Bat recommendation for 11 year old

[MadBandit22]

I am looking for advice on bats. My daughter is turning 12 and currently swings a Vendetta 30/18. Bat size-wise, she is about ready for a 31". Debating on getting her a new bat. She got to test out several -11 bats and her swing speed and exit speed really decreased. Is this just due to the additional 2 ounces that she isn't used to yet? she needs to keep her speed higher. Would it be better to look into a 31" -12 instead of -11? Or, at what point does she truly need a longer bat? When doing the arm measurement, the 30" is just a bit shorter than her finger tips, maybe an inch. The guy at the store recommended -11's since she'd be "getting to an age when she needs to swing a -10". She is excited for a new bat but just don't want to spend money on one that isn't going to improve her hitting due to a slower swing.

Stick with Demarini if your concerned about bat speed & weight. I would go with drop 11 in CF or Prism line.

 

[ShawnC]

Your daughters build and age sound identical to my daughters. She is 5’ or a little over and weighs 89 pounds @ 11 years old. She is predominantly a contact hitter who pulls some power hits out of her behind from time to time. Lol. She swings a 30/19 CF most of time and moves to a 30/20 Power Carbon when we see slower pitching.....which isn’t often. As an above poster mentioned adding inches to the bat can really change the feel of the bat and throw off mechanics/ bat speed, sometimes more than adding weight. Moving her from a 30/18 to a 31/20 is really like adding 3 ounces of weight to her bat.......which would be a really big jump at one time. I would move from the -12 to a -11 in the same 30” length. She’s 11, she has roughly 6-7 years to get to that 33”-34” -10 bat that college players typically go for.

 

[injnyr]

My DD is the same age and size (11 yo, 5', 83 lbs) and broke her 30/19 Power Carbon near the end of fall season. She closed out the fall with a 30/20 Carbon 1 and her exit speeds were 2-3 mph higher than the PC. She also uses a 30/20 Power Carbon, but the Carbon 1 is her go-to bat right now. She tried Demarini bats but they didn't feel right according to her. You can find some good deals on the Mizunos.

 

[Lemond]

It's all depends on the kid. My daughter just turned 13, is a competitive swimmer with strong upper body strength, 5'6, 130 lbs, swings a 33/23 Ghost. I have a bat buying problem and have probably owned just about everything out there before finding out that the Ghost was her personal preference. While proper fit and weight are first and foremost important, its what your daughter feels is best, is the next most important. There were other bats that my daughter had faster exit speeds with, but with her Ghost the average was around 68mph with the highs hitting 70/71, but it was the sound and just feeling most comfortable with the bat, that sold her. The mental component plays such a big part of the batters success. Go with what allows them to maintain good mechanics and something they feel they can have success with.. Try as many bats as you can, find what works for her now. As she develops and grows, her opinions and needs may change.

This^^^^^^^. Set a budget, and if you have a place where you can demo a bunch of bats (store or teammates), let her swing away. It will likely be very plain to her when she finds the one she really likes.

 

[knuckleballer15]

Smaller players usually like the CF series. It will swing the lightest of anything you mentioned and more reasonable than the prism in cost. Xeno is a heavy swinging bat geared more toward power hitters. I would do a 31 drop 11 in the CF line or consider the power carbon as well if she didn't like the lxt

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Thank you - will look into those!

 

[knuckleballer15]

Your daughters build and age sound identical to my daughters. She is 5’ or a little over and weighs 89 pounds @ 11 years old. She is predominantly a contact hitter who pulls some power hits out of her behind from time to time. Lol. She swings a 30/19 CF most of time and moves to a 30/20 Power Carbon when we see slower pitching.....which isn’t often. As an above poster mentioned adding inches to the bat can really change the feel of the bat and throw off mechanics/ bat speed, sometimes more than adding weight. Moving her from a 30/18 to a 31/20 is really like adding 3 ounces of weight to her bat.......which would be a really big jump at one time. I would move from the -12 to a -11 in the same 30” length. She’s 11, she has roughly 6-7 years to get to that 33”-34” -10 bat that college players typically go for.

Thank you!
Yes my daughter is the same! Good hitter and once in awhile rips one towards the fence lol.

 

[knuckleballer15]

Also, please watch exit speeds...look for consistency. You can get a very high exit speed off a heavier
bat because of the mass behind it when you square it up. But if the bat is too heavy,
its not going to be good for her overall "real" hitting. Prob why those bats were 48-50 and her 30/18
was mid 50s exit. Tells me she isnt ready for the sizes and bats you had her using. She needs
to stay closer to her 30/18 than jumping up too fast. Maybe drop11, but stay with a balanced bat
like a CF or Power Carbon. Also because a lot of those other bats have small barrels in the smaller sizes.
Those 2 bats still have bigger barrels. Sounds like she isnt a very strong girl, so dont go too heavy
just because of what folks say "the book" says she should be swinging. Each girl is diff and each has her
perfect size.

Thank you. Yeah she isn't a strong muscular build. She hits well but is not a power hitter. I appreciate this advice.

 

[MikeP]

Thank you. Yeah she isn't a strong muscular build. She hits well but is not a power hitter. I appreciate this advice.

Hit Coresoftball up for a 30/19 Power Carbon, you won't be sorry.

 

[MadBandit22]

Hit Coresoftball up for a 30/19 Power Carbon, you won't be sorry.

I was just at a local Pro Shop to check out some bats. I wanted to see the Ghost Advanced in person and look at the Demarini’s which I really haven’t liked in the past.
I was checking out the Mizuno’s but they had very little. Only had a Carbon 1 drop 13 which was very light and felt nice. He only had the Finch entry level/beginner bats other than the C-1. I asked where the PC’s were and he responded he doesn’t stock the high-end Mizuno’s because they just don’t sell and he has to deep discount them just to get rid of them.
He mentioned he only stocks what sells well Easton, Slugger, & Demarini.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

You need to work to sell Mizunos the past couple years due to previous business decisions, so lots don't do it. Same thing
years back in slowpitch, nobody stocked any because they lost their butt on them. That's what they are trying to cure...gonna take
a little bit. And honestly, local stores don't work to sell bats, they depend on walk in traffic. That's also why Mizuno reps (the good ones)
work their tail off nowadays and they are the best company to give demos out and even set up hitting demos.
They are getting there, tough market to break back into. Then the problem is, you go cheaper to beat the competition
and then you're considered the cheap company. They tried that before which got them in that situation.
Agree with ya completely, the big 3 are way easier to sell.