Who and how many 12u teams are still playing with 05 players

[Backnine]

Are there 12u teams out there just trying to win a tourney at the end of the year to go out a a good note? Or have most 05 players already gone up to 14u? See a lot of so so teams with some really big girls out there playing 12u. Who knows?

[Athletic1]

It’s not just 05 players. You’ll find that across almost all divisions up to and including 16’s and 18’s.

There are many reasons you could see it. Sometimes the reason is simple: Organization did not have enough of one age group to to make a full team so they had to combine for the Fall. Other times you’ll find teams doing it to try to win a meaningless Fall event. Every time it happens to us I just say “thank you...you just helped my players get better”

Most of it doesn’t matter anyway.....when you hit 2nd year 14u and 1st year 16u most of the time you get lumped into the “High School Division”

[crankshaft]

And...for all age brackets there is a maximum age birthdate that applies. Tail end of that age bracket is what I think the poster is referring to. An '05 still in 12u. just because their kid is in an older age bracket classroom now they choose to keep them in the younger bracket until they
'fully mature '
Similar to school districts if your kids birthday falls between certain dates they can be in the younger class or older class. But in softball right when that birthdate hits they have to move up. Obviously in things like Friendly's where people aren't checking yeah someone's Buttering their bread!

Like younger players can
always play up!

[eddiez577]

Most of it doesn’t matter anyway.....when you hit 2nd year 14u and 1st year 16u most of the time you get lumped into the “High School Division”

Lol that's so true. Reality is most players stop growing at about this age, 15-16 years old, so there isn't a big "physical" advantage, unlike in 12u and younger.
The bigger factor in "High School Division" is the amount of experience a player has. But also at this age group, players start to taper off from the sport, so you might have really experienced 2nd year 14u player playing better than a 4-year experienced 18u player.

[crankshaft]

Most of it doesn’t matter anyway.....when you hit 2nd year 14u and 1st year 16u most of the time you get lumped into the “High School Division”

Lol that's so true. Reality is most players stop growing at about this age, 15-16 years old, so there isn't a big "physical" advantage, unlike in 12u and younger.
The bigger factor in "High School Division" is the amount of experience a player has. But also at this age group, players start to taper off from the sport, so you might have really experienced 2nd year 14u player playing better than a 4-year experienced 18u player.

Eddiez
WHAT? Please explain most players stop growing at
age 15-16?
What are you referring to?
height,
body size,
muscle mass,
muscle strength,
coordination,
intelligence,
GO!

[eddiez577]

Most of it doesn’t matter anyway.....when you hit 2nd year 14u and 1st year 16u most of the time you get lumped into the “High School Division”

Lol that's so true. Reality is most players stop growing at about this age, 15-16 years old, so there isn't a big "physical" advantage, unlike in 12u and younger.
The bigger factor in "High School Division" is the amount of experience a player has. But also at this age group, players start to taper off from the sport, so you might have really experienced 2nd year 14u player playing better than a 4-year experienced 18u player.

Eddiez
WHAT? Please explain most players stop growing at
age 15-16?
What are you referring to?
height,
body size,
muscle mass,
muscle strength,
coordination,
intelligence,
GO!

Specifically speaking, final adult height. See Tanner Scale. But I guess everything else would have to be worked on; muscle mass, muscle strength, coordination, intelligence. In this aspect, then yes, older players lumped into High School Division will be much more physically fit to outperform their younger counterparts.

[fccoachdavem]

I know there are some who are playing 05s to chase down that last trophy before getting bumped up in January. That isn't me. I have one girl, an older sister to one of my players, who hasn't played in a couple of years, and watching her sister practice with us, she got bit by the bug again and wants to try out for her high school team next fall. She is not ready to play travel, so she gets to work out with us to develop her skills, and has played a few games with us this fall. Come January, she knows she can keep working out with us, but will not be able to play sanctioned games, and will only be able to play friendlies if the opposing head coach gives us the okay with it.

[Backnine]

I think the point I was trying to get across is at the 12u level you have girls that are 10 (late birthdays) or 11 years old that weigh 65 to 75 lbs. playing against 13 year olds that are pushing 120 to 140 lbs. I am sure this situation matters at the 14u and 16u level but not to the degree it does at the 12u level. The older girls I see still playing down tend to be mediocre, but for safety reasons alone, I will be glad to see them move along come Jan.

[crankshaft]

Open your eyes
Even in older age brackets and College and the Olympics there are some players that are very short and petite weigh about a hundred pounds. There are others that are tall big bone and husky weighing 220. They continue to compete against each other. Age versus size aint going to change!

Large or small does not mean you're going to be the best hitter on the team. Actually kind of think the players that are the larger ones at the younger age brackets are more of a target on the field because most of them haven't figured out how to move their body and the smaller ones have.
The larger and taller they are the harder they fall. LOL

[Backnine]

In college all the player are women. In 12u you have girls playing against young women. I agree that some of the smaller, faster, athletic players with good fundamentals have a higher ceiling than some of the bigger, slower girls.