Pitching Tryout Question

[Who's on first]

Our travel teams have tryouts at the end of February. My DD, who will still be 10 next year, would like to tryout for our 12U travel teams as a pitcher. She played 12U fall ball and had a great time. The problem we run in to, is that, if DD does not make the top "A" 12U team, she would have to play 10U (league rule-playing up). Would practicing all winter with the 12" ball be a "waste of time", if there is a chance that she would play with the 11" ball next summer........?

During the winter clinics....

Should DD focus on using the 11" ball, to get ready for the 10U pitching tryouts and season?
-She was our top 10U pitcher this past season

Should DD focus on using the 12" ball, to get ready for the 12U pitching tryouts and maybe season?
-She was one of our top 3-4 pitchers this fall

Thank you for any words of advice you can give!

 

[fastpitch]

It sounds as if your dd is pretty good and would dominate a 10yo game. If thats the case practice with the 12" and 40'. She will have to go there anyway next fall. My DD played 12u travel/club as a 10 yo this past spring. League rules required her to play 10yo all stars (cant play up for all stars) in the summer for little league so when she went back to 11" and 35' she was throwing harder than she ever had before. It was pretty easy to switch back and forth for her. I think her playing 12u also really helped her develop as a pitcher/player a little sooner. At 10u you can get away with just a fastball if you have a pitcher throwing pretty hard. At 10u almost every game was a no hitter for dd with just a good fastball. Playing 12u she needed to learn to hit spots and change speeds or get clobbered. This fall her 12u team played in a 14u league at 43' so she practiced at 43'. Now when she goes back to 40' for tournaments she finds that it feels close for her, looks like she throws harder and her control is a lot better at 40' than 43'.

 

[Screwball]

Go with the larger ball. You can fine tune with the smaller ball before tryouts.

 

[3'sDad]

DD played up as a 10 and had to go back to the 11" ball & 35' pitching length for LL All-Stars as wee. It took 3-4 days to get used to the 11" ball as she had never used one....the adjustment was pretty simple.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I agree. I moved my 10 YOs up, a few months before they left their 10U teams. The parents voiced their concerns, but their DDs were fine. So, we practiced with the 12 inch ball at about 36 feet and their games were with 11 inch balls from 35 feet. There were no problems. Now, they are moving up and their parents are glad that I started them with the 12 inch ball.

 

[PA SB Dad]

It's an easier adjustment going to the smaller ball after using the larger ball. My DD developed more strength and speed with the 12" at 40 for rec league, which really improved both her pitching and overhand throws for 10U travel.

 

[Who's on first]

Thanks for all of the advice. It sounds like the best option is to practice with the 12" ball at 40 feet. We will start in a few weeks!