the big dog or leader or experienced member of a team so they can fully develop from all angles. Now if there is not a 10U team that meets your expectations and your daughter is mature and talented enough to make the jump then that may be the option. Keep one thing in mind though, there is usually a world of difference between an 11yo and a 13yo in most cases and I am not really talking about talent wise.

 

[4 girl's dad]

A few things:
Age wise she is very mature. She is the youngest of 4, ages 9-17, so she can handle the age part I think.

She is a bigger 9 yr old. As big as some of the 11's on our team so that helps her confidence as well.

The pitching is going to be a challenge. But we have talked about it and she knows she is going to have to work at it to get game time in the circle. But it also gives her a season to practice with out the pressure of being the go to pitcher and still be Able to pitch BP and other outside work.


I am a both sides of the issue kind of person which generally helps me deal with people and their issues. But this has been a struggle due to that trait. Lol

Plans are to go to both age group tryouts for our org and see what comes up. Just not a lot of choices in our market and the fact she doesn't want to leave this team pushes us to plan on staying.

Thanks for your input and advise.

 

[Sparky Guy]

most likely not see much mound time.

She will NEVER see any mound time in softball. There is none.... Just sayin'

 

[chinamigarden]

She will NEVER see any mound time in softball. There is none.... Just sayin'

If Sue Enquist can call it the mound, so can I.

 

[3bmama]

My DD was on an 03 team last year-she's an 04. She was in a bit of a different position, she was on the lower half of the team, batted 7 or 8 out of 11, number 3 pitcher, etc. So we kept her down. Found a team where she was the number 1 pitcher. Batted 3. She ended the season with 6 homeruns including a grand slam(these are on smaller fields, but still) she was a leader on the team both on and off the field. She will now be joining a 12a team rather than the 12b team she would have been on. Now could this all have happened had she moved up with the team? Maybe but I doubt it.

 

[CJ D]

My thing is this...everyone says you should play in tournaments or division where you aren't spanking everyone every week to get better. If that's true of a team, why would it not be true of individual girls? Put her where she will be challenged for playing time. When girls have to compete to play, they will get better. If they have a spot locked up on the field, it's harder to get that little bit extra out of them.