Another bat advice thread for my near 10 yr old DD

[Chad504boy]

She's a bit bigger size wise girl compared to here peers. She is strong. She previously always used a 30" cheap mizuno -13 aluminum bat. I bought her 1st nice Marucci bat, 29" -11. IT was good at first cause she was having her swing coached so to speak. I felt she needed to go to a shorter bat for a time period. Still that -11 bat is heavier than her longer -13 bat. She used the -11 much of this past season and has wanted to use a bat that's longer lately.

She needs a longer bat so she's using her "30 bat as a bridge and that's fine cause it's light and she can get it around fast. I want to look into getting a 31" bat that she can start to use and grow into for a while. I'm just really undecided about drop weight. She's definitely more on the power hitter side, not really a slap hitter at all. Its not really the strength of swinging a -10 bat or a -11 bat but i worry about her reaction time reading pitches and then having a heavier bat to get around in time.

Looking at the Mizuno Carbon bat as a possibility.
2020 Mizuno F20 CRBN1 Fastpitch Softball Bat -13
Bat talks about being a contact hitting style bat. Still its a fairly expensive bat $200 for being a 1 piece construction IMO.

Is my line of thinking off trying to keep her w/ a lighter bat at this age? Is there a different "norm" out there for 10 yr olds?

I know there's a lot of discussion about the 2020 ghost in another thread so that had me wanting to bust out the big bucks, just not sure how advantageous it is for a 10 yr old hitter yet, maybe is, maybe isn't.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

My first thing to say would be to find your dd her weight. You went from a drop13 to drop11 and back to 13.
No bat is gonna be good until you fit her in something she can handle correctly and may be a waste of
money if its not right. I wouldn't go to another drop13 but that's me.

I would take her somewhere and let her try some bats...atleast weight wise or maybe teammates have some
to try. Think that's the most important thing to do right now

 

[Chad504boy]

My first thing to say would be to find your dd her weight. You went from a drop13 to drop11 and back to 13.

but per specs of the bats, it was just fluctuating from a 17 oz bat to a 18 oz bat. (actual weights may have been even closer to each other) They weigh very similiar, just the lengths distribute the weight a bit different.

 

[fuzzy2651]

I agree with Core. I even think a -12 is iffy. A well balanced -11 should be perfect for her imo

 

[Chad504boy]

I'll have her try a 31" -11 and make sure first.

Any bat recs to keen in on? Maybe a bat in the $200 ish range? Maybe another in the $300 ish?

 

[Chris Delorit]

Hi Chad,

As you move to longer bats of better quality, common sizes in that 31" are usually -10's and -11's. You'd can find those lighter than a -11 by searching around a bit.

If you're anticipating her growth to continue and want to try a much better bat but also don't want to break the bank in the process, you could consider something like the Stealth. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Easton-Stealth-Retro-USSSA-Fastpitch-Softball-Bat-31-10/132312987

The weight distribution of every manufacturer/model can vary. If you can take her somewhere to dry swing a few different bats, she may find that the drop weight is or isn't a deciding factor in the overall swing ability for her.

If she loves playing, it wouldn't be uncommon to consider a quality new bat every two years. If you don't mind older paint schemes, quality can equate to pretty good deals.

Chris

 

[Eric F]

As others have said, I wouldn't suggest any lighter than -11, especially since you describe her as a "bigger, stronger" girl for her age. When my DD was 10yo, playing 10U TB, there were a whole lot of girls swinging -10s.

 

[_MIA_]

As a reference my 70 lb, 4'11" 9 YO DD swings a 31 drop 10. Have her try out some of her teammates bats if they are swinging drop 11's or 10's and see how they feel.

 

[fuzzy2651]

There are some light swinging -10's out there. Really all depends on how they're weighted. I'm lucky because we have a few retailers in my area (within an hour) where they have demo's my DD can hit with to help find the right bat.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

I'll have her try a 31" -11 and make sure first.

Any bat recs to keen in on? Maybe a bat in the $200 ish range? Maybe another in the $300 ish?

Good idea...that's all I was getting at. Hate to see people waste money on bats before they narrow down
a size. Then you end up buying more or the daughter is made to swing something that isn't for her.

As for bats, just be careful in weights, most bats run heavy. CFs and PCs are pretty nicely weighted drop11s.
Most others run a bit heavier.