New glove for second year 8u

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Dec 2, 2019
102
43
My daughter needs a new glove. She plays with a old hand me down 12" rawlings that is a pancake at this point. She is a really good defensive player for her age (in my opinion) , so she has earned a better glove. She is small with small hands. I have been leaning towards getting her a Bradley glove, but wanted to see what other suggestions are out there. She plays short and 3rd, so I also can't decide on size between 11.25 and a 11.5.
 
Dec 30, 2018
21
3
Personally at that age I think 12" is too big. When they're young they need a glove that they can close easy with minimal break in time. I would go with an A550 11" or 11.5" if you think that 11" is too small. My two older sons both used a A550 when they were 7&8 and my daughter did for baseball and her first year of travel softball when she was 8. She played 3b, SS, 2b and OF with an 11" A550 and never missed a ball because the glove was small.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
The mizuno Jenny finch gloves are a great glove at that age. Don’t make the mistake of buying her too much glove. The nicer gloves like the a2000 and railings golf gloves are so stiff she will never be able to squeeze it.

*edited to add you mentioned the Bradley - I don’t have any experience with those but I’ve only heard good things for young players.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
as stated, at 8u, do not spend a lot. try PIA if the are in your area, prebroken in :) something pretty soft/pliable, at 8u probably not enough hard hit line drives or hard throws from teammates to worry about ball folding glove over to get by.
 
Feb 14, 2019
145
43
My daughter needs a new glove. She plays with a old hand me down 12" rawlings that is a pancake at this point. She is a really good defensive player for her age (in my opinion) , so she has earned a better glove. She is small with small hands. I have been leaning towards getting her a Bradley glove, but wanted to see what other suggestions are out there. She plays short and 3rd, so I also can't decide on size between 11.25 and a 11.5.
As noted above, the Mizuno Jennie Finch gloves are really great for young kids who may not be able to open and close a glove very easily. My DD used the same one from 5u-8u, with a re-lace job after 7u season. They're relatively inexpensive (can find for under $40 generally), are game ready off the rack and the power close notch really makes a difference. Eventually, they will get too floppy and have to be replaced but you can hold that off for quite a while with proper glove care/maintenance and tightening the laces as needed.

At 9u it was time to replace her glove and after a ton of research and getting my hands on every glove I could find, we decided on a Bradley 12" H-Web, FP Bandito Series. DD loves this glove and at $100 (they list at $125 but you can almost always get a promo code...) it is a bargain. He's got some video on how a parent can help with the break-in process and I'd recommend your DD start utilizing two in the pinky if she isn't already. The only thing I'd do differently is get a smaller size. When we bought it DD was a 1B with occasional outfield duty so a bigger glove was helpful. She's transitioned to SS on a new team so an 11.5" would probably suit her current needs better, but the 12" doesn't seem to hinder her much.

Bottom line, Bradley is an amazing option for young players...good price, quality leather, relatively easy break-in and they look/feel great on small hands. After DD got hers, we have had a half dozen other families buy Bradley gloves and all are having a great experience with their purchases.
 
Feb 15, 2019
4
1
Before my daughter went into a 2nd year 8U I found a used A2000 DP edition for 60 bucks. Just got it relaced and repadded. She was able to use it instantly and loved it.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
I think every 8 year old should be made to have to use a Horween glove!! 😜 It'll make them tough!

But in this case I'd definitely give Bradley a look, I've never actually seen or held one but there's a bunch of dad's here who I'll take their word on what a high quality, purpose built glove they are! If I had a 8 year old I'd be looking at a Bradley.

Someone mentioned Play it Again Sports, if you have one near, you could possibly get lucky and fine a slightly used, not stretched, higher quality 11.5" / 11.75" baseball glove that's ready to go, for cheap? Of course I never fine those deals anymore!
 
May 7, 2015
842
93
SoCal
Bradley Ignitor is perfect. Break in with hot water as per Aso and the wilson gloves and you'll be good to go in less than 30min. Great glove with just the right amount of structure in the right places. In our family we have 1 FP 11.75", 1 Baseball 28" catchers mitt, and 1 11.5" I-web baseball glove all bradley. When they grow up, then the get the good gloves!
 

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