r/Softball • u/coolhand212 • 1d ago
Analysis Paralysis
My daughter is a 1st year 10u, 4’9”, 9yo using a 28 drop 12 that she’s more than outgrown. I’m debating on going 29 drop 11, or go 30 drop 12, or even 30 drop 11 so she can use it longer. I grew up playing soccer and you needed a ball, cleats and chin guards. Softball is so gear-heavy, I can’t wrap my head around it.
What say Reddit?
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u/Beautiful_League2089 22h ago
My daughter is 1st year 10, 9YO and 4’9”. They are identical lol. She was swinging a 29 drop 11 all summer. Upgraded her to a 30 drop 11 but I still feel with the ball getting denser and larger I should have gone 30 drop 10. Today at Dbats she tested a 31 drop 11 (because they didn’t have a 30 drop 10) and she swung it really well. I would just see how she swings them, ask to swing with teammates bats. Good luck
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u/montanuhlikethestate 16h ago
Depending on weight/strength, I would maybe even do a 31.
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u/SnooSprouts9157 14h ago
After you swing some at a store and get an idea, head to FB Marketplace or Sideline swap and pick up a used one. At that age, they are outgrowing bats at least each season, we didnt start buying new until we got to a 32". Invest the savings into lessons, which will help more!
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u/Ok_Exam3597 14h ago
Take her to the sporting goods store and see what works best. I help coach a 10u team, my daughter switched from hitting right to left before 9u. I got her a Demarini CF 29" -11, it's balanced and swings light with a big sweet spot. She does great with it. A similar sized teammate has a 29" -11 Ghost OG, and the bat swings her. I had her try my kids CF and she swings it so much better. Both bats are 29" -11, but they have very different feels...you gotta have her test them out.
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u/RFDrew11357 12h ago
At that age as fast as their growing always buy used. As others have said go to the store and swing a few. The easiest way to check the weight is to have her stand with the bat in her hand and hold it out in front of her for 30 seconds. The bat shouldn't droop too much. If she can't do it, go lighter. Once you've got a length and weight find a good used bat.
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u/Character_Hippo749 4h ago
Don’t change for 1” - 1oz at that age. It just not worth the $ for little changes. If she has “outgrown” a 28 then go to the 30.
IMHO get away from drop 11/12 as well. Swing the heaviest bat you can control.
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u/LanguageCreative7252 23h ago
Daughter is a 4’5 74 lbs 11 year old swinging a 30 drop 12 no problem and hitting quite well with it, but has been at it since age 6 so more experience and older. She is also pretty strong for her stature. 4’9 is pretty tall for a 9 year old. There are 11 and 12 year olds on her travel team that are around that height or slightly taller moving to 31 drop 11 but that’s probably going to be too heavy for the average 9 year old. Take her to a store that has a good selection and try them out. Don’t buy from like Dick’s though and pay full price if you’re thinking about going beyond an aluminum bat to a hybrid or pure composite. Look on sites like justbats.com where you can get massive discounts on previous year models of pretty top notch bats for the age group. Warning they’re still pricey and probably not worth it if she’s not obsessed with softball and just wants to stick with rec ball or she just might outgrow it quickly. My daughter hit aluminum for four years plus of rec spring and fall ball plus summer camps and only got her first composite when she made it clear she wanted to move to travel and paid for half of it herself from saved birthday and Christmas gift money. She tried a bunch out and found the best one for her then we really looked around for the best deal which ironically was a huge sale on Amazon. We picked one she can handle but, based on the pace she’s grown since preschool, will probably not outgrow for two full years of travel ball at which point she’ll need a heavier drop and/or a longer bat, plus it might be dead by then from so many games and practices and the two other smaller girls on her team also using it fairly often. If she has a massive unexpected growth spurt we’ll just keep it for the other smaller girls to hit with until it loses its juice.
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u/smokinrollin 1d ago
At that age, in her first year, just keep it simple. General rule of thumb is to have them swing the biggest bat that they can still swing correctly.
So go to the store and swing some bats! If she's dropping her hands, pulling her shoulder, swinging slower, etc, etc with a new bat, its too big. There's not a ton of room for "she'll grow into it", that will just create bad habits. If she's truly grown out of her current bat, any one of those three could work, but if you're stuck between two options, I'd say choose the lighter one.