8U moving up to 10U

[kchmcbaz]

My daughter just turned 8 (league age 7) and is playing in the local rec league. She played last year (league age 6) on the 8U team and excelled. One of the 10U coaches has asked me to think about moving her up this year to 10U. There are two teams for this age group in our league.

I see alot of questions on this forum about moving players up early but it is usually older players. What are some your comments or concerns that you would have, from experience, if we decided to move her up?

She would probably rank somewhere near the middle of the pack among the 9/10's that signed up. Don't know if it matters but she would be on her older sister's team.

 

[chinamigarden]

One word of caution. Be prepared for her to be playing at the same level for 4 years. Some kids start out fast and then other kids catch up. Just because she is good enough to move up now, do not expect that in 2 years she will be moving up again. She might, but she might not. I have seen it where parents expect their kid to be 2-3 years ahead of their peers forever, and then get upset at the coaches when she isn't on the 12u team at age 9.

Be also aware that the kids on 10u teams are 30% older, stronger, smarter, ornerier and mature then a 7 year old. Girls can be mean to each other to boost their own social status, just be aware. My DD played 10u at age 8, I could see some of the social problems starting right up (especially since she was playing and taking time from some of the older ones) until the best player on the team started to talk to her and take her side. All the rest of the 10 year olds fell into line then. But, if not for one nice kid, it might have been different.

 

[FPMark]

My DD also moved up to 10U at 8. I believe it was good for her to be challenged to perform at the higher level. She had no problems fitting in with the rest of the girls though. But then again she is very outgoing and makes friends easily. If her and her older sister get along well would be the main factor I would consider.

 

[Momo'sDad]

If you think she's middle of the pack for the older division, then she's probably ready in terms of her skill set. But as Chinami points out, it's not just about the girl's ability to player, but also about her ability to interact with the older players. For my daughter, the decision was based on the quality of play at the 8u level. She really had to move up. But if we lived in the next town over, then she'd still be in 8u. At her 10u evaluations, however, she was clearly a top-15 player in terms of skill.

Our situation is somewhat unique, because 4 of my 13 players are either 8 or just turned 9 earlier this year (I drafted 1 because she's really, really good and the other 2 were younger sisters who were packaged to me). So, even though we're a 10u team, my daughter isn't singled out as the young one as far as peer relations are concerned.

Skill-wise, my daughter probably should've skipped 8u as well last season, but from a social perspective, it was the right move to have her in that division, even if she was held back a bit in the spring. She had a great fall season on a young team, but having her back in 8u this spring would've been ridiculous. Plans are constantly changing, but as of today, she intends to play 3 years at the 10u level in rec.

For the most part, one slow year of softball at this age won't hinder a player's growth much at all, so keep that in mind when weighing your decision. Because you're in an even smaller league than we are, my thoughts would lean toward moving your daughter up.

Let us know what you decide.

 

[starsnuffer]

If she's 8, I don't see a problem with it. Many organizations (mine included) separate the ages at 7u and then 10u, so at 8 she would already be part of what we normally consider 10u anyway.

The biggest age-jumping concern is between 12u and 14u, because that's when puberty and boy-craziness happens, and the social gap between the ages at this point along with the general size difference between pre and post puberty girls is rather large. An 8 year old in 10u is no big deal.

-W

 

[NVfishing]

She's league age 7 so a young 8. I think I would do the tryouts for league and see where she stands. If she holds her own then let her play 10u.

My DD is league age 6 but will be 7 during the season. She needs this year in U8 but next year I think she will be U10. There are certain girls my DD age that are more advanced than other girls their age. Playing in a league where certain girls are so much better is tough for the girls to deal with. It takes away from the game.

 

[kchmcbaz]

Let us know what you decide.

We decided to keep her down in 8U this year. Next year she will still be eligible for 8U and we will probably look at moving her up then.

She wanted to stay down and play with her friends. Plus, I don't think my older daughter wanted her on the team. Next year my older daughter moves up to 12U.