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.
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.