CaCO3Girl:
The move to the "big" field leveled the playing field for some of the hitters who had trouble catching up to Little League fastballs; they were able to make more contact. Pitchers had to get used to the additional distance and some had trouble with control initially ("walk-a-thon) games
. The "Little league heroes" with their big swings were now hitting fly balls that were caught, not check swing HRs.
As for my son, he was always more of a contact hitter, so the bat change didn't effect him in terms of his average. He is primarily a middle infielder but played some 3B. You talk about challenges..that throw from third (l-o-o-n-g). What did I tell him? Work on arm strength and most importantly I told him, the field won't change anymore but your arm will. Focus was on accuracy of throw (3B or SS), not just gun it over. When he was a CF, coaching was key at the beginning in terms of where he should stand, especially for power hitters. More bloops over infield on big field, so an OF who played deep would have a number of balls fall in front of him. Your son may have played different rules but running to first on a dropped third strike was new to many.
The catcher's throw was tough (longer as well), not always to blame as pitcher's were now to hold on runners. Biggest benefit to my son was being able to steal bases with a lead off, and not waiting until ball passes the plate. . Pitcher (control) and Catcher (no passed balls and a strong arm) were definitely key positions.
You will definitely enjoy the transition to the big field...son will too.
Thanks Ripken Fan, his team seems to already have most of those rules at 12u. Runners take leads, different for lefty vs. righty, they run on a dropped third strike (helpful if you have a runner on third!). He is middle of the pack on running speed...these extra long base paths should be interesting!