Okay I know that sounded very pessimistic. But let me try to encapsulate it as best I can.
(First of all if I come off as naive about any of this I apologize, this is all still very new to me)
My 8 yr old DD - 9 in April - has played travel ball with a neighborhood-based team since January. In short the talent level is largely what you would expect from a bunch of high-end Rec players; we played 6 tournaments over the summer - three of which were against Rec All Star level teams and the others against well established private travel teams.
In short at our first "real" tournament we witnessed firsthand how darn good and 8 yr old softball player could be. (Courtesy of the Ohio Hawks and Miami Valley Xpress - who literally took our breath away)
Her League has chosen not to develop an 8U team next year as most all of her teammates are moving up to 10U.
So here we are out on an island. I would love her to be able to compete at a higher level with some of the elite teams but I know that she is not quite there yet. And it is possible that we could find a home with another local suburban team.
But here is the crux of my question:
If she plays with the local "Enter-Suburb-Name-Here Lady Ladybugs" but someday WANTS to play for the "Lady-Top-Tier-Whoever" how does she get there?
Won't the Lady Ladybugs continue to play similar competition and the girls ability level will only rise to the level of competition they play?
And meanwhile won't the Lady Top Tier Whoevers do the same albeit against a much greater level of competition?
I don't see how playing say for the next two years for the Lady Ladybugs gets her ready to play for the Lady Top Tier Whoevers.
It just appears from this newbie's perspective that those two roads run parallel to each other, never to intersect - and I want my child, no offense to the Lady Ladybugs, to ascend to a higher level.
How does one get from Point A to point B?
We do not have the disposable income for private or even semi private hitting lessons or any other type of structured off-season development.
And embarrassingly enough being new to the sport myself I do not have the knowledge of how to instruct her adequately. Short of "Watch the ball into your glove" and "Make sure your swing is level" I have very little to offer her.
I humbly submit my question/dilemma to the amazing collective wisdom of this board
Thanks...
(First of all if I come off as naive about any of this I apologize, this is all still very new to me)
My 8 yr old DD - 9 in April - has played travel ball with a neighborhood-based team since January. In short the talent level is largely what you would expect from a bunch of high-end Rec players; we played 6 tournaments over the summer - three of which were against Rec All Star level teams and the others against well established private travel teams.
In short at our first "real" tournament we witnessed firsthand how darn good and 8 yr old softball player could be. (Courtesy of the Ohio Hawks and Miami Valley Xpress - who literally took our breath away)
Her League has chosen not to develop an 8U team next year as most all of her teammates are moving up to 10U.
So here we are out on an island. I would love her to be able to compete at a higher level with some of the elite teams but I know that she is not quite there yet. And it is possible that we could find a home with another local suburban team.
But here is the crux of my question:
If she plays with the local "Enter-Suburb-Name-Here Lady Ladybugs" but someday WANTS to play for the "Lady-Top-Tier-Whoever" how does she get there?
Won't the Lady Ladybugs continue to play similar competition and the girls ability level will only rise to the level of competition they play?
And meanwhile won't the Lady Top Tier Whoevers do the same albeit against a much greater level of competition?
I don't see how playing say for the next two years for the Lady Ladybugs gets her ready to play for the Lady Top Tier Whoevers.
It just appears from this newbie's perspective that those two roads run parallel to each other, never to intersect - and I want my child, no offense to the Lady Ladybugs, to ascend to a higher level.
How does one get from Point A to point B?
We do not have the disposable income for private or even semi private hitting lessons or any other type of structured off-season development.
And embarrassingly enough being new to the sport myself I do not have the knowledge of how to instruct her adequately. Short of "Watch the ball into your glove" and "Make sure your swing is level" I have very little to offer her.
I humbly submit my question/dilemma to the amazing collective wisdom of this board
Thanks...
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