Wwyd??

DD is an 03' (12yo) who has been playing with an 02' team in 14u. We recently switched teams to checkout a team that is about 1.5hrs away. After a couple tournies, she has assumed the cleanup spot and is getting plenty of playing time even though shes the youngest on the team. Here's the dilemma.

We have a pretty stacked 03' team nearby that is having open tryouts with 1 or 2 spots available.This team is already qualified for ASA Nationals as well as the USSSA Elite Select national tournament for 12u. This team competes at 14u locally.

Both teams have some question marks in their own right. Given the opportunity, would you prefer to play with her own age group against talent from other states, or play up and compete against mid level talent against an older age group?

**I give her advice and we discuss pros & cons of each. Ultimately, I leave the final decision up to her. She's torn between the 2 and I kind of am as well at the moment.

Before HS I would play in her own age division if the competition is there.

quincy said:

Before HS I would play in her own age division if the competition is there.

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The competition is really not there in her own age group with the exception of this one team.

All she needs is 1 Team.

Switching teams twice in one season sounds a little sketchy to me. If she's happy where she is (and already switched once) I'd be inclined to leave her there.

ScottyDont said:

Switching teams twice in one season sounds a little sketchy to me. If she's happy where she is (and already switched once) I'd be inclined to leave her there.

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Good point. I should mention that we only moved early because the previous team was in good shape and it gave us a chance to tryb out the distance thing before commuting long term with thw new season. If that makes sense. Trust me, we're not really big on jumping teams.

Playing against the best competition she can find will help her develop. If the 12U competition is better than the 14U competition, the age doesn't really matter.

CatchTheFever said:

DD is an 03' (12yo) who has been playing with an 02' team in 14u. We recently switched teams to checkout a team that is about 1.5hrs away. After a couple tournies, she has assumed the cleanup spot and is getting plenty of playing time even though shes the youngest on the team. Here's the dilemma.

We have a pretty stacked 03' team nearby that is having open tryouts with 1 or 2 spots available.This team is already qualified for ASA Nationals as well as the USSSA Elite Select national tournament for 12u. This team competes at 14u locally.

Both teams have some question marks in their own right. Given the opportunity, would you prefer to play with her own age group against talent from other states, or play up and compete against mid level talent against an older age group?

**I give her advice and we discuss pros & cons of each. Ultimately, I leave the final decision up to her. She's torn between the 2 and I kind of am as well at the moment.

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Additional questions I would ask yourself is:

- are the 1 - 2 open spots your DDs primary position or will she be a utility player. I would be a little concerned that all of the key positions are taken and she will be the outsider coming in mid-season to an established team;
- how are the coaches? What's their coaching experience? Will she be learning anything from them?
- does she know these local girls and likes playing, hanging out with them?
- at 12, I would be inclined to have DD play for a local team then have to travel 1.5 hours each way for practices. The team would have to be very special for my family to make that commitment at her age.
- is it possible for her to attend a few practices with this new team before she commits? This way you can do your due diligence, talk with the coaches and other families to get a gauge of team chemistry and culture.

FWIW - I used to be one of those advocates that you commit to a team for the year no matter what, but as DD and DS play more travel/club sports I am realizing that we are paying lots of money and time commitment and if we are not getting the most out of the experience and things are not working out, cut your losses and move on. It seems to be the norm in fastpitch, for better or worse...

Rocketech1 said:

I used to be one of those advocates that you commit to a team for the year no matter what, but as DD and DS play more travel/club sports I am realizing that we are paying lots of money and time commitment and if we are not getting the most out of the experience and things are not working out, cut your losses and move on. It seems to be the norm in fastpitch, for better or worse...

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RT, I really appreciate your posts. I'm not looking for an argument. Be careful what lessons the kids are learning. I've got a 16U and a college all-american. We've seen that, been there. It can be hard to stay with it. It can also build character.

What does SHE want to do?

IMO. She should play at the highest level possible against the toughest competition.....
Steel forges steel