9 year old playing with 10's?

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My dd tried out for a 9U team and was placed on the 10U. All of the girls on the 10U are at least a year older than her and she is the shortest player on the team. Do most coaches look at height and assume they are better? I'm concerned about her playing time because I dont want her to get discouraged if shes not playing as much and therefore may not have a chance to improve. I don't think the coach would have placed her up if he had not planned on playing her...Advice please?

 

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I would hope your daughter was placed on the 10u team because of her ability. I currently have a daughter who is 12 and is playing on a 14u team. I would ask the coach those questions and i'm sure you'll find out that your daughter has just as much ability as the 10 year olds.

 

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Just my opinion, but at this age playing time should not be used as the measuring stick for your daughters improvement/success. If you are really worried about playing time you should stay at rec. ball (Not to be taken personal). The real caveat is whether she has good coaches that teach solid fundamentals, and allow her to compete for playing time. Any good coach, regardless of your DD's ability, will get her playing time in games. Accept the challenge, make her understand that she has to compete with the other players (not against them) for playing time. And she will further ahead at the end of her playing days, and not have such a strong sense of entitlement, that is troubling so many of our youths today in sports. FWIW and Good Luck!!!

 

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Definitely talk with the coaches to ask any questions you have, get any concerns addressed. As Lady Knights said, don't be solely focused on playing time, though I am sure you want to have an idea as to what the coach's plans are for playing time. Also understand why they placed her with the 10's if there was a 9-U team ... was it because of her ability, or just that they needed an extra body with the 10's? Communication, communication, communication ...

 

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Hardest part of softball for us was lack of playing time at that age. My daughter was young nine her first year with older 10's. joy of playing can get killed and self doubt creeps in real fast. Now they are entering college ball and this is when playing time isn't as important, as long as your competing and giving your all.

i would definitely talk to the coach and ask if she was placed on team because of her ability and nothing else.

 

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At 9 on an all 10 team I would look at the experience she is going to get. I have 2 DD's on a team, one is 10 going on 11 and the other just turned 9. The 9 yr old knew going in that she will need to work harder than all the other girls on the team to get her level of play up to that of theirs. She doesn't get a lot of playing time but what she is learning is far above anything she would learn in rec. Because of a solid core of coaches, she has improved more than I could of imagined at this point. Your DD needs to keep her chin up and keep working hard. It will pay off in the end..

 

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It appears that you didn't inquire as to why she was placed on the 10U team if she tried out for 9U when it first happened. I would have asked at that point what the reason and plan was for your daughter, you are paying for her to be on a select team. At this age playing time is very important to develope her mental ability to compete, overcome and deal with given situations. Not given the opportunity to play at this level will eventially undermind and erode a players confidence. 9 is way too young of an age to have that happen, these are the years that should build a girls love of the game.

 

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My DD is a year younger than all but one of the girls on her 14u team. She holds her own. The big thing is she has an excellent coach who treats all the girls the same, expects the same out of each girl. I was a little worried about the age difference, but it’s a non-issue. The coach has brought a new love of the game back to her. Good luck to you and your DD in the upcoming season.

 

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My youngest played with 9 YOs when she was the only 8 YO. Was the only 9 YO when she played on the 10u Stingrays two years ago. She was challenged by not being the "stud" player not only by her teammates, but also by the competition they faced. Definitely worth it in her case.

If you have athletes age isn't much of a factor. Our Stingrays team last year had 5 9u players and we hung with the best teams in the state pretty consistently.

 

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My daughter started as one of three 9 yr. olds on a mostly 10 team. She played just a little over 50% of the innings but the experience playing with the 10's was immeasureable and when the other girls moved up to 12 and she stayed down, she was able to be a leader and I believe a far better player for the experience. And , like Lady_Knights said she got a lot of innings in rec ball to hone the skills her travel coaches were teaching.

 

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We have several 9u players and they have all improved by being around the older girls and working hard. They three of them will probably split time at one or two positions depending on how the game goes.

