Softball potential at 8 years old

[Rocketech1]

What I’ve witnessed is most of the little stars at 8 to 10 have either quit or no longer stand out when they get to HS. There's no way of knowing who can or can't play in the future at the age.

Interesting. Of the 8U and 10u all star players that DD played with in rec league, I would say at least 80% of them have continued to play competitive travel ball and/or HS ball by the time they were 14YO. Maybe revisit this in 4 years and see how many are playing in college...my guess is that of the ones still playing, 50% will be playing in college but just a guess right now?

 

[Eric F]

Interesting. Of the 8U and 10u all star players that DD played with in rec league, I would say at least 80% of them have continued to play competitive travel ball and/or HS ball by the time they were 14YO. Maybe revisit this in 4 years and see how many are playing in college...my guess is that of the ones still playing, 50% will be playing in college but just a guess right now?

It was looking very similar with us, too, but a few more dropped out of the game recently. Of the 12 that were on Maddie's 8U all-star team (04s), 8 went on to play travel at 10U, and another started in 12U. Right now, it's 6 in TB, and 2 still in rec. 4 of the 12 (2 of the TB players) are out of softball completely.

 

[MNDad]

Interesting. Of the 8U and 10u all star players that DD played with in rec league, I would say at least 80% of them have continued to play competitive travel ball and/or HS ball by the time they were 14YO. Maybe revisit this in 4 years and see how many are playing in college...my guess is that of the ones still playing, 50% will be playing in college but just a guess right now?

55Dad said something similar. Maybe it is a MN thing. Our rec ball is pretty screwed up here and for the most part kids don't receive good coaching until 14U when they can play travel ball. It's pretty cool your DD will get to play with many of the same kids through HS.

 

[Rocketech1]

It's pretty cool your DD will get to play with many of the same kids through HS.

Actually she won't, at least not on her school team. Some will go to private HS, others to rival public HS and now that I think about it not a single player on her TB team (30 miles away) goes to her HS either. Of the HS team kids who are exactly 14, I think she has played all-stars with 1 of them. However, she has played all-stars with about 4 of the older sophomores. Our situation is unique because we are just on the edge of a different school district from most of her playing peers. We moved there for the better academic schools.

 

[YOCOACH]

Throughout rec ball, we have had anywhere from 11 to 15 players. Out of any of those players throughout the years, we have had probably 7 move on to play TB. That's out of probably 45 players that played for me at the rec ball level. Out of the 7 that moved on, exactly one of them will play at the college level and that is my DD.

She has always been the tallest on the team. She was continuously bullied throughout middle school because she was always the tallest in her grade. She was always the slowest girl on the team...even now. She runs a 4.1 to first. However, once she opens up her stride, she runs a 13.13 home to home...so not so slow after all. Trying out for TB teams was a chore. Many coaches refused to even pay attention to her because even though she was a good first baseman and dug many throws out of the dirt, she was slow.

From an early age, I recognized this in her. I told her if she hit the ball hard enough and far enough, she didn't need to be fast around the bases. Please don't take this as a brag because it isn't. At the age of 17, she has 81 OTF HR's. This doesn't include BP, practices or scrimmages; just TB tournament games. She took what I told her to heart. She turned into a hitter.

If She had listened to those coaches that didn't want her because she was slow, she wouldn't be playing today. Instead, she worked her tail off and became one of the top hitters in 20 Eastern states and Canada.

You can't tell a kid that they're not softball material simply because no one knows their work ethic and the family support system. This is especially true at the 8U level. Yes, natural athleticism is a plus, but hard work will beat athleticism when athleticism fails to work hard any day of the week. It's proven time and time again. How many times have you heard, ' whatever happened to so and so? She was a heck of a ball player.' only to hear the response, 'Oh, she didn't make it on team X because she wasn't good enough so she quit playing.'

ETA: Congratulations on becoming a true coach!. IMO a true coach is someone that takes a kid that no other coach thought was good enough for them and turning that kid into a player that those same coaches say "Damn, I wish I had her on my team!" I hope your players give the other teams whiplash as they walk by. I wish you the best of luck...COACH!

