11 year old in travel ball

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Nov 4, 2015
320
43
My DD will turn 11 in September. She is becoming a pretty decent pitcher. I know the bigger ball and the 40' distance will hurt her some, but she has improved greatly in the last 7-8 months and has started back up with lessons after about a month off. I know all situations are different, but i learned in 10u that she has to play to get better and i really want her on a team that focuses on drills and player development. What do you guys/gals, that have been through this, see as the pros and cons to trying to find a 05 only team vs a true 12u that has 04 and 05 on it? My daughter is not the best athlete or the most talented, but really enjoys playing and has continually improved. Thanks for any help.
 
Feb 7, 2013
3,188
48
All things being equal, I would get her on a 05 only team so they can stay together after the first season and she will be better matched with her peers for pitching, playing time etc. I would talk to as many families as possible about the travel ball teams in your area and go to several tryouts with different teams before you commit. Make a list of what your DD wants from a travel ball team (e.g. local travel or out of state, large organization or small, practices 3x a week, lots of friendies/tournaments, daddy coaches or paid coaches with no affiliation with the families, development team or competitive team, monthly expenses $$ and fundraisers, distance of practices, some of DD's friends on team, etc.).

If she has an opportunity to guest play on any of the teams she is considering, I highly recommend it. You can really get a feel how the coaches treat the players, their coaching styles, and you can speak with the other families about their experiences on the team.

Good luck.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
If you go with a team that has a lot of 04s it will likely affect her playing time. If they have a couple of 04 pitchers she won't get much circle time most likely unless she's advanced. It's not always bad for a dad to be a coach but ITA with Rocketech on guest playing if you can. IMO it really takes 2-3 tournaments to get a true sense of a team and its coaches. It may not be feasible to guest play that much but even just once will give you some good insights.
 
May 5, 2014
93
0
Pacific Northwest
My middle daughter played on a mixed team her first year of 12U. Make sure you find out what age the coaches daughters are. If they are 12 they will move up to 14U the following year with there daughters so you may find yourself looking for another team again. Her coaches had 11 year old daughters and they where great coaches so it worked out ok for us. I also liked having a few bigger 12 year olds that could hit, one was also a starting pitcher, they helped the 11's to pick up there game more so than had it just been a group of 11's. To be honest it was kind of nice having a few openings the following year as they moved up. You spend a lot of time with these families and sometimes it is nice to have some new faces in the crowd. I can see the benefit of having a group of just 11's that grow together, but I can say that we enjoyed our mixed team and wouldn't have changed it. Good luck.
 
Mar 1, 2015
131
0
My DD will turn 11 in September. She is becoming a pretty decent pitcher. I know the bigger ball and the 40' distance will hurt her some, but she has improved greatly in the last 7-8 months and has started back up with lessons after about a month off. I know all situations are different, but i learned in 10u that she has to play to get better and i really want her on a team that focuses on drills and player development. What do you guys/gals, that have been through this, see as the pros and cons to trying to find a 05 only team vs a true 12u that has 04 and 05 on it? My daughter is not the best athlete or the most talented, but really enjoys playing and has continually improved. Thanks for any help.


There will be plenty of "true 12u teams" that are all 05s starting in the fall. Find one of those that plays a lot and only has no more than 11, maybe 12 on the roster. In 12u, ideal roster size is 11 if you want everyone to play a lot and really develop. 12 is doable, but there might some hurt feelings.

Where are you located?
 
Jun 29, 2013
589
18
Agree wholeheartedly with you on the need to play. A former Team USA player told me once if you're daughter isn't playing at least 50% of the innings in 12U, she is on the wrong team (60% was her recommendation for 10U FWIW). For that reason alone I recommend finding a true 05 team, harder to compete with the older kids at that age.
 
Nov 4, 2015
320
43
Thanks for the advice. Haven't been able to find anyone doing a true 11u so far. Daughter is still improving and seems to really enjoy the game. Want to make sure she gets to play to keep that excitement going. She wants to be on the field just need to get her more aggressive. May just have to get her on a mixed 12u and try to make sure she has good coaches that focus on the girls' development.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
They're out there, just harder to find than the ones who play to win IME. Not that they don't ALL play to win; I mean, we all want to win games. But I've noticed coaches who are too focused on the win often will do things that are detrimental to their players in the process. Finding the right balance is a challenge sometimes!
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Thanks for the advice. Haven't been able to find anyone doing a true 11u so far. Daughter is still improving and seems to really enjoy the game. Want to make sure she gets to play to keep that excitement going. She wants to be on the field just need to get her more aggressive. May just have to get her on a mixed 12u and try to make sure she has good coaches that focus on the girls' development.

A team that is majority 11U with a coaching staff with 11U DD's could work.
 
Dec 27, 2014
311
18
I would make every effort to find an 05 team, especially for a pitcher. DD is still 10, a late 05 on a team of mostly 04's. She was pretty established with the team when we went 12u last fall. I still looked around a bit to see if I could find a shiny 05 team but we did not have much in my area. It might not have mattered because she likes her team so she might not have wanted to change. But, if it's a new team either way, a 2005 team would be a no brainer as compared to joining older kids that already have a year of 12u under their belts, and are just one year away from 14u.
 

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