Difference between 13U and 14U?

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Question for you seasoned vets! My DD is moving up to 13U this season. Having taking some licks at the 11U level playing the 12U teams, is it a similar experience at 13 vs 14U, or is the difference in development more subtle and less of a shock? We're playing a on a true 13U team, all 00 players, so I know there will be some difference vs true 14U all 99 teams. What do y'all think?

 

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There is a slight adjustment period, but I think the jump to 11u was greater with the pitching distance and ball size increase.

 

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Im also making the jump to 13u this year. But this is my 2nd time through and I felt from 10u-18u the toughest year 1st time was 11u. The jump gets easier each time when going 13u, 15u.

 

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More of a maturity issue from my experience.

 

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I always revert back to this:

10U - pitching and catching contest
12U - add infield play
14U - faster and add outfield play

I find 13U to be difficult due to the fact that you need real outfielders. And to that point in a players development, they have been wrongly conditioned to believe that the best players play on the dirt. At 14U you must have very good athletes running around on the grass or you will not win much on Sunday. I also think that the speed of the game is much higher.

I think the jump to 14U is bigger than the jump to 12U. But I also think the biggest physical difference happens from 11U to 12U. The pure size difference is amazing.

I have one in 16U, 13U, and 12U. And I still like old 12U and 16U the best. You can take the 13U and 14U years. I find those years to be the hardest due to the players being difficult to manage and the parents having one last spin at being crazy. 16U and 18U both seem to be a much more enjoyable age group than the 14U years.

To answer specifically, how many pure 13U teams end up in the top 10 rankings? 1-2 per year maybe. The older girls are more consistent and take a much more mature approach to the game.

Actually, I prefer watching the 18U+ teams. The players drive themselves and are only there for the love of the game. It is actually the best. My DD picked up on a 19U team (1st year college players) and had a blast. The girls managed the playing time themselves and had fun. There was a head coach but he didn't do much other than roll out the lineup. The catcher and pitcher called the game and it was all run by the players. No parents yelling, no coaches yelling, just girls out there playing the game.

 

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I believe there is a greater difference between 12u and 13/14u than any other age group. Suddenly outfield play is very critical as hitting is greatly improved. They will put the ball in play. A pitcher striking out everyone is very rare so defense has to be strong. Additionally a lot of the silly stuff on the base paths that works in 12u will only get you burned in 14u. This is the age that performance consistency really starts to take over. The biggest advice could give is to learn how to properly hit outside pitches At this age group the better pitchers will be able to hit their spots consistently.

 

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Both are extremely difficult if you play a tough schedule and consistently compete against the older age group teams. We took a lot of lumps this year and still managed to beat 500. I can only believe the experience made them all that much better ball players however.

 

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IMO, there is a reason why the age brackets move in two year increments - there just isn't enough difference between 11u-12u and 13u-14u to justify splitting "the first year kids" into their own age bracket. Here's my theory - I think kids who have that "young year" at each age group get the benefit of a season "playing up" against kids slightly more experienced. 13 year olds playing 14u get to experience slightly better pitching facing mostly 14u pitchers vs 13u. I just don't see the benefit in taking all the 13u kids and separating them from what I feel is necessary and beneficial to their development as a player. My DD always seemed to be the youngest on her team as she progressed through the age brackets due to a September birthday. In hindsight, always competing against slightly older kids forced her to be her best - similar to the younger sibling playing with the older kids.

I like Mad_Hornet's post. The magic thing about being tested and taking your lumps as a young team is that (with hard work) you reap the benefits next season by quietly surprising teams that don't see you coming...

 

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I am interpreting the original question as is there as much difference between 13 year olds and 14 year olds, as there are between 11 year olds and 12 year olds, and I think the answer to that is generally no. The older kids get, the less difference in their physical stature and abilities ... there is definitely less interest in 15's vs. 16's and even less between 17's and 18's. But again, that is a generality. There are still going to big adjustments moving to 14-U ball and then later to 16-U ball. Definitely agree with Tony and Sammy though that the end result will be that the younger girls will benefit and be all the stronger the next year.

 

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If you are fortunate enough a true u14 team, could all have just finished high school ball, with some players playing varsity softball all spring and have 25 plus games under there belt.

but then it is adjustment time back to travel ball.

 

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I found that at 14u against the true 14u teams even the not as well known teams that infield play is much smother. Not many infield hits anymore. Also as has been said those that thought outfielders were secondary players will be watching others play on sundays.

 

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Goodluck to you and Shelby next season. I hope you guys do well. Congratulations

 

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I think the major difference between 13U and 14U is the mentaility and physical presence. The girls with the earlier birthdays at 14U are more serious about the sport than the late birthdays of 13U. Also, the strength, maturity, and discipline of the hitters are a major factor. The mistake pitches you got away with at 12U, you will not get away with at 13U.

But, going to what others have said, the biggest adjustment (for pitchers) is 10U to 11U with the bigger ball and increased distance whereas 12U to 13U is only 3 more feet.

 

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Great comments everyone! Speaking specifically to the extra 3 feet. My DD is a pitcher and she's hardly noticed the difference, but I've been told that the extra 3 feet definitely gives more of an advantage to the batter. I thought, "come on it's only 3 feet", but someone told me "hey, 3 feet is almost 10% more distance the ball travels, so batters have more time to react to the ball". That made some sense to me. I can see why pitchers need to have good movement as they move up the ranks.

 

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Just completed the season as a true all 99 (13u) team. We had some great success along with taking our major league lumps. My best advice for you is to make sure you're fielding 9 strong and hitting 9 strong. For some of the best out there, they have no holes. Also I disagree on the 3 feet analogy. Advantage pitcher if you have the right kind. Its not all about strike outs any more. Just try not to allow the batter to mash the ball is the key. Rely on your defense. That's why we play with 9.

 

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In some cases I don’t believe there’s that much of a difference between the two. I saw some very good first year 14u teams this past summer.

 

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Goodluck to you and Shelby next season. I hope you guys do well. Congratulations

Thank you, Paul.