8U Travel

[mderzio]

Hello all.
Seeking opinions for 1st year 8u team in an organization. Organization has 10, 12, and 14's and I will be heading up 8U in the upcoming seasons. Those of you that have coached 8u give me any and all suggestions you have. Thanks in advance.....

[fastpitchdad05]

I second that. The ONLY way I could endorse it would be if you lived in an area where there was no other way for those girls to play softball at that age. And then then I might still say wait.

[jag1]

8U travel ball...not a good idea. Nothing positive to be gained..the negatives (burn-out, bad parents, daddy ball ect...) would have to outweigh the positives of local rec and or all star ball... I say start the travel ball at about 10 or even 11-12.. The number of kids that drop out between 10-16 has to be at least 80%..? Something to think about for those 10U parents..!

[bart16761]

If you do it for fall you will probably find out that after fall most of the players and parents will jump right back to rec. ball. If your doing it because you have a stud 8yr old that can't find any competition put her on a 10u team for fall and see how she does. Ultimately 8u is way to young for a traditional travel ball type team IMO. Who are you going to play? Are there alot of ten teams out there. In Ca. we have a hard enough time finding 10u teams.
Good luck either way