9 year old playing with 10's?

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Does she throw over the top with 12-6 spin? Does she field the ball with proper footwork? Does she transition to a throwing position smoothly and quickly? Can she bunt? I bet if she can do those things, she'll get plenty of playing time...

 

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I appreciate everyone's input!! The coach made it clear that she was moved up due to her ability but I was still a little concerned.

 

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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.

This is pretty much what I was going to say. I think it could be a good yet challenging experience for your DD. In my own travel experience, I do not think I ever played within my own age group. At 11 I was playing 15u, 13 14u, 14 16u, 16 18u and 18o. Playing up challenged my game, and I think I gained confidence, skill, and mental preparation because of it.

 

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My dd played 10U at 8 yrs old and it made her a better player. She even played up to 12U to fill in for 1 tournament. She could not hit 12U pitching at 8 but she had no problem with the 10U pitching. Now she is 12 and had an offer to play 14U. We turned it down because of the pitching distance. 12U and middle school she pitches from 40 but 14U would put her at 43

 

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after seeing my step-DD going from playing up "always" or being 1-2 years younger (year dependent), she finally caught all the way up mid season 12u year. She has continued to excel luckily. Sports DNA is abound in her and I would consider her not normal in the sense that she struggled and then blossomed "big time" with the hopes that her parents had for her in the original plan. Playing up is not for every player and for many many years not all it's cracked up to be. Many of them struggle physically and mentally and the team(s) that a player is on needs to be able to nurture yet push without berating or tearing a young player down. Her parents stayed behind her for years and she worked hard and it's paid off well. Each year it was a selection process for them that they took serious and I've been apart of watching that progress. To see her today you'd never know for the "ladies" are growing into a phase of life where they are all appear to be similar in age. This could also create premature burnout and eventual hatred of the game. Sad but true.

Mental strength can not be overlooked in the process of pushing a girl to stay moving up with her team. Honest discussions with all parties involved is key to this as well. Again, it's about them. I will say this, if they play up, what is the gain? If they stay down, what is the trade-off? Those two questions will drive the decision. At 10u... you could be 7, 8, 9, or 10 and many don't know the difference due to size and varying skills that come natural might be ok on the average USSSA team. Would it matter if the DD tried out and made it on a strong ASA/USA goal driven team, probably and that could result in playing time losses. Also could "potentially" mean great coaching but not always true. This is similar to a freshman trying out for a varsity team, making the team, and then sitting... "yeah, she made varsity" but then you have to whisper "but she sat the bench" all year when if played on JV (which is still up in some schools) would have a solid player and the player could have been a potential leader.

Being honest about the player's abilities and desires is directly related to setting the proper goals of being pushed, developed, and groomed by the right coaching and family group(s). Remember, the "team" has parents and they are important in this because if the surrounding families have issue(s) with a young'n playing up... the result is the DD's will hear it and it could demonize the efforts of the lil' one. This is all important and has to be considered.

 

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Well said Les. You pretty much hit everything spot on.

 

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I am not saying that anyone else is wrong. I am just telling you my experience….

My little one started playing travel at 8u in a 10u team. She sat a lot on Sundays and quite a bit on Saturdays as well. But her development was the goal as well as the experience.

At 9u she joined a strong team of older 10u’s. The coach actually pursued my dd to play for him. She was selected for her skill. Once we started fall play, I noticed that she was sitting a lot. I had a heart-to-heart with the coach to see what we (as parents) can do to help her improve. He was open and honest and said that because she was the youngest on the team, and everyone else would move up with him, she probably wouldn’t play as much as everyone else. After spending a lot if time on the bench as an 8 year old, we felt it was important for her to have playing time so that she doesn’t get discouraged. I had to take her personality into account – (Very important). So the coach and I decided that it would be better for HER to find a 9u team. We are still friends with this coach and there have been no hard feelings because he was completely open and honest.

We found another team mid-winter. Although, it was not a solid 9u team, there were several girls that she could stay with. Long story short, there was some turnover and all but two 9u girls left before the season started. All the new girls picked up were 10u moving up to 12u next year. So guess what happened…. The coach decided that since all the other girls would move up with his daughter, that the younger ones wouldn’t play as much.

So moral of the story, the coach may start with good intentions, but things could change along the way. After all, they are only human. But in hindsight, the experiences were all worth it. She still got a lot of good development and learned a lot of lessons – Both good and bad. Now that she is an official 10u and on a good solid 10u team, we finally found the perfect fit. She had a few offers to move up. But we decided that moving up was not the right thing for “HER”. We wanted a team where all the girls will move up together, and she will never feel “different” because she is the youngest.

I appreciate the coaches that say “If she has the skills, she will play”. But again, intentions change and it really depends on the coach’s personal agenda (i.e. whether or not their kid moves up next year).

 

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Mili ... thanks for sharing that experience, and good point about the coaches potentially having a personal agenda that can come into the equation as well ... while more likely I guess with a parent coach, it could happen with a non-parent coach who is planning to move up with the team also. And as both you and Lester alluded to, your daughter's mental makeup and personality need to come in to the equation as well. Regardless of talent, a "young" 9 year old may struggle with playing with more mature 10 year olds ... and the same still holds true and may even be more critical at the 12-U and 14-U levels as well.

 

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If possible, I would recomend finding a team in your DD's age group with like talented girls. If the talent is there play up as a team when reasonable. It may be a little farther drive for practices, but well worth the sacrifice. As team fees go, I have found the better teams costs are typically in line with most others, and facilities and training are superior.