2nd try out today...

[southwestsoftball]

So we got talked into having my dd go to a 12u try out today. The deal was that if we werent 100% comfortbale with her playing with this level of girls, then we would not come back to the 2nd or 3rd day of try outs and not even consider playing with this team. My wife and I were good with that and figured why not. This is a small try out. Coaches targeted about 20 girls and will trim to the number they want.

About 5-6 of these girls are ones who played for the states premiere club. They are 2nd year 12u girls and every single one of them are studs! They are big, powerful and well schooled. One exception was the managers dd. She was a smaller girl but a good athlete, very well schooled and a very very good contact hitter. The rest of the girls in attendance were from various clubs and about 5 of them were LL teammates of my dd's.

To my surprise, the first day of try outs had my dd doing very well with these girls. She is one of the faster/quicker girls there and she looks like a great candidate to play 2B/SS/CF. Coaches were very happily surprised when she came up to bat and showed she can bat for average and has some power behind that little 9 year old body. She not just fit in, she shined and probably falls into the middle of the pack of these girls. Not the best out there, but no where near the bottom either. BTW, when I say in the middle, I mean of the girls who will make the team( IMO). She probably falls in that 6-9 range. Coaches gloated after practice by being "right" and saying....." still concerned she can hang with a good 12u team?"

So here is the situation:

TEAM A: DD Already made this team and has been extended an offer. She will be the star of the show on this first year 10U team. The team will struggle really bad for the next year ( at least). Coach is very good teaching hitting and knows the game well however he has a hard time breaking it up for the 9 year olds. ( 2003 team) DD loves to pitch and she will at absolute worst case scenario will be the #2 P and should play a lot at SS/C/1B as well. My biggest cocnerns are that 1) This teams players and parents are not anywhere near as serious about this as dd is and we are( and of course coach).2) I dont think this roster will be full enough to play in more than 1 fall tournament. Which is a bummer. 3) My dd is crazy competitive. She likes the girls on this team and gets along very well, but she doesnt like to lose and doesnt like when people dont take winning serious as she does. 4) I worry she wont develop like she could with the other team.

TEAM B: Still has 2 more days of try outs but im 90% sure she will get offered a spot on the team.The good is that I really think this will push her to be at her best every day and she has a good shot to be a starter. This team will be very well coached. Very impressed by the staff they have put together. This team will be incredibly well coached.
My concerns here are: 1) There is an AC on the staff that dislikes me very much. He is a jerk and has talked bad about me to many people and he has done so when my dd was around. So needless to say.........she "hates the guy". She thinks Im the best coach to ever walk the earth and she will never forget the things he pulled. ( Still trying to figure out myself how you can do such a bad job and win the LL's first ever district title and go 24-1 on a season but thats another story). 2) She is still younger than everyone else by an average of 2 years and she will be outmacthed by almost everyone by a pure and simple physical maturity stand point. 3) The chances of her pitching arent very good. Probably will be the #3 or #4 at the very best case scenario. More than likley not even that. 3) 2 of the 3 coaches DD's play middle infield/CF like my dd.

Obviously my dd needs to make TEAM B first and then a decision will be made. In addition if that happens, I will have a ton of questions to ask that coach. However, right when I thought we had settled on a decison. Jeez. Wheres the easy button?

 

[Atlantabell]

My thought is why would you put your daughter in a situation where there is already tension?

 

[rdbass]

The problem with coach on team B will be a bigger problem during the year.That being said,2 years is a big difference.Your DD maybe able to hang with the girls on her team,but what about the rest of the teams.12 year old girls hit,throw,and pitch harder and faster.I would really think about having a 9 year old play with 12 and possibly 13yr olds.That gap in that age area is hugh.It's not like a girl that is 13 or 14 playing against 18-19 year olds.Be a star at her age group.I would hate to do this to my DD and have her get hurt.JMHO.

 

[crystlemc]

I think a 9yo on a team with 2nd year 12's is a recipe for disaster. The maturity level is different, as is the physical strength. She might be able to hang at a tryout, but maybe not necessarily in a game situation. We played a game this summer as 2nd year 12's against a team that brought in a 9 or 10yo to sub. She played 2nd base. While moving into the baseline to make a play on a ball, our baserunner plowed her. (Yes, our runner should have avoided her) Fortunately, our baserunner wasn't one of our 5'8"-5'10" girls, but she got her bell rung nonetheless.

