Am I wrong? Safety concern

[KCPRK]

Half way thru the post I started thinking you were one of my parents but then I realized that the 12s were far from intimidated sunday when they scrimmaged the 14s.

I will say both teams need to be prepared mentally and physically for the challenge but if done right everyone benefits from them.

My girls on 12 and 14s love the challenge-they beat the crapout of each other and tease everyone including the coaches on the field and all laugh and hug about it off the field for weeks. Needless to say neither team is afraid of any challenge now as they faced their fears and helped EACH OTHER overcome them.

The parents all had just as much fun.

I am talking A/B ball tho-may be different for C ball.

Next time I will warn the 14s that the 12u team has a 225 girl throwing 60mph lol.

I do bring a 12u to each 14u tourney and a 14u to each 16 u tourney to "groom" them. prepare them and the safety takes care of itself in terms of game awareness.

 

[fastpitchdad8]

I understand why your coach wanted to play up but can't figure out why the 14U team would want to play your team.

this ^^^^^

 

[KCPRK]

And I find a lot of the girls fears are just the fears of the parents being transferred onto to them thru open conversation and whining.
Somethings should not be spoken about in front of our children.

Its not often I rant so Ill stop here.

 

[29dad]

I am talking A/B ball tho-may be different for C ball.

I agree with this. When my DD was 12U half the tournaments we played were 14U, and over half of DD's team were 11 (including the pitcher who was already 5'11"). And they scrimmaged the org's 14U team at least 3 times that year with no safety concerns. This (the OP's situation) sounds more like a 12U C team against a 14U A team. I mean I don't know of many (if any) 12U A/B teams who don't use composite bats.

I also find it odd that they didn't know anything about this 14U team that was in their own org. We know all of the teams in our org extremely well. At 12U we certainly would have known that the 14U pitcher throws 60mph. Maybe this is a huge org with a number of teams in each age group?? If so it appears that the top 14U team played against one of the weaker 12U teams, and i agree that that doesn't make much sense.

out of curiosity, what WAS the score?? Curious if it was 9-1 or 29-1??

 

[fastpitch]

First let me say that I'm not sure if you are wrong or right. I don't know the players or teams. However, I'd say mixed age scrimmages are pretty common. It can be a good learning experience for the young ones. I don't know the level of play your team is at but its conceivable that you would enter a tournament and play a 2nd year 12 team just as good or as big as your org's 14u team. It sounds like your coaches are trying to gain experience by playing the best comp possible and nothings easier than a local scrimmage against the org's older team. Personally, your team has all to gain and noting to lose. The older team is the one that risks embarrassment if its even close.

This is not for every team, but I know a 12u A team that played a lot of 14u tournaments. When they went back down to 12u A everyone team just seemed so tiny. When they were 14u they played all 16u/18u except national caliber tournaments. they were never intimidated by any 14u team in the country after playing at that level.

 

[klamath632]

I think you're right in this case, but not necessarily in every case. My 10yo daughter played a doubleheader this fall with the org's 14U team, ripped a 2-RBI double down the left field foul line, and even pitched a couple of innings. Then again, DD is a very big for a 10yo (she's 5'4" and 130 already). It sounds like your girls have a little growing to do.

 

[3'sDad]

Try this same scrimmage at the end of the summer season to prep your kids for the end of year national tournament.

1. What a difference you'll notice from the younger girls from now to end-of-season.
2. If youre playing some of the better national club teams, some of their 12's will have January birthdays so players will be 13.5 playing in a 12U event. Having your kids play against the organizations 14U team will get them prepared for this situation.

Best of Luck.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

In the end, you are the mom. Go with your gut and explain to your DD, why you feel this way. I wish more people would step up and say "She won't be here," when they feel something is wrong.

 

[Indiana]

^^^^ I agree with this. A middle ground between helicopter parent and hands off parent.

 

[Dana Marque]

There was one time a few years ago that my daughter was pitching for the 12u travel team but still qualified for 10u (in 5th grade). It was only a town travel team so I thought it would be good for her to get the experience and to not play down. One night they were having practice on one of our fields and an out of town 7/8th grade team showed up to play one of our 7/8th grade team but the game was actually cancelled. The softball director decided to have the out of town team play our 12u travel team just to get a game in. The difference in my daughter compared to these big girls was almost comical. Now note - my daughter pitches. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire game. And her pitching mechanics were ones I never saw before... She'd pitch and then run backwards. When she stopped pitching, they threw her in outfield where she still wore her facemask. When we got in the car, I asked about her pitching mechanics and she explained she was scared. She said "Mom - did you see the size of those girls?" I think asked about wearing her facemask in the outfield. Her response - "What if a line drive came at me?". I just giggled at that one. We then tried to take the positives. How many strikeouts? How many girls actually hit off her? I explained that although we lost, she should be proud of herself. She did her job even though she still qualifies for 10u. But on a parent level, I'm happy we stuck to our own age group after that... It's scarey to watch!!! There is a big size difference!!!