Looking for opinions on moving from 10u to 11u

default · Jul 6, 2010

Decisions like these are very difficult. I base decisions every year like this... "What is going to give my daughter the best overall experience possible?" All of the above posts are valid and consider this question... based on everyone's experience in these situations. Questions to consider. "Where is she going to get the best coaching?" "Is her current situation a healthy situation for her? Softballwise? Socially? Friendships? What are her goals? What are your goals for her?

Tough decision. I don't envy the situation. Good Luck.

default · Jul 6, 2010

I am a fan of staying down at 10u for as long as you can. Especially if she is not a big kid. I have seen a few 10u players playing up this year and it was obvious they were a little behind especially to the speed of the game. Not to mention she will be playing against some absolutely awesome 13 year olds.

default · Jul 6, 2010

Stingrays11U said:
Everything that I hear is the hardest transition is from 12's to 14's....

I know people say that and it's not you saying it, but it's just incorrect. The hardest transition is from 10s to 12s. If we had a lot of 8-U ball, the hardest transition would be 8s to 10s, and 6s to 8s, etc. The younger one is, the more that a single year makes a huge difference. This is why a 17-U team (if there was such a thing) would be just fine playing an all 18-U team. It's not a big deal at that point. And it's why we can't tell the difference between a 19 and a 20-year old. But put a team of 11s out there and a team of 12s and you can immediately eyeball which team is which.

default · Jul 6, 2010

The hardest transition is from 10s to 12s.

Agreed....IMHO.

default · Jul 6, 2010

Lester said:
Unless your DD is lights out... and absolutely ready in every way (mind, attitude, physically, committment) I'd stay down. I also understand not having to build another team with a whole new cast.... that's hard. I've done it twice and it has it's challenges. Ask hippie28 on a PM what his thoughts are about staying down. I'd bet he would say it's a hard but worthwhile decision to think it through and get feedback from your coaches and just be honest with the situation. My 2 cents...

Lester makes a good point about being a lights out player.... It was hard keeping Ash (Ashley my daughter) back this yr, what was hardest was her crying for two weeks about not wanting to leave her friends..... but this yr has been lights out for her both in the field and at the plate.

Ash was a Rec all-star and always played up (playing 10u at 8yr old),but when she made Lester's team became an ave player not the stud anymore and instead of playing infield (like she wanted) had to now share time in the outfield. Her bat last yr (.400/.500) has now become a dominating factor for our team (.600s w/a near .1200 slugging %) leading team in hrs/trips/rbis and inches away from putting them over. In the last three tournaments (Doom Madness,Heatin It Up,Smokey Baker) she has hit balls of the bottom to mid fence......Ash this yr has made new (bffs) on this team and when she gets the chance loves to go over and root Lester's team on!!:yahoo: I have asked her a couple times if she still misses playing for Lester? her reply "Yes, but I I'm happy playing for STATIC GREEN and girls my own age".

So my advise to you is evaluate where your daughter is on her team (bottom,mid,top) if she is at top then 3yrs in 12s might be the ticket but if she is mid or below let her be the dominant player next yr and take advantage of the 3rd yr at 10s!!!!:cap: She will get there soon enough

default · Jul 6, 2010

This is great hearing from all of you and getting your insight. DD is pitching and playing ss for the last 2 years in 10u. I would like to see her get some extra work at the plate and possibly play the field next year. She is definitely not an over powering pitcher but does a good job at throwing strikes, definitely not a Cat Osterman in the making. I have coached her for the last 5 years and have a tough decision to make before August, 2 boys that I coach as well. All your input helps and is sincerely appreciated. I have either met or played a lot of you in the last two years and made some great friends as well. It is refreshing to read your stories and words of wisdom. I have learned at 40, that there is a lot to be learned if you will just take the time to ask and willing to listen.

default · Jul 6, 2010

I would like to hear what you end up doing since you described your DD as mine to a "T". The only difference is that my very small DD has the opposite problem. I want her to stay down, but her B-day is Dec 14th. I would give anything to let her stay down in 10's to get more confidence and stronger behind the plate. It seems that there should be some kind of grey area to help the really small girls since she plays other 10's that are 4 times her size.

