7th/8th Graders Playing JV

[Rick M]

DD is in her 6th year starting for our varsity. Sorry but a dad brag...

Don’t be sorry, that’s awesome!

I am curious about how that actually came about. Does the MS coach seek out the varsity coach and say, “We’ve got a player that’s light years ahead of the other sixth graders, she should be playing for you?” Were there joint tryouts for MS and HS? Or was the varsity coach involved in rec/community ball to the point that s/he was waiting on your DD?


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[MightyMO]

MS/JV/HS ball here is pretty competitive. DD’s school only takes 20 kids to field two teams (A & B). Tryouts started yesterday and go through tomorrow. DD said 30+ girls showed up. So cuts will be made.

I’m honestly not sure what the school/district/state rules are on 7th/8th graders playing high school. Supposing she makes the team...could DD play JV if offered? Probably from a fielding/hitting perspective. Not pitching. Do I want her to? As a 7th grader....no. As an 8th grader....maybe as long as she gets playing time.

It would be a cool feather in the cap to play up but I’d rather her play on the Jr High A team and get more playing time to develop. The Jr High team here is run by the HS coaches. So she’d be learning the HS system and how they want her to play no matter what.

Edit: I did find that (per our states athletic association) 7th/8th graders cannot play with/against students in the 10th grade or higher. There seems to be an age exception to the rule, but that’s handled by the individual principal.

I believe MO has the "four years of HS eligibility" rule in place. This came up when DD was in 8th grade and our varsity team had 0 pitchers. A few people looked into our DD playing up and the answer was "not without exhausting a year of HS eligibility".

I think the rule you referenced allows 9th graders to play down on the MS team if they choose to. Our school has discussed this in the past when the V and JV teams were full. I believe those players can join the HS team once the MS season has ended but cannot practice or play with both at the same time.

 

[HunterMO]

I believe MO has the "four years of HS eligibility" rule in place. This came up when DD was in 8th grade and our varsity team had 0 pitchers. A few people looked into our DD playing up and the answer was "not without exhausting a year of HS eligibility".

I think the rule you referenced allows 9th graders to play down on the MS team if they choose to. Our school has discussed this in the past when the V and JV teams were full. I believe those players can join the HS team once the MS season has ended but cannot practice or play with both at the same time.

The way the eligibility was explained under the MSHSAA rules were not 100% clear to me when I read them earlier. What you laid out makes sense now.


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[salderman#19]

In North Carolina, a player "must have not exceeded eight (8) consecutive semesters of attendance or have participated more than four (4) seasons in any sport since first entering 9th grade". Eligibility rule doesn't seem to be all that clear if it's possible for a middle school player to play up. Arguably, the seasons played while in middle school wouldn't count against eligibility since eligibility sounds like it starts upon entering the 9th grade.....the more I read it, the less I understand it.

Fortunately we have middle school softball and thankfully the state modified the middle school eligibility rules and now allows 6th graders to play (allowing 6th graders to play is a county decision I believe).

What is also interesting is DD plays on a 12U North Carolina based team but we have players from NC, SC, and VA. Two of our players from SC made their HS JV teams. There is some type of SC state rule or guideline that says if a player is playing HS, they are not allowed to play travel ball. I'm super excited for our girls that made their respective JV teams but we will miss them for the first few months of travel ball!

 

[AnotherSoftballDad]

We don't have middle school ball here in Texas and from what I have heard they only let 9th -12th play high school softball. In general, JV ball in my area is really bad.

It's up to the coach.

Ours allowed 8th graders to play JV in Fall ball.

My kid played.

The level of play was not that great. However we got to know the coach a bit who seems great, and my kid got to be the catcher which was fun because she has never played the position.

 

[Rambler34]

Don’t be sorry, that’s awesome!

I am curious about how that actually came about. Does the MS coach seek out the varsity coach and say, “We’ve got a player that’s light years ahead of the other sixth graders, she should be playing for you?” Were there joint tryouts for MS and HS? Or was the varsity coach involved in rec/community ball to the point that s/he was waiting on your DD?


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As far as my DD was concerned he knew her prior to her reaching the 7th grade. I have known him since we were in the 2nd grade. He coached for one of the national orgs and we would occassionally be at the same park when DD was younger so he had watched her play several times. So in her case it was the fact he knew she was coming and could help out.

In the past they typically pulled girls up after the MS season if they could help out in some way. Normally it would be girls with good speed, a big bat, or a solid pitcher that could help during the post season. DD also came along at the right time. Haylie McCleney was definitely a better ball player than mine at that point but the teams were loaded. HM's freshman season we had 6 DI kids including her and all 6 of them made it to regionals at least once during their college career. DD has played with several college athletes to be but nothing like we had during a stretch from 2008-2010.