If the choice is truly yours, sign him up for AAA with his friends. Even if they aren’t on the same team.

It is fairly unusual for a 10yo to play AA (parent request, of a kid who is brand new to baseball..in our league) and I think you’ll regret signing up him up for AA if you do.

AAA isn’t that much of a jump, and everyone will be a little rusty. Your DS will do fine.

12yo’s playing AAA is extremely rare, and if they do, they are not allowed to pitch.

Some choose to move the whole team to Babe Ruth so they don't have to be split up as early (vote for keeping friends together).

Why does DH like AA ?

Don’t put a 10 year old in AA. It will set him back way too much, and most 10 year olds will be playing AAA. Even if he is at the bottom of AAA with skill level, he’ll get much better being in AAA compared to AA. My DH was a LL coach and he even said no way for AA - go AAA.

If your son has been playing since T-ball, he’ll be more than ready for AAA. Don’t be intimidated. The level of play is still a hot mess at times! It’s not you’re sending your son in to play MLB-level ball!

Thanks for the responses. DH seems to be pushing AA, so I'm still torn. This is causing me a bit more angst than it should, and I've ben holding off signing him up because of it.

Anonymous wrote:My league age 9 is doing AAA and so are most of his friends. I think it could go either way in our league for age 9, but league age 10 I think most kids are playing AAA. I believe my oldest played AA league at age 10 and he was one of the only 5th graders at the time (he has an August bday - young for the grade). He did get more pitching / catching / infield experience than he would have in AAA but I think he would have rather played with his friends.

I guess he had to have been in 4th grade at league age 10. Sorry. But he was one of the only kids in his grade in AA. BUT your league could be different.

Anonymous wrote:Does your league hold tryouts? If so, DC might not have a choice anyway.

They do, but in our experience they have been a crap shoot and haven't really been much of a determinant of where your child is placed and is used mainly to flag clear outliers. For the most part, you end up in the league you sign up for.

My league age 9 is doing AAA and so are most of his friends. I think it could go either way in our league for age 9, but league age 10 I think most kids are playing AAA. I believe my oldest played AA league at age 10 and he was one of the only 5th graders at the time (he has an August bday - young for the grade). He did get more pitching / catching / infield experience than he would have in AAA but I think he would have rather played with his friends.

Anonymous wrote:In our LL, 12 year olds in AAA aren’t allowed to pitch. It might be the same for yours.

Me again. Also, it is not common to have 12 years in AAA to begin with, at least in our league. They would be required to be drafted by Majors due to their age, barring extenuating circumstances, and if they were age waived into AAA, they must agree that they understand they will not be allowed to pitch. So definitely check with your league.

Does your league hold tryouts? If so, DC might not have a choice anyway.

In our LL, 12 year olds in AAA aren’t allowed to pitch. It might be the same for yours.

Anonymous wrote:Keep him with his friends.

Thanks. DC is aware that he may not be on the same team even if he moved up, and admits that one of the things that makes him nervous is having a bunch of 12 year olds pitch to him. Was hoping his feelings would help guide our decision but that may be too much to ask of him!

Keep him with his friends.

DC will be league age 10 this spring and has been doing little league since t-ball. We originally anticipated moving up to AAA this spring, but feel like the pandemic has derailed experience opportunities. Spring last year moved to fall, which was brief. Some of DC's friends are moving up to AAA but we're concerned he might not be at their level and would prefer he get one more AA season in before moving up in the fall. DC understands this, but also wants to play with his friends. Question is - are there a lot of 10 year olds doing AA? Any experiences to share are welcome.