12u--16u

Marlin, you have valid points. Mom and I have dicussed all of these. We actually question many things with her. Burnout, social issues, and expectations. She was on a very good 14U team and we were very happy. She choose to leave it. After a few weeks she still did not wish to go back there. This team is more closer to our area than the 14U team. I have had discussions with the coach about all the issues we have here. We are praying it works out well for her. Confidence is a huge issue.

As I have posted on other discussions we hope she learns different things from different coaches. We have great respect for the others she has played for over the past years. Hopefully this coach teaches her more about the game and she has fun. We will see how it works out.

 

...good luck for sure! and you can call me fishman. lol

 

We just finished our first fall of 14u. We were preparing to play at 14u this spring/summer and were looking at other teams to see if there would be a better fit for us. It seems that at 14u we lost 4 girls and our organization 16u lost 6 girls. So they considered combining both 16u and 14u. My daughter was asked to join the 16u mainly for her defensive skills. She is considered by many to be an exceptionally talented defensive outfielder. Her offensive output, however is not quite that talented. As with getting along with 16u girls, she knows them all and there will be 3 other girls at the age of 13 yrs, 2 at 14 yrs and 6 at 15yrs.

 

Hmmm...

Could this relate to previous discussions about there being too many teams?

I know that "playing up" appears to be a "badge of honor" in many people's minds, but is it really the best thing for the kid? Why not be the dominant player in your age group? This can create a player with supreme confidence in her abilities and talent. This will just grow as she moves up in the age brackets. She will expect to succeed. Sure there will be challenges but being an "experienced winner" will help her get past them.

 

I have a 13 year old & when she plays with her age group she tends to get lax instead of shining. When she plays with older girls she plays much more competitively & works to show her ability,which she does. Each girl is different & what to do is a difficult decision.

 

......GBuddy nailed it on the head!

 

Wisdom!

This is why I love this guys posts!!

Great advice Fish...