10U shortage of teams

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I know there has been alot of talk about the market getting saturated with teams and the quality going down, but where are all the 10U teams?

We have been scheduled to play 2 tournaments this fall and in both, the 10U is cancelled. Is there a 10U shortage?

I know the TD's put alot of hard work into organizing and getting the word out, only to have to cancel a few days before the "Big Event". Whats up with that?

Help me understand how we are going to promote Fastpitch in Ohio when we seem to start taking a interest at the 12U level and slow down after 16U. I know this same problem exists for the 18U, been there - done that too.

 

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I don't coach a 10U team, and haven't yet. ?I have coached 10U and 8U girls in other sports, and my take would be this.
Most of these teams are 1st year teams, maybe 2nd year teams, but I would have to think that the majority would not be ready to play in tourneys yet. ?If they had tryouts in August, put the team together and started to practice, most of them would only have, maybe a month of practice together. ?This is not nearly enough, if you are truly trying to teach these girls the fundamentals. ?Time would be better spent during the Fall and Winter months, developing their skills and team chemistry.
I will be coaching a 10U team, possibly next year, and I know we won't be playing any tourneys until there ready. ?Just my 2 cent worth.

 

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This topic drifts through from time to time. I'll give my 2 cents. At 10u, unless a kid and her parents have connections with someone in travel ball, or have prior experience with an older sibling, they just stumble onto it by chance - like we did. We started in rec. ball, then going into 12u, a travel coach "discovered" our DD. Well, actually he was her school coach, but he also coached in a summer travel organization. But the point is we spent a couple years in rec. (which didn't hurt at all) before travel.

The tournaments she played in at the 18u level were pretty saturated with 18u teams. Of course, a lot of quality 16u teams play up then anyway. I think at the 18u level, if you are not on a competitive team, the attitudes are different. If the team is not made up of college caliber players, it's going to eventually develop a rec. mentality. 18 year old girls have a lot on their plates - college, jobs, you name it.

If most people have the same "start-up" we had, that might explain the absence of travel players - they're still in rec. ball. Then 12u, 14, & 16u teams are the most prevalent, with 16u being the prime age for college recruitment. The majority of the college players on athletic scholarships have signed BEFORE they play 18u summer ball. Some of these kids may want to stay a little closer to home their 18u year, so you may not see as many 18u teams do big time travel as frequently.

So IMO, it's a gradual start-up process, with a gradual wind-down process, and a LOT of competitive ball in between!

 

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Thanks for the replies.

I am wondering how many parents are starting their DDs at 10U in travel ball. I know ours spent 4 years in rec. before going to travel at the 10U level. I would like to hear from some parents or coaches who are seeing 10U players in travel with no rec. experience.