Just wondering what age I would be for this summer. I am a 2017 grad looking for 2014 summer team, not sure if it is 15u or 16u. Thanks for any help.
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15U would be most likely unless you were looking to play up or down.
So the ages for teams switch over during the school year? Just wanna be sure because I don't want to sign up for the wrong team.
Someone may know better than me, but I am pretty sure the following is typical:
Age groups are determined by a player's age on April 30. The baseball year starts on August 1st.
So, what that means is you start playing in the Fall (August-Oct basically) for the age that you will be as of the FOLLOWING April 30. You play with that age through the end of that following Summer. Again, unless you choose to play up.
Originally Posted by BucsFan:
Someone may know better than me, but I am pretty sure the following is typical:
Age groups are determined by a player's age on April 30. The baseball year starts on August 1st.
So, what that means is you start playing in the Fall (August-Oct basically) for the age that you will be as of the FOLLOWING April 30. You play with that age through the end of that following Summer. Again, unless you choose to play up.
Thanks for your help. I am a year younger than my grade. Obviously I want to play with people in my grade so I needed to find out what that was and when they switched. Thanks!
BucsFan is correct. Most 2017's would be 15u.* But here in Cali 15u is a bit of a neglected division. There are more teams and better competition at 16u. So you'd be playing with both 2017's and 2016's.
* (if you're a young Freshman you may be eligible to play on a 14u team, but many would say that it's a mistake play down with 8th graders swinging drop-5's after you've played a year of HS ball)
Go play 16U. If you want to get better you should play up once you hit HS.
Originally Posted by JCG:
BucsFan is correct. Most 2017's would be 15u.* But here in Cali 15u is a bit of a neglected division. There are more teams and better competition at 16u. So you'd be playing with both 2017's and 2016's.
* (if you're a young Freshman you may be eligible to play on a 14u team, but many would say that it's a mistake play down with 8th graders swinging drop-5's after you've played a year of HS ball)
I was wondering about this myself.My son will be 14 in June and plays 13u now. When he finishes HS ball next year ( if he makes the team ). What age group should he play in? It looks like in Michigan anyways the options really drop off at the older ages. Especially after going to watch a couple of high school games. Most of the kids look like men.Going back to 14u would look like a step back as far as the size of the competition . I really want him to play in major tournaments. Is there a difference between travel teams vs. showcase teams? I guess I'm asking are their teams that are just put together for individual showcases/top tournament? The team he plays for now sometimes gets into lower quality tournaments. Very frustrating to watch the boys cruse through a tourney.I am of the opinion they ( mostly my son) needs to be tested every time he steps on the diamond. Not to interested in plastic trophies. How many tournaments can a team squeeze in after HS? We really do have a good support system with this team .Just want to make sure he is pushed to excel .
My 2016 has a July birthday...and in a small town he always had to play with his age growing up (due to number of players and me as HC). So he played 13U spring as an 8th grader. Due to consolication, he ended up playing 14U in summer. He felt more at ease with kids a little older. With his age appropriate team he always felt that if he didn't play big, we had a tough chance.
By the time fall came (frosh year) he was playing 16U and excelling. He is currently 15U eligible, but after Varsity season ends in a few days it's to a 16U Tournament Club team for this summer...and if he decides to continued with the fall team this year, they will be playing 18U.
I have a 7th grader (2019!) who is playing 13U...he has a reverse birthday (Oct). I am pushing (I'm an AC) to play 14U this summer with the boys due to a couple of factors. In any case, he'll play 14U in fall and we will see where it goes next season. He is not as driven as his older brother, but has recently gotten a spark which was nice to see.
All in all, I think playing age appropriate until they get to HS is highly recommended. But once HS starts, they should be playing where they will get the chance to improve. That happens playing up in age and/or against better competition. But that is my opinion only; you should play where you feel most comfortable. A lot depends on your goals for next season I think.
Good luck and wherever you land, play hard.
I think once the kids hit high school they should play with their grade, not age. So freshman should play 15u. At least in my area, the teams are designed to pick up after the HS season and play thru the summer. I know some kids who still play 14u in HS, but they miss half of the season while they play HS ball (can't play on two teams here).
15 is a transition year. Opportunities can be varied from a typical rec ball team attending local tournaments, to "elite" teams attending high end showcase tournaments. It think at 16 it begins to really change as the kids who remain on the teams are really seeking to play past high school. Good luck.