At 9U-10U, most leagues still use a continuous batting order, but kid pitch becomes standard, skill gaps start to widen, and strategic lineup thinking begins to matter. The batting order at this age should balance development fairness with putting your team in a position to compete — leaning heavily toward fairness in rec leagues and slightly toward competition in travel.

At this age, kid pitch is real. Pitchers throw strikes inconsistently, walks are frequent, and stolen bases are easy. The batting order starts mattering more because the top of the lineup sees more at-bats in walk-heavy games, and contact hitters who put the ball in play are genuinely more productive than kids who strike out.

The skill gap also widens. Your best 10-year-old might be hitting line drives while your least experienced kid is still working on making contact. The batting order needs to account for both — giving developing players at-bats in meaningful spots while setting up your team to score.

Leadoff (1st): A player who makes contact and gets on base. At 9U-10U, walks count as getting on base — patience at the plate is a real skill. Put a kid here who sees a lot of pitches and doesn't chase bad ones.

2-3 spots: Your best overall hitters. Contact ability matters more than power at this age. These are the kids who hit the ball hard and put it in play consistently.

4-5 spots: Developing hitters who have some pop but might be streaky. In a continuous batting order, these spots still get plenty of at-bats.

Middle of the order (6-8): Mix stronger and developing hitters. Don't cluster all your weaker hitters together — alternate so there's always an experienced hitter coming up soon.

Bottom of the order (9-12+): Your developing players. Rotate these spots game to game so no kid is always last. At 9U-10U, every kid in the continuous order gets 2-3 at-bats per game — make sure those at-bats feel meaningful.

Rec league: Rotate the order frequently. Give every kid a turn in the top third of the lineup across the season. Focus on development and experience. Winning is nice but secondary to making sure every kid improves and has fun.

Travel ball: More lineup optimization is appropriate, but still keep development in mind. Your 9-year-old who bats 10th today might be your 3-hole hitter at 11U if he gets enough quality at-bats now. Don't sacrifice his development for one extra run in a pool play game.