8U softball debate.... Your opinion please....

[Rambler34]

Every time I mention 8U travel ball or see anyone else mention 8U ball there always seem to be negative comments about them starting so young. Maybe I am in the minority here and maybe I am totally off base so I would like to hear some of thoughts from the great posters on here. I would also like to here what part of the country you are from as I believe it is much more popular in the southeast than other areas.

I personally do not see any issues with starting this young. It is not for every child but some girls are not ready for it until they are 14y/o. Some girls are just are being pushed by their parents which is totally wrong but some like my wife and I are being pulled by our DD. Some kids just want to have fun and hang out but others want a challenge. My DD has been given the opportunity to play competitive softball with and against some great kids and she couldn't be happier. She is getting much better instruction now than ever from her coaches and that doesn't count the two full time coaches on our organizations staff that assist with practices. Basically my DD is happy so I'm happy.

What's your thoughts?

 

[WinThemAll]

8U travel is for the parents. A six or eight week schedule, playing a couple of times during the week. Then putting together a team to practice and play a couple of double headers and maybe one tournament would be enough. But going hard core and a full out travel schedule is too much even for some 10U teams.

I saw that one 10u travel team has already played almost 120 games since the fall and just getting ready for their summer schedule. They will probably reach 200 games easily. That is way too much.

 

[chinamigarden]

When my dd was 8 she played on a 10u team. The way the team was set up was perfect. They played 1-2 doubleheaders a week with other travel teams. then we went to a limited number of tourneys. All total probably played 50 games.

What worries me is when people post on here about 8u teams and players as if they are talking about 14-16 year olds. Pop times, pitch speed, throwing drop balls, times from first to home, college, looking for how to give their kids a "mental" edge... they are 8, let them have fun and learn a game without making it such a chore for the average kid.

 

[Carly]

I agree that 8u has to be about learning. If you have a coach who understands that, then great... but if they're going out there trying to win at the expense of teaching, that's a problem.

I also think it's easier for a position player to play 8u than a pitcher. In my opinion, no 8 year old pitcher should need to worry about walking batters, etc. She should be focused on practicing and developing her mechanics and velocity. I've definitely seen kids who pick it up really quickly and aren't bothered by game situations at 8 or 9, but they are outnumbered by the others.

 

[marriard]

Every time I mention 8U travel ball or see anyone else mention 8U ball there always seem to be negative comments about them starting so young. Maybe I am in the minority here and maybe I am totally off base so I would like to hear some of thoughts from the great posters on here. I would also like to here what part of the country you are from as I believe it is much more popular in the southeast than other areas.

What's your thoughts?

8U Travel was a fantastic experience for my DD.

However I am in South Florida and there are plenty of teams and opportunities to play that there is no need to leave our county to play as there are local tournaments available each week (once a season we would go next county over which was less than an hours drive). We played 2 tournaments a month or one of the 2 local 'Sunday Games' travel leagues. Even in 10U we are following a similar tournament strategy (a little further but still not much) as I would say 5 of the top 10 teams in 10U are within a 90 minute drive of where we are based.

There are still 8U teams here that play a 'full' travel schedule and travel the state/country and I believe that is unnecessary especially with great local competition available. That I would not do.

My DD loved 8U until she was ready to move up - playing with a group of girls who all wanted to play and COULD play was a great experience and made her a much better player. It gave her a lot of opportunities to play infield and also somewhere where when she was in the outfield it mattered on a regular basis (which is not always the case in 8U/10U rec). There was no way when she started that she could have been on a 10U team and contributed and she wants to play the game - not have a 'learning experience'.

As 8U travel wound down for her, she was totally over the whole coach pitch thing in the last few tournaments she played in as she was ready to move up. She wanted to pitch in games and also there are some heavily recruited 8U teams around who are made up of early-matured girls who just cranked the meatball coach pitch to the outfield time after time which drive her nuts. DD has been out for revenge on those teams all this year.

It also gave her a place to play when a local rec option was not available and softball was her #1 choice. At the end the experience had her ready for 10U travel and to contribute straight away for a 10U team beyond pitching (she plays 2B and CF when she is not pitching).

I have absolutely no problem with players starting this early if it is the players wish to play. When it is purely parent driven that is not a good thing - however having being involved in travel with all the various age groups there is just as many parent driven players and teams out there in all age groups.

 

[Rambler34]

I am guilty of the knowing the times home to first and home to home. These came from our rec league park holding a competition for the kids each year. They run, throw and have a homerun derby for each age group. After winning the base running all three years my DD wants me to time her just about every practice to see if she is faster. All the girls on her team want to beat each other.

Nothing like seeing the face of a 6y/o when she cranks one out. It still a thrill for them even though they are set up about mid way in center field.

 

[jazz10NE]

I am in the Lincoln Nebraska area.

Our League started an 8U league 2 years ago.
Girls play 8 league games and teams then play a 'Crazy 8's' tournament at the end of the year.

Our organization started an 8U tournament 3 years ago and had 6 teams come from within an hours drive.
They way we have run the tournament and fun the girls are having as caused this years June 2-3 to have close to 14 8U's and 16 10U's-Rec/ASA C teams coming for a tournament. Mostly within an hours drive but a few from close to 3 hrs.

This tournament has always been billed as a get together for teams to have fun in a tournament type environment. In fact this is the first year we added 10's as those teams asked us to since they played in our 8U field the last few years. We typically have the winners move forward and loser move back so everyone gets 2 games on Sunday for a total of 5 games at a reasonable $150.

We have also seen a few tournaments do 1 day, Sunday 8u round robin types the same weekend they are hosting there 10-18 age divisions.

In short it has grown tremendously in the last 3 years and I can say I am glad it did for our DD as she was getting bored watching the older sister play and stuck in the Rec (hit, run one base) method our town had.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

MOO - It is way too young. They can't possibly protect themselves from a line drive. 10U is hard to find here in Tucson. 6 and 7th grade seems about right to start travel ball. Remember that I played all of my life and started in 4th grade. I held my daughter out until she was 10 and then, only rec for awhile. She did every activity (scouts, church, band, dance, etc.) and decided to specialize in softball after her freshman year.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

8u is alive and well in this area. There is a tournament about every two weeks (coach pitch) and it usually draws 8 to 10 teams. The 8u games are some of the very best to watch. The players are having the most fun out of any age group and the parents arent nearly as bad as they are in the 10u and 12u age groups.

 

[starsnuffer]

I'm a father of a 7 YO who plays softball. I've coached TB and have an older daughter who plays TB. I'm in California. I've absolutely no intention of putting the little one in TB at 8u. There's far too much that she wants to do and explore to pin her down to a travel schedule for an entire summer. She's not standing out as some elite freak in rec ball that needs to play with stronger/faster girls to advance her skills. Come to think of it, I haven't observed any kid in her age bracket that would fit that profile. I suppose that if she was hurting kids, or having to hold back, ect, I'd feel differently. At that age group, it seems pretty normal for a kid to get hit in the face and suffer a bloody nose if they're not paying attention or not catching balls, so no problem there.

-W