move up or stay with your age

[humpty]

DD is an 02 her current team is half 01s half 02s. They are moving up from 12u to 14u. How do you know if your dd is ready to move up? For What reasons would you move up and for what reasons would you not move up? How important would the stats be in making this decison? The team that moves up would be a 14ub team and play a B schedule. Would it be better for a player to play a 14ub schedule or a 12uA schedule? In her age DD is an above avg pitcher and a below avg hitter. She doesn't have good size or running speed.

 

[quincy]

For DD the social aspect is really important, probably too important. If your DD likes her Team move her up with them. She will move back to 43’ and will be the game she plays for the rest of her life.

From a SB point of view I think she would be better off playing against better players her age. I just think it is hard to find a Team everyone is happy with so I am back to if she likes her Team move her up. 14U is when players start going yard so she needs to be ready mentally for that. Good news is she will have a larger strike zone to pitch to, some players are big.


12 YO small DD plays 14U, some of her teamates are twice her size. Size has never been an Issue for her.

 

[NVfishing]

I think it depends on if you want the team to stay together or you wouldn't mind DD playing for another team? Also depends on what your DD wants.

 

[jacman]

Can we add this wrinkle? '01 DD can finish year with local "A" level 12u and then to 14u in 2015, but how important right now to try and work into a "big time" organization with all the college connections? When, and how important is it, to go for the "gold," as it were.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I don't think 14U would be too difficult for your DD. In many states, a lot of the top 14U players and teams are already playing up in 16U, so next year's 14U is not going to be overwhelmingly better than what she's seeing in 12U is now. I assume your coach will put the team in 14U situations where they can be reasonably competitive.

Would it be better for a player to play a 14ub schedule or a 12uA schedule?

Good question. In my state, there are computer rankings of every team with results from all tournaments played. The computer also ranks strength of schedule. There is enough inter-division play (ie, 12U vs. 14U) to provide an objective answer to what you're asking. In North Carolina, there are about 150 teams in both 12U and 14U. The top-20 teams in 12U are playing slightly stronger schedules than the average 14U team. The top 10 teams in 12U are better than the average team in 14U, which would be the No. 75 team in a state of 150 teams.

Here is an interesting read on the subject -

This Board Rocks - View Single Post - Update: Computer rankings of NC's travel teams (June 1)

 

[NVfishing]

Depends on how much time in the circle she will get in the big time program? If she's used as the number 3 pitcher and sees limited time in the circle the jump might not pay off. If she's the number 1 in the B program then find out if the B team is going to go to any of the showcases where she will have the chance to play against better competition in front of scouting. How loyal is the "A" team? Would your DD get cast aside if a better pitcher comes up? There's too many variables in the equation to give a right or wrong answer.

I watched 2 girls this weekend that used to play with my DD. One wanted to be a pitcher and the other was utility. The pitcher pitched for a little bit during one of the games this weekend before she was pulled. From the looks of it she hasn't pitched 10 innings in the last two years. If pitching is what she wanted to do then she would have been better staying where she could develop. The utility player looked like the move is paying off for her. The change of scenery was needed.

 

[humpty]

She would get similar pitching time both situations 40-50% of the innings. The 12u team plans on playing at some bigger regional and national events which I like. The 14u team will stay local which is cheaper.

 

[NVfishing]

She would get similar pitching time both situations 40-50% of the innings. The 12u team plans on playing at some bigger regional and national events which I like. The 14u team will stay local which is cheaper.

I've heard this many times. Unless your DD is better than 99% of the players around her chances are she won't get a full ride scholarship playing softball. You would be better off spending your money on tutors and try for an academic scholarship over sports. More academic full ride scholarships are given. Maybe 1 in 20 girls gets any money for playing a sport. Maybe 1 in a 1000 get's the full ride.

If your DD is playing the game because she loves it and you want to see more exciting softball then jump to the U12 team. It sounds like it would be a little more exciting.

Here's a look at the scholarships for softball. 12 out of 20 girls on college team get money. Most only get a small portion related to overall college expense. Only 8% of girls playing HS ball play college ball. About 50% of them see any money.

Softball Scholarships & Chances of Playing College Softball

 

[JAD]

In the long run I think your DD would benefit more from playing on a 12U-A team vs. a 14-B team. Most 12U-A teams in our area "play up" in 14U tournaments, so you would be facing the same competition regardless.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I am starting to feel a little different, now about moving up. One of my students, moved up to 12U with her team. She was a young 10 and has played with them a year now. So, she had to move back to 40 feet and use a 12 inch ball. She has softball 5 days out of 7. For the past 10 days, she has has arm pain. Of course, they have shut down pitching and been to the doctor. But, I am thinking that she probably should have stayed at 10U. She is tiny.