 

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I would not worry much about it. She should learn a lot, and be challenged by the older girls. This is my DD's 4th year in 10U and she earned her time, and learned from day one. She has progressed every year.

 

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I would think the coaches placed her on the 10u team due to her ability. As other people posted on this thread, playing with older girls will give her the incentive to work harder and hope to give her some leadership qualities with the next season of 10u as well. My DD was in similar situation as she was 9 on a predominantly 10u team. Played mostly outfield and some 2B. She always seemed to work a bit harder as a 9 yr old and by the end of the season her skill set was as good or better than several of the older girls. This season she's playing middle infield and what I like most is her leadership/communication qualities whether it be getting the team ready to play, explaining some strategies to her teammates, etc. Best of luck this season.

 

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As a 10u coach I can tell you that I dont factor in age in playing time. I have 2 9's and they sub in and out 1 is a pitcher. I factor skill level at game time. We all practice all week and I know where we are come game time. Her playing time will be based on if she is the best player for that position not on her age.

 

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As a 10u coach I can tell you that I dont factor in age in playing time. I have 2 9's and they sub in and out 1 is a pitcher. I factor skill level at game time. We all practice all week and I know where we are come game time. Her playing time will be based on if she is the best player for that position not on her age.

BINGO!!!!!! We have a winner.

I have a team that is now 11's playing 12U. 7 of the girls have been together since they were 9. That year we had 2 10 y.o. on the team, last year we had 2 9 y.o. on the team. I never considered age when making out the line-up card.

On aside note, those 2 9's from last years team..... They walk around like they have been doing it for 100 years. They carry themselves with so muh confidence, it's funny to remember how they were only a year ago.

 

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As a 10u coach I can tell you that I dont factor in age in playing time. I have 2 9's and they sub in and out 1 is a pitcher. I factor skill level at game time. We all practice all week and I know where we are come game time. Her playing time will be based on if she is the best player for that position not on her age.

Good point. Forgot to mention above that her 10u coaches did not consider age with playing time. For batting, she started middle of batting order, worked her way up to the #1or #2 slot since she was able to lay down bunts and has speed. Had one of the highest OBP for her team. On defense, her coach had each girl assigned to both infield and outfield position. Most of season played OF and then got a lot of playing time at 2B towards end of season since her skill set improved.

 

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On aside note, those 2 9's from last years team..... They walk around like they have been doing it for 100 years. They carry themselves with so muh confidence, it's funny to remember how they were only a year ago.

Agree. Same with my DD.

 

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Take it as a compliment my dd is on her 3rd year at 10u level she is a small framed kid, she is just now 10 she is a SS and pitcher she has never lost playing time do to her size so enbrace that fact that your daughter was considered for her talent and ability! Congrats and enjoy!

 

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Shayne (Lady Knights) brings up some valid points to be considered. I coached a fairly competitive 10U team last year and had a 9U player on our team. She competed and developed so well that I offered her to move up with us at 12U this year! I shared with the family last year that there would be up's & down's, to be patient and she would be fine. She had a rough tourney early going 0-12 with 7 K's but stayed patient and finished the season very strong, hitting over .400 for the season...including hitting over .400 at ASA/USA Natationals. One other thing to consider is how many of her teammates are in the same grade? With our team 5 other girls were in the same grade (4th) last year, even though they were true 10U players.

 

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Many organizations don't have the luxury of having a team for each age level so 9's are playing with 10's, 11's with 12's, etc. all over the place. While you can make some generalizations about the one year difference being bigger at the younger age groups, we all know kids develop at different rates, and there are no doubt many 9 years old who are far superior athletically to a lot of 10 year olds. I think most coaches forget all about the ages of the kids on their teams once they are part of the team ... they are going to play everyone, but they are going to play those who have the best chance to help them win games regardless of their ages. Again, in this case, the original poster needs to talk to the coach to understand why their daughter was put on this team and to make sure there's not going to be a philosophical difference later re: playing time.