My 10-year old loves her CF6 Sprite (30/19) and is killing the ball with it. I bought it a year ago last august when she just turned 9 and it felt a little heavy to her, but by the following spring it wasn't too heavy and then she really started hitting this summer and now fall. So right now it is the perfect bat. However, she's growing and my guess is it will be too small for her next spring or summer, and I'd rather buy a bat this fall. My question is how far up in size do you go? And then would you go with a CF8 or take a look at other bats? She'll be 11 in June. Right now she's about 4'9" and 70 lbs. Not super strong, but fast hands.
How much to increase bat size for a 10-year old?
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When my DD was growing and it was time to buy her a new bat I would move her up a bat size and use a grip extender for the first month or so to give her time to adjust to the additional weight and length. Not everyone is a fan of this approach, but it worked for us! A great test would be to buy a grip extender (less than $10 on Ebay) and let your DD try it on a teammates 31/21 to see how she likes it. The grip extender can be removed and reused, so you would only need one, but I will caution that they can be a pain to get on and off. If an umpire questions it, wrapping it with coaches tape usually resolves any issues.
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My 11yo DD is a bigger animal (5'-0", 100lbs), and is currently swinging a 31/21. Her previous bat was a 31/20 CF6. Most of the girls on her TB team who are similar height are also swinging a 31/21 or a 31/20. For a 4'-9" player, a 30" bat is probably the right size, but a 31" wouldn't be out of the question, either. Based on your description of your DD, I would probably pick a 31/20 for her next bat, and be looking ahead to a 32/22.
We are in a similar position. DD is 11 - 58" and 72lbs. She has been swinging a 30/20 LXT. She was crushing the ball last spring, but got hurt at the beginning of June and sat out the rest of the year. Ever since she started playing again she has struggled getting the ball out of the infield. We were considering buying a new bat for her and it was suggested that we look at a longer bat but not a heavier bat - so we started looking at a 31/20 LXT. Not sure how I feel about not moving up weight wise too...
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If your daughter was 9 and just turned 10, I am assuming she was in coach pitch and just now going to kid pitch. When my daughter first moved to kid pitch she swung a longer bat well against slower pitchers. Now that she is seeing a lot faster pitching where she is playing now she swings the shorter/lighter bat much better. Something to keep in mind if she is just now seeing kid pitch.
She has been facing kid pitch for 1.5 years and has played a year of 10U club at this point. She regularly faces (and hits well) pitches 35-45mph. I don't expect the pitching to change much for her next year, as she still has a year of 10U left. She'll also be playing rec and town travel at the 12U level next year, but with five more feet of pitching distance and a lower competitive level, I don't anticipate a major adjustment to pitching speed in the next year. This is in part why I feel like it will make some sense to go up in size.
Would a 31/21 be too big a jump (+ 1 inch and 2 oz.)?
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