14U

I think it has a lot to do with age...and them starting to feel their oats a little.  i noticed a lot of them at that age, getting ready to play HS ball or already there, think their S*** don;t stink.  They will usually get their attitude readjusted once they get around some older kids who are clearly better than them.

My son is 13 on a 13U team.  We recently started to play 14U teams.  I spoke to one of the 14U "pro" coaches I've known for a long time.  After observing several weekend tournaments, I asked him "Do kids get dumber when the turn 14?"  He said yes they do.

We experienced this last year, 11u, so be thankful you got a few more years reprieve!  I can only surmise it had to do with what lefthookdad was talking about...when the boys started seeing serious teams and the coach had a serious talk with them in 12u this behavior mostly disappeared on the ball field.  As for at home, a few threats about what would happen the next time the kid rolled their eyes, or walked away in the middle of a conversation they were done with but a parent was still talking, seems to have fixed that glitch....at least for now.

I will say that if no one *like the coach* is addressing this behavior on the ball field then yes the bad behavior is likely to continue while the 14 year olds think they are hot stuff.  On sons 12u team coach doesn't care who the kid is or how they can produce, you show attitude to an ump or a coach, or have displays of eye rolling or pouting, and your butt is riding the pine.

That's the magic age with both boys and girls softball. I've coached both and this is the age where they all change. It is...a challenge.

Yeah, I think roothog is spot on.  My oldest son had his ups and downs emotionally around 13/14u timeframe.  I think they loose brain cells as they progress through their teen years. 

Aside from that, you also take into the fact that this is now "year two" on the 60/90 field.  13u baseball is the introduction of the 60/90 for most baseball players which is a big learning curve for all of them so the game is slowed down considerably.  By 14u many of them have grown into the field, physically and mentally and the game pace picks up a bit.  I would think that those that are frustrated at the 14u level are either A) late bloomers and could catch up in a few months once nature takes its course.  B)  Scared because they fear their playing days coming to an end because they don't stack up, too much stress (internal [self] and external [parents]) to perform. 

LOL! In the kids' defense, I have noticed that many of the things they were taught year after year in Little League are now completely wrong (at least on 2019Son's team). Couple of examples:

(1) Pitcher is on the mound and baserunner gets caught off a base (leaves early, etc.). Typical situation might be a 1st and 3rd where the other team is trying to steal a run. In Little League for years the pitcher was taught to run at the baserunner. Now it's "throw the ball immediately to the shortstop" and let the best athlete handle it.

(2) Something as simple as fielding slowly hit ground balls. In Little League it was "set your feet before throwing" and now it is "if you field it on the run, you throw it on the run."

So maybe they're not necessarily dumber, just confused. 

LOL, that is awesome!  I'd also like to add that that "level swing" they have been practicing for years...totally useless!

In 13u the kids were dopes trying to act like older kids because they're teens, in middle school and playing on the big field. In 14u the kids weren't acting anymore. They were under the misguided thoughts they were big kids. The following year we played 16u with fifreen and some fourteen year olds. Now they thought they were big deals. Almost all of them had a year of high school behind them. This was the year I realized I was done coaching my son. He was tuning me out. As I told one of the coaches of an academy travel/showcase team, next year I need someone else to kick his rear to the next level.

I was able to coach my warm, lovable daughter all the way through 18u. But collectively the girls were a PITA at fourteen. The stuff I heard on the practice field and in the dugout of he 18u girls team had me thinking I needed to cover my ears and say, "na, na, na, I can't hear this." I didn't want to hear it. To hell with an 18u softball dugout being too much for a fourteen year old. It's too much for a dad.