At that age I would move up with the Team, I get concerned when they are a little bit older.
Moving to 12U and what I need to do
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^^^^^^^ This is very similar to my situation. ^^^^^^^
We will add perhaps two or three and virtually all the prospects we're interested in have already contacted us directly. We will pick our 2-3 out of a very limited pool of prospects, perhaps 7-8 total. The only way this might change is if some new kid has moved into the area or if one of our girls who we believe is staying gets poached for more $$$/PT/circle time.
If your DD is a solid Class A pitcher, you should have already identified likely teams and reached out to them. There should be no need for her to have to go through the tryout BS. Get busy!
I am almost dead-set against girls playing up, unless they are playing up as a team. Too much can go wrong and no girl has ever been hurt by staying at her own age level.
However, when it's the 8-year-old moving up to kid pitch, I am pretty much always for that if the kid has any aptitude at all. That extra year of experience at 10U is valuable and is the only time I recommend playing up.
She is playing 10u girl pitch right now. She has known most of these girls for about a year. Been playing with them for about 4 months now. Loves every one on the team.
3 years at the 12u level can only help right?
That is little harder...
The physical differences in this age are HUGE - seriously much more than 8U or 10U. I am over 6'2" and a 1B on a 12U team yesterday was looking me straight in the eye. That is not all that unusual. This is the first age group you start to see 'woman' playing. If she moves up she has to be physically ready as well as mentally ready. I'd probably want her to be in the top half of the lineup and playing infield on her team to move up with her team.
Not as much as another year at 10U.
Other teams will have girls she loves just as much.
A solid, mature, second-year 12U team bears far more resemblance to a good 14U team than it does to any 10U team. A ten-year-old might struggle against such competition and lose some confidence.
Keep her at 10U. You'll thank yourself for doing it in a couple of years.
JJsqueeze
Dad, Husband....legend
I had this choice a couple of months ago, I chose to find a very good 10u team for my kid. She is very happy with the decision, don't forget the social aspect of this, a 9-10 year old on a team of 11 and 12 year olds is a tough position to put her in.
Right now she bats leadoff, and plays 1B, 2B, and LF when isnt pitching. She is the 1a or 1b pitcher.
I cannot stress enough how adamant I am about keeping her at 10U.
It has been my job for quite some time to recruit the best of the best 10-year-olds (the year they have to move up to 12U) and to take a team and train them and mold them for our 16U Gold teams. In all those years, I have never taken a 9-year-old, or even been tempted to. There is just too much difference between a 9-10 year old and a mature, second-year 12U girl. The bigger ball, bigger "adult" girls and power make it no comparison.
Real quick:
The top 10U pitchers are likely in the 45-47 mph range with the smaller ball. If you make them throw the 12" ball, knock 2-5 mph off of that.
The top 12U pitchers are likely in 55-57 mph range, and that is with the 12" ball. Defenders also have much stronger arms, more range and more ability. Throwing out 10-year-olds or fielding their weak grounders is child's play for a 12 or 13 year old stud. (pun intended)
The top 10U hitters can hit the 11" ball into the outfield fairly regularly. They would find the 12" ball much harder to hit as far, and you would see hits go 20-30' shorter.
The top 12U hitters have no problem hitting the 12" ball over the fence. My team alone has six girls who have done it this year.
You virtually never see a top 10U A team play up to 12U A. I have seen it once, and it did not turn out well.
You see top 12U A teams play up to 14U A all the time, and do quite well.
I have seen girls quit pitching after being made to play up by their parents. The constant shelling destroys confidence and even the ego-driven parents begin to doubt their own DD, which comes through loud and clear to the girl. Trust me when I say the transition to 12U will be more than hard enough the following year when she's 11.
OK, rant over. I just deal with girls this age all the time (I coach 12U and 14U) and while I am pretty much against playing up at any age, I know from experience that the absolute worst age to attempt it is the transition from 10U to 12U.
Back to the OP .... I am a huge proponent of being on a team by birth year. Doing so always gives you the option of returning to the same team and not having to worry about everyone else moving up and finding a new team.
A few reasons for this ....
1. Finding a new team is a year-round process and a major PITA. Also, tryouts suck.
2. Seeing that your DD has played on a few different teams in a short period of time can throw up red flags with coaches of teams you'd like to play for in the future. I know I place so much emphasis on this during my selection process that I will often just cut a girl because I cannot find out enough information from other coaches and/or her other teams' parents about why the girl left. For me, it is better safe than sorry when it comes to a team jumper, no matter how good the player.
3. Playing by birth year tempers expectations. The transition from 10U to 12U is the hardest she will ever make. Take the full two years to accomplish it without having to compete with mature second-year 12U players right off the bat. Her confidence will thank you for it.
A few reasons for this ....
1. Finding a new team is a year-round process and a major PITA. Also, tryouts suck.
2. Seeing that your DD has played on a few different teams in a short period of time can throw up red flags with coaches of teams you'd like to play for in the future. I know I place so much emphasis on this during my selection process that I will often just cut a girl because I cannot find out enough information from other coaches and/or her other teams' parents about why the girl left. For me, it is better safe than sorry when it comes to a team jumper, no matter how good the player.
3. Playing by birth year tempers expectations. The transition from 10U to 12U is the hardest she will ever make. Take the full two years to accomplish it without having to compete with mature second-year 12U players right off the bat. Her confidence will thank you for it.
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