Already discussed Playing up - What about Sandbagging?

This is a tough one. I can speak from both sides of the issue as my older son played down as an 11 and my younger son has always played up when allowed.

Nic could have moved up to the 11-12 division as an 11, but opted instead to play 10-11 (only the weakest 11's AND 12'S). I was against it, but he insisted and basically he was correct. He had only played 2 years prior and wanted to have the chance to pitch and play SS. For him it worked out great. He made the in-house All-Star team at 11, the "B" tournament team at 12 (beaten out of the in-house All-star team by his 10 y/o brother, and made the All-star, but not tournament team at 13. His confidence level grew and he really enjoyed the season alot more. Could he have played up, sure, but as an 11 in the upper division, he would have been number 10 or 11 on the team. The year down allowed him to develop the skills he needed and I think it was worth it.

Here, the bigger problem is letting unqualified players play up. If a player goes into the Major East (Majors)draft, they play East. If they are in the Major West draft (minors) they play West. I've been trying to let all 10-12's go into the East draft and undrafted players go to West. We don't hold over teams so only the kids ready for that level that year would be drafted.

So I guess it really depends on the player and why they are doing it. I think my son did it for the right reasons and it worked out well.