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Sep 28, 2015
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0
I always heard this from coaches and parents and never put much thought into it but I am now a believer. My DD pickup with an older 8u tournament team for the summer after her first season of 8u all stars was finish. She will be in 8u again in spring but the group of girls she played with was going into 10u for the fall. I put her on the team because I wanted her to learn and listen from another coach. I wanted to be that happy and cheering parent that gets to sit back and watch. I am glad I did and I have watched my daughter turn into a great player. She learned so many things that these girls already knew that we didn't even get a chance to work on because we didn't have the time as an all star team. If you ever get a chance for your DD to play with an older set of girls that are talented take it. Don't be worried that she will not be able to do it. The team needed 4 extra players and she had a try-out and made it. They started her at 2nd and after a couple tournaments she made her way to playing the pitcher position. Proud of my DD and as a bonus I actually got to sit in the stands and listen to all the crazy parents and there were a couple. As a coach you don't normally get to hear all that.
 
May 30, 2013
1,442
83
Binghamton, NY
I'm a big proponent of "get to 14U as fast as you can, and then stay there as long as you can."

In my region, the "play up" philosophy gets carried away and I see many players leaving 14U early or skipping 14U alltogether to get to 18U.
Makes no sense to me, as 14U and 16U are really the prime recruitment divisions.

Our 14U played a local 16U tournament this past weekend,
and of 10 16U teams, 1 was good and 1 was excellent.
We made it to the Championship, and then got trounced by that one excellent team.
But the point is, we have seen much better overall competition playing in local 14U divisions, than in this 16U.
And that troubles me...

But yes, in the younger age divisions (8U, 10U , 12U) my metric has always been: if the player will be better than half of the older roster, then push her up. If not, then keep her age-appropriate.
You certainly don't want to push a kid up who will be seriously overmatched, and even ride the bench. That won't help her develop, and may even hurt her confidence and detract from her enjoyment of the game.
 
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Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
To the OP....just goes to prove the old adage, 'If you lay with dogs you're gonna get fleas.'

DD was absolutely terrified to slide even though she knew how at the age of 12. That year we joined a team/organization that practiced many of their teams together. For instance, the first year 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U teams would practice together with all of their coaches helping out and running practice for one time slot and the next time slot practice would consist of the second year teams from those age groups. The very first practice they worked on sliding. DD was not going to let the bigger, older girls show her up so she did it. After that practice, she was no longer afraid.

The same could be said about playing with and against better talent and more talented teams. Many are far more afraid of being embarrassed at that age so they strive to be as good, if not better than their peers. Others are just born competitive. Luckily, the strive not to be embarrassed turns into competiveness soon enough;)
 
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Nov 3, 2012
480
16
I always heard this from coaches and parents and never put much thought into it but I am now a believer. My DD pickup with an older 8u tournament team for the summer after her first season of 8u all stars was finish. She will be in 8u again in spring but the group of girls she played with was going into 10u for the fall. I put her on the team because I wanted her to learn and listen from another coach. I wanted to be that happy and cheering parent that gets to sit back and watch. I am glad I did and I have watched my daughter turn into a great player. She learned so many things that these girls already knew that we didn't even get a chance to work on because we didn't have the time as an all star team. If you ever get a chance for your DD to play with an older set of girls that are talented take it. Don't be worried that she will not be able to do it. The team needed 4 extra players and she had a try-out and made it. They started her at 2nd and after a couple tournaments she made her way to playing the pitcher position. Proud of my DD and as a bonus I actually got to sit in the stands and listen to all the crazy parents and there were a couple. As a coach you don't normally get to hear all that.


They say if your the best player on the team, then you need to get to a better team. A couple years ago at 14U, we changed teams (at the beginning of season at tryout time) from a B team to an A/exposure team. The new team was significantly better and had some big egos and didn't get respect because she came from a B team. After a short period of time, DD was playing as well as anybody. I thought the biggest difference was the A team played with pop. Every moment of defensive practice, the A team had quick crisp hard throws with the feet moving and setting up with urgency. I still remember one of the first practices, my DD was playing at the speed of the old B team, kind of casual and not going all out. She really stuck out in contrast. The coach yelled at her a few times to pop your feet. You anxiously think, she cant do this. But after a few practices, she was playing faster and harder.

So if you want DD to get better, play better competition.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
Kind of my gage it from the OF you should be able to throw the ball as hard as you want. If you need to temper your throw depending on who is on the receiving side, probably time for new Team.
 
Jul 15, 2016
115
18
I have witnessed this phenomenon first hand. My DD has a late Dec birthday and her close friend has an early Jan birthday. Last fall they decided to stay in 8u and be the oldest in the league and we had to move up to be the youngest in the league. My DD has progressed exponentially while her friend has not made the same strides. Her dad even made the comment that they think they should have moved up.
 
Apr 16, 2010
924
43
Alabama
DD got the chance as a first year 8U rec player to pick up with a top 2nd year 8U travel team. She played great and earned a spot for the year. She totally changed as a player by going from the best to the 8th or 9th best on a team. It pushed her to see girls doing things she couldn't do and she improved more in 6 months than she had in 3 years.
 
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
They say if your the best player on the team, then you need to get to a better team. A couple years ago at 14U, we changed teams (at the beginning of season at tryout time) from a B team to an A/exposure team. The new team was significantly better and had some big egos and didn't get respect because she came from a B team. After a short period of time, DD was playing as well as anybody. I thought the biggest difference was the A team played with pop. Every moment of defensive practice, the A team had quick crisp hard throws with the feet moving and setting up with urgency. I still remember one of the first practices, my DD was playing at the speed of the old B team, kind of casual and not going all out. She really stuck out in contrast. The coach yelled at her a few times to pop your feet. You anxiously think, she cant do this. But after a few practices, she was playing faster and harder.

So if you want DD to get better, play better competition.

I agree here. Moving up in classification is often much better than simply moving up in age.
 

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