Hope it all works out. I am sure you will make the right decision. Good Luck.

default · Jul 6, 2010

JoeA1010 said:
I know people say that and it's not you saying it, but it's just incorrect. The hardest transition is from 10s to 12s. If we had a lot of 8-U ball, the hardest transition would be 8s to 10s, and 6s to 8s, etc. The younger one is, the more that a single year makes a huge difference. This is why a 17-U team (if there was such a thing) would be just fine playing an all 18-U team. It's not a big deal at that point. And it's why we can't tell the difference between a 19 and a 20-year old. But put a team of 11s out there and a team of 12s and you can immediately eyeball which team is which.

I couldn't agree more.

default · Jul 6, 2010

randco said:
This is great hearing from all of you and getting your insight. DD is pitching and playing ss for the last 2 years in 10u. I would like to see her get some extra work at the plate and possibly play the field next year. She is definitely not an over powering pitcher but does a good job at throwing strikes, definitely not a Cat Osterman in the making. I have coached her for the last 5 years and have a tough decision to make before August, 2 boys that I coach as well. All your input helps and is sincerely appreciated. I have either met or played a lot of you in the last two years and made some great friends as well. It is refreshing to read your stories and words of wisdom. I have learned at 40, that there is a lot to be learned if you will just take the time to ask and willing to listen.

Ranco, how many other girls on the team are in the same boat as your dd?, and are you looking to stay in Hawks Org.? These are things that can help her w/ the transition if you are. We stayed w/ Cincy Static and I (being Asst.Mngr.) had Ash help out (give her opinion) on girls she thought had talent both fielding/hitting/ & that gave 100% at tryouts. This gave her some involvment and helped get her over feeling like she was left behind.:cap:

default · Jul 6, 2010

JoeA1010 said:
I know people say that and it's not you saying it, but it's just incorrect. The hardest transition is from 10s to 12s. If we had a lot of 8-U ball, the hardest transition would be 8s to 10s, and 6s to 8s, etc. The younger one is, the more that a single year makes a huge difference. This is why a 17-U team (if there was such a thing) would be just fine playing an all 18-U team. It's not a big deal at that point. And it's why we can't tell the difference between a 19 and a 20-year old. But put a team of 11s out there and a team of 12s and you can immediately eyeball which team is which.

I agree with this Joe, at least statistically and philosophically. But I think this is a very individual decision, as every girl is a little different. They all play the game for very different reasons - usually very different from what their parent's think. At age 12u and below, I would let the decision be made exclusively by the youngster. Face it, a BIG reason girls like the game at that age is because they're with their friends FIRST, and playing a game they love SECOND.

As they progress into first year 14u (13's if you will) their attitude, physical maturity and ability makes an obvious change. This is the age where potential college level play comes into their sights. Competitiveness and skill improvement take center stage, and "playing with friends" is not the main focus. If she doesn't have the "college bug" and you DO take her out of the "friends" atmosphere - it could remove one of the things that was important to her.

So... I'd consider very strongly what would make her happy. As long as she's working on her game and with her friends at 10 - 11 years of age, life is good! It's a bonus if SHE feels she is the one who made the decision, because if the choice wasn't ideal, she won't blame mom & dad.

KEEP IT FUN! Never forget, it's a game... :yahoo:

default · Jul 7, 2010

I think if you leave it up to the kid they would choose following their friends hands down, even though moving up isn't ususally a good choice at the young ages. Once they get older I think the choice should solely be the childs, but at the 10 and 12 level the parent has to have the final say in what is best for the players development. They are still new to the sport and shy at that age and would rather follow their teammates and stick to what and who they know rather than start anew with a different team. They will make friends wherever they go so you might as well put them where they will learn the most and play the most. The older kids have been around and know how things work, they can make a more educated decision on what they want to do and they also understand that their are consequences to their decisions and think things through more. They know that they will see most of their friends at every tournament no matter who you play for, they know that following a freind is not always the best for you, they know what coaches to stay away from, they know what coaches know their stuff. They are more apt to make smart decisions than a 10 year old who thinks she will never see her teammates again if she doesn't move up with them.

default · Jul 7, 2010

DiamondDad316 said:
Keep her down and let her be a stud this next travel ball season.

