rynoattack posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Buckeye 2015 posted:Missed the part about playing down. If a kid is good enough, there' s no reason not to play up a year....especially when 15U and 16U are basically identical....but I'd see no reason for a freshman to play down to 14U....even if he is age eligible.
I can add some perspective on that one. I had a 6'0 13u eligible 8th grader...so I asked him to play 14u last year. I have read this site up and down and just KNEW I was making the right choice for his "baseball future"... should have read more about enjoying the moment and not worrying about the future.
Yes, he played 14u, yes he "played with his grade", but he didn't get to play with or against any of his baseball friends that he has made over the last 8 years. He enjoyed the baseball, he more than kept up with kids that were 1-2 years older than him, but it wasn't the same. I know that as he grows older he will have to play with people he doesn't know, but for now he's a kid and it's a game.
So, what reason would a 9th grader have to play 14u??? Because that's where his friends play and that's where he would have more fun.
I guess to each his own. I always welcomed son playing up for the competition, and I always felt it was a way to add to his friends. #broadenhishorizons
He did broaden his horizons...it wasn't as much fun. All too soon isn't this all going to end and we should enjoy the moment?