I'm curious about the elbow guards. I see them, used at all ages. I have an older DD now playing in 16u and never used one. I'm curious, does anyone see more confidence in the box with batters who use them?
I ask because my 11 year old decided she didn't want to play after this year, because of her fear of being hit by faster pitchers she would face at 12u. She is small for an 11yo and hasn't hit a growth spurt yet.
She was fine with slower and moderate pitchers, but her team faced some great 10u teams this year at Cap City showdown and the world series and some of the speeds she faced shook her. Some were in the mid to upper 50's. One team we played won the pitching speed with a 57mph.
I'm wondering if having that little bit of protection would mentally help her a little.
As a side note, she did sub for her team in a friendly and faced some faster pitchers this past weekend, and realized that extra 5 feet makes a difference. She was surprised at the fact she was not really scared, but still unsure she wanted to return next year.