When to move up?

[HoosierCoach]

Currently, my DD is in her 1st yr of 10U, and pitching. My question is should she stay both years in 10U and let her arm get stronger and hands get bigger, or if the rest of her game is good enough to play 12U, go ahead and move up?

[sbfan]

my opinion would be keep her down in 10u until she is age ready. Now if she is heads and toes that much better then everyone and is not being challenged then you may want to move her up. a 2nd year 12u and a girl in 10u is a extremely a big difference in so many ways.

I have seen several girl play up and dont get the playing time they would at their own age group and their game suffers in the long run.

I would say dont rush it. You dont want to apply more pressure on your girl at this age. But as always do what you think is best.

[3'sDad]

We were in the exact same boat this time last year.....here's what we did to decide:
DD played Fall ball at the 12U level as a LL 9 y/o (we don't have fall ball at 10U) to see how well she would do.

Remember at 12U, they pitch from 40' and use a 12" ball (many 10U use 11" and pitch from 35'), so it is a big adjustment. The pitchers throw harder and have change-ups and generally better control of the strike zone at 12U.

The Older girls can easliy hit the ball into the outfield, so in the Fall we teach the younger girls how to play the outfield . The more skilled players at 10U play infield, not outfield, so many of them have never shagged fly balls before.

In our case, DD was competitve last Fall so we moved her up because she would get the playing time required to inmprove at the 12U level.

If your daughter is playing Rec League or LL, if she can't be an 12U All-Star or make the 12U town travel team, you should consider keeping her down....if you and the folks who run your league believe she can be a travel player or 12U All-Star at 10, move her up.

Best of Luck.

[soreshins]

I would recommend staying in 10U for both years. If she is a good first year 10U pitcher, she will have the opportunity to be a dominant second year 10U pitcher. 10U is a pitcher dominant classification. In contrast, 12U is a hitter dominant classification. In 12U you move back 5 feet and use the 12 inch ball. This is a significant change. Many "good" 10U pitchers will stop pitching in 12U because they can't adjust to the increased distance. A pitcher needs the extra year of growth to be able to keep their velocity when moving from 35 to 40 feet.

For example, most hitters "swing through" a 50 mph fastball at 10U. At 12U, the hitters make contact with that same fastball because they are older and have more time to see it.

Use the second year of 10U to get stronger and to begin developing pitches.

[DonnieS]

In agreement with soreshins - we were there and still have the t-shirts. Also, young dd moved up early from 8u which down here was coach pitch so she got 3 years of 10u pitching. Also she is a november baby so she is in the youngest of her age group. As soon as you finish whatever you do for nationals in August of her 10y/o season, then pick up the 12 inch ball and start having fun. When you start with the 12 inch ball, get on the internet and find a 14 inch ball and have her warmup with that for a few weeks, then the 12 inch ball will feel normal and the 11 inch ball will feel like a golf ball.

[rbi]

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[GO REBS]

My youngest is 8 and she is moving up to 10s. My oldest is 12 and will be playing 2nd year 12u.
My youngest daughter is pretty good size at 4'10" and 100 pounds. My oldest is 5'6" 125. I couldnt imagine the two of them playing together. Size and experience are worlds apart.
Not to mention what everyone else is saying about ball size and pitching rubber distance.

GO REBS

[Softballshouldbefun]

I agree with soreshins....

Let her stay down and develope her breaking pitches to the point where she's strong enough to get them to break at the right time. There's a big difference between 35 feet and 40 feet for a 10 yo girl. If she's the best at 10U it will build her confidence as well....versus being average at 12U and having girls that are a few years older knocking her around.

Just MHO.