Let her play with the young girls and be a stud. Let her shine. Especially if she truly loves to pitch. There is no substitute for innings to a young pitcher.

 

[Perfect Circle]

Go for the 12U... You can do it!!!! You have already done it !!!! Best way to deal with the other guy, is just walk up an offer to shake his hand in front of everyone. If he does, then he is a no worse than just a jealous sister. I did the same with my DD this weekend. Took her to a PRIME 12U-A tryout... she was the same middle of the pack, but can catch their heat pitchers. I had no intention of her playing, just getting ready for next year!!!!

 

[MsDinosaur]

I really don't like the thought of putting a 9 year old onto a team where one of the adults in charge of her is a jerk who has a grudge against you. That's a big red flag.

If she loves to pitch, she has to be on a team where she'll get circle time, either team A or some other 10U team. (Conversely, if second base is actually her dream, she would become much better surrounded by the capable, experienced teammates on team B.)

You know, if she joins team A, she may find a really great future team for herself by playing against them in a 10U tournament or with time, team A may turn into that great team. The little first year 10Us who look so ragged now will look a lot more professional in a few years.

 

[SoftSocDad]

Word to the wise: there are no good, competitive 2nd-year 12u teams with 9-year-olds on the roster.

 

[Perfect Circle]

Word to the wise: there are no good, competitive 2nd-year 12u teams with 9-year-olds on the roster.

YET !!! There is no other 2nd-year 12u team that has ever had YOUR DD on it !!! I'm sure our other friends are just trying to give the best answers, I can't say they are wrong. But if she can do it, you need to let her. When she does it you'll be set. You never know... you can join a 10u with lotz of nice smiley face backstabbers. At least you know where he stands. He is just like the coaches of the other teams you'll have to face. Jerks self implode. "Just do it" "Bring it" and "Don't Take it"

 

[southwestsoftball]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

My DW and I talked in depth about it last night and we are pretty sure we are gonna stick with the 10U team but we will make a final decision this weekend. My DD has told us she prefers the 12u team if it were totally up to her. Again, we havent totally dismisssed th idea and still have to ask some questions and take time to make the right decison. This may be one of this situations where mom and dad have to go against her wishes in order to do whats best for her......but we shall see.

To answer some questions and thoughts:

I would NEVER allow my dd to even practice with this team of girls if I thought she would get hurt because of her physical ability. Never.

Why would I put her in a position wher there is tension? Well, one because the other coaches on this team are good men who I know and trust to not let anything happen to my dd( at least while they are watching). We agreed to at least see her with this group of girls. Coach of this team assured us that our dd could compete with these girls and talked us into at least seeing her at try outs and if we werent comfortable and 100% sure she should be there physically, then we could part ways and no hard feelings. I wasnt sure that would be the case but he was correct. In addition, I dont beleive in teaching my dd to avoid situations where there may be tension. In life, there is gonna be tension. At work, in marriage, etc....If she can learn to deal with a little bit of tension now, she will be IMO much better prepared to deal with it later in life. I feel like if we avoided small tensions like this now, we would be teaching her to take the easy road and to turn the other way when tension or uncomfortable things happen. Hope that makes sense. Just how I feel.

I will say this. The girls who will likely make up this team are 6 girls who are following their coach from the states 2nd best 12u team.( the better players of this team) 6-7 girls that were hand picked to try out and poached from other teams. I have seen quite a bit of teams and while I dont KNOW if they will be good or not, I have a pretty good idea of what good softball looks like and what good softball players look like. My best guess is that this team will at worst be a top 2-3 team in 12U for our state at least. (Which usually has some real good softball). I could be wrong. IDK.

The big thing is my wife and I DO NOT want to be one of those group of parents that puts our dd in a bad situation or plays her up because its strokes our ego as parents. We arent those type of people. I have coached too long and seen too much bad come from that. We also dont want to be those people who dont challenge our dd appropriately in order to help her grow.

Again, we are about 75/25 right now about our decison. I thank you all for your input as it does help us mow through our own thoughts.

 

[rdbass]

Southwestsoftball,
I truly wish you well in what ever you decide.Please,if you decide to have your DD play up on the 12u team report back on how it went.I and I'm sure others who may face this situation in the future would like to know.My DD at age 8 played on a 10u team(no other team around us)I was so scared when she played (I had to buy a dog)She wasn't that good at the time so that may have had alot to do with it.