14u HS players

I ran across an interesting situation this weekend.
There was a 14u team that had at least two varsity players on the team, I say at least two because I knew of two for sure but was told there were more.
They were age legal but I was wondering what they got out of playing 14u tournament ball which is mainly 7 and 8 graders when in school they competed against 16 and 18u players
Thoughts?

 

Legal is not a correct term. They are not breaking any rules except those from an individual coach. High Schools would like to handout rules but that is the kid's freedom. They aren't breaking the law by playing ball. Leave tehm alone.

 

They are on a team that "Trophy Hunts". Period........

 

One would hope that they got ENJOYMENT out of playing. I have seen the fastpitch community as a whole get criticized on this board because so many kids "play up" and it "weakens" all levels. I think we have all seen some varsity programs where the level of play wasn't very high so by saying some kids were "varsity" players doesn't necessarily speak to their skill level. Everyone plays the game (and sometimes specific tournaments) with their own goals and objectives in mind and those can vary from weekend to weekend. If the kids were legal and having fun playing softball, what is the problem?

 

Clarification

My DD recently spent the last year and a half of her 14U eligibility playing up to 18U and 18U Gold. It was a choice we made based upon what her goals and objectives are. To each his own. Let the kids play ball.

 

A HS player who plays travel ball should play 16/18 in my opinion. Don't care if they are freshman or not. Don't get any better playing 14U.. Thats jmo.......

 

I agree with tarheels72, My question is what do the HS coaches think about varsity players playing travel ball before the high school season is over? I know most 18's dont start till the high school season is over.

 

More to consider here

What if that older team only has one or two high school players and the rest of the team are 7th or 8th graders? If that is just the make up of the team why should they not play in the age division that they are able to still play in.

And, as we all know this year especially, there are many high schools who were unable to field a JV team. So saying that a 14 year old freshman varsity player is on a team, doesn't really say anything. Maybe that kid should have been on a JV team and the coach chose to have a large Varsity Roster to keep girls involved in their HS softball team.

And did that team come in and blow out the other teams this weekend? Did they sail through the winner's bracket, beating teams so badly in every instance that the mercy rule was called into effect? If that was the case, then yes, they shouldn't have played in that tournament and they should be looking for better competition to help make them even stronger. There is nothing to be gained when a strong team demolishes weaker opponents. No good lessons for either team in that.

If that team that played was evenly matched with others in the tournament, then there is absolutely no reason that they should not be playing there. Regardless of their status as high school players. And by others, I mean at least the other teams that made it to the end of the tournament.

And, if that team brings good competition to a tournament, doesn't that actually benefit the other teams there?

So again, if those games were not blow outs, then the teams that played this other team should have benefited from the competitive challenge of a team with some older girls.

 

If the player's primary objective is to get better and their skill level is above average for the 14U level, then certainly playing against weaker competition will not make you better. However, Dawgfan doesn't speak to the ability of the players involved. If their primary objective was just to fill in and play ball with some friends, then I would say they accomplished it and no problem. (However, I agree with JHeyKid that you have to wonder whether they had the HS coach's permission since there is risk of injury that could potentially hurt their HS team.) If their primary objective was trophy hunting, then IMO somewhere along the line somebody just doesn't get it.

 

There are many varsity HS players that would find 14U competition challenging.

I say the more that play the better. I understand the constant criticisms about "trophy hunting" but it gets annoying reading it every time a tournament is played that isn't THE tournament where ALL the college coaches will be.

Sometimes (not enough) tournaments are put on so kids can play ball with no other purpose than competing. Let 'em play. Encourage them to play. Just how bad can it be? Geez!!