Wanted to throw this out there to get your thoughts. What would be the positives and negatives to having age brackets for example;
12 & over
14 & over
16 & over
with the ceiling at 18?
I have observed and now often hear 12U & 14U teams handily beating 18U teams and wonder what it my play out like if these brackets were a reality?
Age difference, safety, maturity, I get it, just want to get your perspective. Thanks
Chris
Having open age tournaments or leagues has been around for years. I remember a fall league we played in at 11U that was an open format so we had games vs. 14,16 and 18U teams so, It is not new with younger ladies playing with older players. Some of the smaller High schools will have middle school ladies on a varsity roster so you could see 12/13 year old players on the same field as 17/18s.
A lot of fall leagues and some of the summer leagues will blend 10s/12s-the stronger 12s with 14s or offer 14 and over divisions. When we were playing showcase ball it was not uncommon for teams to have 3 or 4 grad years on their roster especially; at the larger events.
We have been playing the Keith Carver Memorial since 2007 in Maysville Ky. The first three years the TD broke it up with age divisions 10,12,14,16,18 and sanctioned play ASA. The TD made the switch to an open format in 2010 and he uses KHSAA and DIII Umpires that basically donate their time for the memorial. These changes made the tournament a much stronger event.
The TD uses two divisions of play; one High School Division that can have high school teams, 14U, 16U,18U travel teams although the strong 18s choose to play open.
Some of the 14s and HS teams can have 12/13 year old players on their roster. Each team signs a waiver prior to play and must show proof of insurance for any team under 18U.
The other division is a "true open" with college teams/players from D1 to NAIA, 16U-18U-18O or adult travel teams.
The TD will not allow full teams of 14s or HS teams to play in the open division to keep the level of play balanced and to avoid injury. The speed of the open game is much faster than most HS players or teams of 14s are used to playing even if they have one or two stud players.
The tournament has had some 16s play open over the years that held their own one finishing 2nd back in 2010 vs. teams made up of strong D1 and D2 college talent. So, the younger ladies can have the skill needed to compete with today,s additional personal coaches/trainers some 12s/13s/14s are as strong or stronger players than their older counterparts.
