12U Playing Up At 14U

[Cobb_of_Fury]

We are a fairly young 12U team (Age wise as well as Playing Time) - but we will be playing up at 14U for our last tournament.

Other than the obvious 43" and 15 year old Girls - What are the biggest things we need to watch for?

What are some of the diffrences between 12U and 14U?

 

[FP26]

I'm sure it depends on the level of play you participate in, but the biggest change I found at 14u was the quality of the hitting. At 12u, a fast pitcher could simply throw it by many of the hitters. At 14u, someone that just throws fastballs gets hit, typically hard. Therefore the pitchers that are more effective at 14u seem to be those that can mix speeds and add some movement. We didn't see many pitchers capable of doing that at 12u.

 

[BobInMadison]

It depends on the LEVEL of 12u and 14u.

DD #3 has pitched at the rec league for 14u. She can blow it right by those girls. OTOH, the strong 12u tournament teams see her as batting practice.

At the plate, she used the 14u rec league pitchers for batting practice, while it was really tough just to get on base against the strong 12u TB teams.

The BIGGEST problem she had with the 14u girls? Confidence on the mound. She seemed a bit intimidated by the bigger girls, and didn't pitch as well as she could've.

That being said, since you are comparing TB teams at different levels, realize that the bigger girls will probably use your pitchers as batting practice, they will get to base a lot faster, which will put a great strain on your defense, and their pitchers will throw things your girls don't see very often.

 

[canyonjoe]

Agree with fastpitch on the hitting aspect.

Keep in mind most tourneys let you wear metal cleats so it's just something to be aware of for infielders.

The other things is that 14U teams tend to throw behind runners more so be careful rounding bases. Also the outfielders generally are
much better and have stronger arms.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I remember my daughter's first few tournaments in 14U, and the biggest difference was that more girls could put the ball into the outfield. More fly balls. More balls in the gap. As a result, a team's outfield needs to be stronger. Got have better range. Got to execute cutoff plays. Outfielders that made fly balls an adventure in 12U will prove very costly in 14U.

Other thing is that the good teams will not often make throwing errors in the infield. Those throws become fairly routine, especially for a second-year 14U team. So girls who just put the ball in play aren't as valuable in 14U unless they are slappers who stress the defense w/ placement and speed. Otherwise, you need to stroke the ball.

 

[CoogansBluff]

You also start seeing much better execution of throwing out base stealers. In 12U, you often can steal anybody and they'll probably be safe. In 14U, you have some girls that you will be hesitant to steal, and you'll have some catchers that you aren't eager to steal on. Passed balls and wild pitches decline. In 12U and below, I really value OBA because once you get on, you can find ways to get around the bases. The defense will often give it to you. But in 14U, it's harder to take an extra base on SB, WP and PB, so the girls who can get extra-base hits become more important, IMO. Of course, getting on base is always important, but you have to depend more on hitting the ball to move you around the bases in 14U.

 

[bucket pinata]

My dds 12u team played mostly 14u A ball to get competition until the end of year state championships and world series. The one thing I would have them do for sure is find a way to practice live hitting from 43'. the difference in timing is bigger than I would have imagined. It took our team at least two tournaments to start hitting the ball well again when we changed distances. This had nothing to do with pitching speeds.

 

[2 DD Coach]

Metal cleats. We played 14u teams to get ready for nationals, and this was the single biggest concern from the girls on our team.

 

[PA SB Dad]

Metal cleats. We played 14u teams to get ready for nationals, and this was the single biggest concern from the girls on our team.

This is a biggie if you are a coach that teaches two-handed tags at the bases. I've always taught one-handed swipe tags, even at 10U, because I think you can get the tag down faster, but also because as the girls get bigger, faster, and stronger, a two-handed tag on a kid stealing with metal cleats on is a big injury risk.

 

[BobInMadison]

You also start seeing much better execution of throwing out base stealers. In 12U, you often can steal anybody and they'll probably be safe. In 14U, you have some girls that you will be hesitant to steal, and you'll have some catchers that you aren't eager to steal on. Passed balls and wild pitches decline. In 12U and below, I really value OBA because once you get on, you can find ways to get around the bases. The defense will often give it to you. But in 14U, it's harder to take an extra base on SB, WP and PB, so the girls who can get extra-base hits become more important, IMO. Of course, getting on base is always important, but you have to depend more on hitting the ball to move you around the bases in 14U.

My DD #1 was a great base stealer who really came into her own in 14u. She was the run-at-the-first-pitch sort of girl, where a single or a walk was often as valuable as a home run, esp. if there were a WP or PB when she was at third. Even so, there were some catchers at 14u who really challenged her. There were only a few girls who could steal at will at that level.

She once played on a 14u all-star team in a couple of tournaments. That team had a girl with a rocket arm as catcher. I remember seeing them play a team that stole VERY aggressively, then suddenly stopped stealing when they realized what they were up against.

So, this is correct. More catchers can make a great throw to 2nd or 3rd, and more infielders can make a great tag.

Even more so at 16u. Within a few months, DD #1 was playing up at 16u TB. She had to be a lot more careful stealing.