Composite Bats for U12

[Chewy_06]

I chuckled. U12 might not be a soccer team you know. The OP might be living up here in the great white North where we use the U before the age (ie Under 12 - as opposed to 12U = 12 and Under).

My DD has a 2012 Synge and used the living daylights out of it last year / early this year between lessons with her hitting coach, batting cage sessions, practices & games (I wasnt too worried about it wearing out, she's growing fast & I planned on replacing it after a season anyway). a couple of small (2mm diameter) chips in the paint, nothing significant. The bat looks fine. Has zero pop left in it, but, that's just fine by us, it served it's purpose & doesn't owe us anything.

My question - why composite? I think if you're going to go with a "value" bat - from what i've seen, and many may have more useful insight than me, you'd be better off getting a good aluminum bat. The bats I've seen (at U10 & U12 at least), better quality aluminum ones seem to perform better / last longer than the bottom end composite ones.

Mind you, my mindset about bats stems from a LOT of slo pitch. Spend the money you can afford to & write the bat off as soon as you take the wrapper off of it. It lessens the sting when you watch the barrel of the bat sailing into the outfield while you still have the handle firmly in hand along with the ever growing pile of retired bats accumulating in the corner of the garage, just a bit.

 

[JAD]

I agree with others that suggested 12U TB players should provide their own bats! We provided our own at 10U. If you have to provide the bats I would try Ebay or a 'Play It Again Sports' to see if you can find some deals - especially if you are going to provide multiple size bats. I would think you could cover 90% of 12U players with a 30/20 and 31/21. If you have some bigger girls on the team, you could also get a 32/22.

 

[MsDinosaur]

My question - why composite? I think if you're going to go with a "value" bat - from what i've seen, and many may have more useful insight than me, you'd be better off getting a good aluminum bat. The bats I've seen (at U10 & U12 at least), better quality aluminum ones seem to perform better / last longer than the bottom end composite ones.

IMO the best metal bat is the Rocketech, but it's an end-loaded drop 9 and it isn't a good fit for many young players. Their Techzilla is a drop 10 balanced, but it still feels pretty hefty compared to a lot of composites of the same listed size. My DD had a metal double wall Rip-It in 30/20 as her cold weather bat and it was a pretty good bat. However, she seemed to perform better with her 30/20 Easton composite. Was it just because the weather was warmer when she was using the Easton? I dunno.

(We have an old 31/21 Techzilla that still gets dragged out every now and then; she's outgrown it, but that thing's a tank. If her team wasn't Worth only, I think I'd buy another Techzilla as her cold weather bat.)

 

[coach james]

Rocketech... heavy, big pop, and can be used in cold weather. & will last for several seasons.
BTW... just my opinion but dont use the high dollar composites on non stop tee work or net drills. Save the "pop" for game time. Instead, use a cheap wal mart special that is the same length and weight as her game bat.

 

[stickpile39]

If you are playing higher level ball 12U girls all have there own bats.

12U is a hard group because you have 5ft 90 lbs soaking wet and 5ft 6in 140lbs girls on the same team

If you had a 29in -10 and a 31in -10 you should probably be OK.

Or my 11 yo who is 4' 5" 70lbs 30/19 works for her

 

[BrianJason]

LOL, that Combat is going to outperform the target special all to heck...and for only $22 more! Hope she has a great season!

already seeing great results, thank you to everyone for the advice!

 

[Cat5]

Good luck with the Combat! My daughter (U12) also uses this bat and we love it. It took her from a consistent but mediocre batter, into an excellent batter- the ball just flies off the bat! She is pretty tiny and so many umpires at tournaments have commented that they cant believe such a bit hit could come from such a small girl . We have just bought the blue lighter model in a longer length and are having fantastic results with it as well- I think my daughter might be a combat addict for life now .

 

[Cat5]

Good luck with the Combat! My daughter (U12) also uses this bat and we love it. It took her from a consistent but mediocre batter, into an excellent batter- the ball just flies off the bat! She is pretty tiny and so many umpires at tournaments have commented that they cant believe such a bit hit could come from such a small girl . We have just bought the blue lighter model in a longer length and are having fantastic results with it as well- I think my daughter might be a combat addict for life now .

 

[Little Angels Softball]

New here and first post ... also late to this thread but thought I might chime in. I've coached girls' softball for 12 years, mostly ASA and at every age from 8U - 16U. Most of my experience, though, is at 12U. Of all the bats over the years, the best I've found for a wide variety of girls this age is the DeMarini CF5 in -11. It has perhaps even more pop than the -10 version, and it is so well-balanced that a rather large variety of girls can handle it well. I have two in my current bag, a 32" and a 31". Only a few girls on the team don't use them ... the two who are very small and still swing a 30" bat and one girl who has very little upper body strength who swings her own 2013 TPS Jessica Mendoza 31" 18oz bat (which is also pretty nice, especially for younger girls at 8U or 10U).

I have been looking real hard at the new 2013 TPS M2 Pride, but have not picked one up yet. Thought about trying one in 30" for the smaller girls to see how it does. It is just hard for me to buy anything else because the CF5 -11 is such a great bat at this age level and it just launches the ball like no other really light bat. In fact, I haven't seen any -10 bat that is hotter.

I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and pick up a new CF6 in -11 sometime soon. If it is any better than the current CF5, I'll be astounded.

 

[cuzmail]

Actually, where I'm from, Canada, it's U12.

Intersting. U12 is a whole different age group than 12U and it does make a difference at that age. Particularly in pitching with skills and now the distance.