 

[MNDad]

She has always been the tallest on the team. She was continuously bullied throughout middle school because she was always the tallest in her grade. She was always the slowest girl on the team.

DD is kinda tall too and speed has always been an issue. It wasn't until senior year of HS that she got to the point she could run fairly well. Still not fast, but no longer painfully slow at least. We got lucky she was never bullied other than a few cracks from parents. Mainly stuff like "she's not any good, she's just tall" and stuff like that.

 

[rocktheball]

Throughout rec ball, we have had anywhere from 11 to 15 players. Out of any of those players throughout the years, we have had probably 7 move on to play TB. That's out of probably 45 players that played for me at the rec ball level. Out of the 7 that moved on, exactly one of them will play at the college level and that is my DD.

She has always been the tallest on the team. She was continuously bullied throughout middle school because she was always the tallest in her grade. She was always the slowest girl on the team...even now. She runs a 4.1 to first. However, once she opens up her stride, she runs a 13.13 home to home...so not so slow after all. Trying out for TB teams was a chore. Many coaches refused to even pay attention to her because even though she was a good first baseman and dug many throws out of the dirt, she was slow.

From an early age, I recognized this in her. I told her if she hit the ball hard enough and far enough, she didn't need to be fast around the bases. Please don't take this as a brag because it isn't. At the age of 17, she has 81 OTF HR's. This doesn't include BP, practices or scrimmages; just TB tournament games. She took what I told her to heart. She turned into a hitter.

If She had listened to those coaches that didn't want her because she was slow, she wouldn't be playing today. Instead, she worked her tail off and became one of the top hitters in 20 Eastern states and Canada.

You can't tell a kid that they're not softball material simply because no one knows their work ethic and the family support system. This is especially true at the 8U level. Yes, natural athleticism is a plus, but hard work will beat athleticism when athleticism fails to work hard any day of the week. It's proven time and time again. How many times have you heard, ' whatever happened to so and so? She was a heck of a ball player.' only to hear the response, 'Oh, she didn't make it on team X because she wasn't good enough so she quit playing.'

ETA: Congratulations on becoming a true coach!. IMO a true coach is someone that takes a kid that no other coach thought was good enough for them and turning that kid into a player that those same coaches say "Damn, I wish I had her on my team!" I hope your players give the other teams whiplash as they walk by. I wish you the best of luck...COACH!

Thanks for the encouraging comments. Yes, my goal is to help turn the two girls I just picked up into good players. By the way, they both came from the same team who decided to clear house at 8U. I know I possibly could lose them eventually but I want them to become such good players that the team who threw them to the side feel like idiots. Also, I want each of these girls to get the satisfaction of one day beating that team that didn't think they were good enough. Luckily, neither girl has really been told by their parents that they simply weren't wanted. I think that is a terrible thing to tell a 8 year old girl. Plus, this has gave me even more motivation to get out and work with the girls on our team. Looking forward to next week and our first fall league game.

 

[Mom_Coach_Fan]

My DD started at 8U - didn't even know how to stand at home plate to bat. Pretty sure she didn't field a ball cleanly all season, much less catch one. She is NOT a natural athlete. Last night her older sister said, "when you finish HS you will have played softball for over 10 years". Her face beamed. I am glad no one gave up on that goofy, chubby, lost 7 year old girl.

 

[chinamigarden]

I just started a 8U travel team. Recently picked up a new player from a local team. I was shocked ( if parent is telling complete truth) that the player was recently cut from her previous 8U team by text. The quote the parent gave me was that they received a text from the coach that stated, "your daughter isn't softball player material." I understand that at 8 you can definitely see potential in a player. But, can you really tell a kid to basically hang it up at 8 years old because you just aren't softball material? A week ago I picked up a player from same team that they didn't want anymore. She is going to be a good player for me now and hopefully in the future. I'm taking this girl who they say is not softball material and I'm going to make her a player.

I don't think anyone can get an accurate feel for whether or not an 8 year old is a fit for softball. However I can certainly get a feel for the parents, and might make a decision based on them.

 

[Beeg]

The other coach isn't softball coaching material.