12U vs. 14U?

I have a 12 YO daughter born in 04. She can play another year of 12U softball, but is playing on a 14U team in the fall. Typically talent is a little watered down int he fall and we felt 14U would be better for her. She leads off for the 14U team and plays almost exclusively at 2nd base. Not a big kid at all but she is pretty fast and reaches base slapping and bunting for the most part, but also can hit for power. That power is subjective obviously, she cannot it the ball out of the ball park, but most coaches play their outfield in on her and she can drive it over their heads. So far in the fall, she has played in four tournaments and is hitting well over .400. My question is, would it be in her best interest to go back to 12U in the spring/summer on a highly competitive team (which we would probably have to travel a long way to find) or get her on a good solid 14U team? I am aware of the maturity portion of it, knowing she will be around older girls and the discussions they have as opposed to what would be discussed on a 12U team. Any feedback would be helpful.

What level of ball are you talking about. 12U A ball is better than 14U B ball in many areas, but if you have to travel a long way to find that it's really not a big issue either way as long as she gets to play a lot of the innings.

A ball in both cases.

As the parent of an 04 player who was invited to play 14U TB, we discussed the issue and decided that another year of 12U was the right choice. A lot of it was about staying with her team where she is a senior member and a leader. It's also partly about wanting to have a personally successful season as an older player in the younger age group. The emotional maturity aspect is also a factor.

What part of CA are you in?

Eric F said:

As the parent of an 04 player who was invited to play 14U TB, we discussed the issue and decided that another year of 12U was the right choice. A lot of it was about staying with her team where she is a senior member and a leader. It's also partly about wanting to have a personally successful season as an older player in the younger age group. The emotional maturity aspect is also a factor.

What part of CA are you in?

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We are in the Central Coast, Salinas/Monterey area. Yeah, the emotional maturity aspect is a factor for us also. She seems to handle mistakes better when she is with the older girls, which I like. Why I asked the question, thank you!

We skipped 2nd year 12U with an "A" team to play with a second year 14U "A" team. Honestly it was the best decision we could have made with our DD. She enjoyed the high level of competition and she is a better player now than she was this time last year.

Her biggest deciding factor was once she played with our varsity team and then started 14 or 15 games finishing out the year she did not want to go back to 40 feet. In the end she will get three years in what is becoming a hot recruiting age group and she got on the radar for some smaller schools. She also got nerves out of the way by gaining experience playing in front of coaches. She also got the experience of playing against true D1 prospect pitchers including two that are committed.

I will say the biggest con was leaving her friends on her 12U team. She had played with them for 5 or 6 years so that was a tough adjustment.

If you are happy with the coaching and competition, I would stay with the 14U team. Obviously, monitor the maturity level. If she is emotionally able to handle her mistakes and you see the teammates are a good fit, and your DD is happy, stay on the team

There is no universally correct answer.

Which team has the better coaching?
Which team would give her more playing time?
Which team better fits her goals?

This fall DD 3 had the choice between being one of two starters on a 14u team or third pitcher for a 16u.
She went with the 14u

If it was my DD I would put her on the best 12U A-level team where she would be in the starting line up. Really good 12U teams will play mostly 14U tournaments anyway. Please be aware that there are a lot of coaches claiming to be "A-level", so buyer beware!

My recommendation is to put her on the team that will stretch her abilities. Could be the 14U team or the 12U team as there is some overlap. Sounds like she is a solid player and will get better playing with and against better talent.

If your daughter was an average player that was having difficulty getting playing time or having success, then I would recommend playing on a weaker / developmental team.

Final piece of advise: Think long term development vs. short term success. Development will pay off in the long run!