Looking for glove recommendations for younger player

[BrianTx01]

My 8 year old DD glove is looking like it needs to be retired. I know this topic has been explored extensively but it appears most of the topics have been for older players. My DD is 52" and 81#. I believe this makes her the size of a typical 10 year old. She plays 8U advanced rec softball that incorporates kid pitch in certain innings. It is a multi city league and they only play against the other advanced teams. When you include All Star Tournaments and the fall and spring season she plays between 45 -50 games a year. She is a pitcher but hiding the ball is not really a concern. She only has two pitches and I could broadcast the pitch on the center field score board and it wouldn't make a difference. Additionally, her pitching coach says that the web doesn't matter because she can be taught to check conceal a grip in any glove.

I am also not really concerned about longevity or price. I just want a glove that works really well for her. I really hate to change her glove at all because she just started fielding well. She played on this 8U advanced team as a 7 year old this fall with mostly 9 year olds on her team because of her batting ability and not her fielding ability. Even though she was the best pitcher on the team she didn't pitch often in the fall because of her fielding liabilities. At any rate, something just clicked in her head in the fall All Star Season and she decided to start fielding. Most likely because her All Star coach had 11 players on his team and she started every game on the bench. At any rate, her fielding problems are behind her but now she has this extremely worn out Rawlings 11.5" glove. This particular model with the Mizuno like notch has been discontinued.

I figure the size is pretty good for her. I have thought about perhaps getting her a 11.75 or a 12". I know some manufacturers run small. The glove needs to be easy to break in because she is impatient. Accordingly, I don't think a kip leather glove is an option.

Some of the gloves I have considered are the Mizuno MVP and the Vinci Fortus. I have also looked at the Vinci 22 Series. I am open to any suggestions.

I have included a few shots of her current glove:

 

[grcsftbll]

Mine is 10 and has had several Mizuno gloves. She loves them. She went through 2 Prospects, which don't seem to hold up very well. Most recently we got this one:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZY7GOZY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

She loves it. It broke in really quickly and seems to be holding up well so far. One day we'll get her a really nice glove but at this age, with all the growing to be done, I don't see the point in spending a ton. She's a pitcher/SS/3B, 10 years old (late 06 birthday).

 

[Drakemir]

I would not recommend a 22 series glove for her, I'm still not a big fan of those as a primary glove - as for the price difference you can go with a Kip Limited and get a much better value - But at the level she is playing at I would not recommend it.

The Mizuno MVPs and the Fortus are both pretty close, both are going to last a few years playing at that level - as she is still in the small ball, you can get away with a sub 12" glove. Down the road when she is playing more of a dedicated position (things can change in a few years!) then you can move to a longer term glove.

The mizuno is going to break in a bit faster then the fortus due to that notch, but I feel the fortus is a slightly higher quality glove. They both would run around the same price.

D-

 

[BrianTx01]

I would not recommend a 22 series glove for her, I'm still not a big fan of those as a primary glove - as for the price difference you can go with a Kip Limited and get a much better value - But at the level she is playing at I would not recommend it.

The Mizuno MVPs and the Fortus are both pretty close, both are going to last a few years playing at that level - as she is still in the small ball, you can get away with a sub 12" glove. Down the road when she is playing more of a dedicated position (things can change in a few years!) then you can move to a longer term glove.

The mizuno is going to break in a bit faster then the fortus due to that notch, but I feel the fortus is a slightly higher quality glove. They both would run around the same price.
D-

I am curious about the t-web on the Fortus. What are the pros and cons of his type of construction. Also, how does the Fortus differ from the 11.5 or 12 youth models? Also, what do you think about size? Is 12" too big or should I stick with 11.5"? I showed my DD a picture of the blue and white Fortus which only comes in 12" and she loved it because "it matches her uniform". Although I am not convinced that the white laces will stay white or if a 12" glove is even appropriate for her. I could really care less what it looks like but apparently she does. With that mind she tends to fall in love with stuff that works regardless of what color it is.

 

[Drakemir]

At this age there isn't a huge benefit of one web over another, however in theory - the top of the T web is reinforced, so hard shots at the top of the glove end up in the pocket instead of the outfield, on the bottom half, with it narrowing to the pocket - it would help it "stick" It is pretty much a utility web -

Good explanation from baseball monkey

A Modified Trapeze web, also known as a “T-web”, will have a single post up the length of the glove with a reinforced post horizontal across the top – creating a “T” shape. The posts are secured to the glove by intricate lacing throughout each side. This web pattern provides some depth, durability and conceals the seams of the ball. For these reasons, the Modified Trapeze web is a suitable utility pattern, but is generally preferred by outfielders and pitchers.

Again, I don't really think the webs in most gloves will mater till at least 12u, if not 14u. The pocket being maintained in the glove will be much much more beneficial than any web choice.

 

[4 girl's dad]

I recently purchased a 12" Fortus for a younger player (12/05 bday). The glove is great for the price! Quick to break in and has a great pocket compared to the mizuno. They do run a tad smaller than the mizuno but I highly recommend the Fortus for a young player or a limited use player, possibly replacing once a year. I'm anxious to see how it holds up but can already tell it's a better glove by far.



The red and black has been used 7 practices. The black one is brand new with only break in work done by me. (Hoping to sell the black one to a teammate. Bought it for a male slow pitch player. It he said too small. Feels good to me. )

 

[Gambler Bob]

I am not going to recommend this glove since it does not really fit your description of what you are looking for. Just letting you know what I purchased and why.

I purchased my 8u daughter, (January birthday) just turned 9 last week, a Wilson A2K 11.75", during a Black Friday sale for $215. She is 55"-56" tall and weighs 75-80 pounds. She is playing on a 10U Travel team, and will play about 40-50 games this spring/summer. Similar to the glove in the link below but hers is a different color and it was last years model.

Can't lie one of the reasons for the purchase was the great sale price for a very high quality glove. Another reason was that I did not want to purchase a new glove every year or every other year, this glove should last her at least 5 years. A 11.75" glove just seems to be a perfect all around size glove for the 11" ball, and girls with good hands will have no issue using that size glove with the 12" ball later in their journey. Another benefit of a quality glove like an A2K is that it will always have resale value if properly taken care of, can't say that for gloves in the $100 range. The glove is about 2 months old and is breaking in very nicely, I did most of the break in myself but I only stuck my hand in the glove about 1/2 way so my hand would not stretch the glove out make it to loose for hand.

The glove is very nice but if your daughter wants a glove that will be easy to break in, this is not what you are looking for. We started practicing indoors 2x per week a couple weeks ago. By the beginning of April the glove should be game ready, maybe not 100% completely broke in but good enough for the time being.





2017 Wilson A2K 11.75" Baseball Glove: A2KRB171787

 

[ANNASDAD]

^^^^^9 year old using a A2K, heck yeah! I like the way you think sir!

 

[BrianTx01]

I think the A2K is a little too stiff for my DD.

 

[BrianTx01]

I recently purchased a 12" Fortus for a younger player (12/05 bday). The glove is great for the price! Quick to break in and has a great pocket compared to the mizuno. They do run a tad smaller than the mizuno but I highly recommend the Fortus for a young player or a limited use player, possibly replacing once a year. I'm anxious to see how it holds up but can already tell it's a better glove by far.

View attachment 11488

The red and black has been used 7 practices. The black one is brand new with only break in work done by me. (Hoping to sell the black one to a teammate. Bought it for a male slow pitch player. It he said too small. Feels good to me. )

So is the Mizuno oversize or are the Vinci's too small? My son's 10" youth model Vinci is exactly 10" measured.