We had to make a choice for our DD last year on moving her from 12U to
13U. She was still 12U eligible. We made the right choice to keep her in her own age bracket. She shined at 12U!

default · Jul 7, 2010

sleeper said:
We had to make a choice for our DD last year on moving her from 12U to
13U. She was still 12U eligible. We made the right choice to keep her in her own age bracket. She shined at 12U!

So what decision did you make at 10U to 12U ?

default · Jul 7, 2010

Klump said:
I think if you leave it up to the kid they would choose following their friends hands down, even though moving up isn't ususally a good choice at the young ages. Once they get older I think the choice should solely be the childs, but at the 10 and 12 level the parent has to have the final say in what is best for the players development. They are still new to the sport and shy at that age and would rather follow their teammates and stick to what and who they know rather than start anew with a different team. They will make friends wherever they go so you might as well put them where they will learn the most and play the most. The older kids have been around and know how things work, they can make a more educated decision on what they want to do and they also understand that their are consequences to their decisions and think things through more. They know that they will see most of their friends at every tournament no matter who you play for, they know that following a friend is not always the best for you, they know what coaches to stay away from, they know what coaches know their stuff. They are more apt to make smart decisions than a 10 year old who thinks she will never see her teammates again if she doesn't move up with them.

This is spot on. Unless the player is physically ready (not to mention mentally) it is a dis-service to play her up. The added pressure if she is a coaches DD makes the situation even more visible should she be over-matched at the higher level...

default · Jul 7, 2010

Hippie28 said:
Lester makes a good point about being a lights out player.... It was hard keeping Ash (Ashley my daughter) back this yr, what was hardest was her crying for two weeks about not wanting to leave her friends..... but this yr has been lights out for her both in the field and at the plate.

Ash was a Rec all-star and always played up (playing 10u at 8yr old),but when she made Lester's team became an ave player not the stud anymore and instead of playing infield (like she wanted) had to now share time in the outfield. Her bat last yr (.400/.500) has now become a dominating factor for our team (.600s w/a near .1200 slugging %) leading team in hrs/trips/rbis and inches away from putting them over. In the last three tournaments (Doom Madness,Heatin It Up,Smokey Baker) she has hit balls of the bottom to mid fence......Ash this yr has made new (bffs) on this team and when she gets the chance loves to go over and root Lester's team on!!:yahoo: I have asked her a couple times if she still misses playing for Lester? her reply "Yes, but I I'm happy playing for STATIC GREEN and girls my own age".

So my advise to you is evaluate where your daughter is on her team (bottom,mid,top) if she is at top then 3yrs in 12s might be the ticket but if she is mid or below let her be the dominant player next yr and take advantage of the 3rd yr at 10s!!!!:cap: She will get there soon enough

talk about a hard decision... me and Hippie go back 15 years as freinds and hunting buddies... and I had to say "hey, it's about Ash..." not us. And she is absolutely doing better than I could imagine and she wasn't a bad player for me at all. Just thought she needed that extra time to grow as a player and to be the leader for the 10u's. She is very mature and her game is so much better for her ability to be the leader. I'm very proud of Hippie and Ash for not condemning me for this nearly impossible decision.

default · Jul 11, 2010

Thanks for all your input and thanks to the coaches that approached me over the weekend to talk as well.

default · Jul 11, 2010

dont do it... keep your kid in 10u until shes 13. at 12u, you will notice how slow she is even if she is fast right now. my kid runs like a new born giraffe. last year at 10s she was a normal to faster than normal kid. just sayin....

Looking for opinions on moving from 10u to 11u

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