It depends on whether you want them to be able to throw 2 good pitches by 10U or 7.
@ 10U tryouts:
Parent: Hi Coach! My daughter, little Suzy, is here to try out for your number 1 pitcher position.
Coach: Okay. Is she fast?
Parent: Honestly, I don't really know. We've never gunned her but she seems fast.
Coach: Hmm...does she have anything besides a Fastball?
Parent: Oh yes! She has the 2 seam Fastball, the 4 seam Fastball, a Change-up, a Dropball, a Curveball, a Crop, a Screwball, a Cutter, a Riseball, and a Scrise! She's currently working on her Crize but hasn't perfected that yet.
Coach: That's great! Can she hit her spots with each one consistently?!
Parent: Maybe one out of ten but we're working on it religiously and she's definitely getting better!
Coach: Well…...how much movement does she get out of each pitch then?
Parent: Not much if any at all?
Coach: Okay, so let me get this straight. You don't know how fast she throws, she can't hit her spots and gets no movement out of any of the pitches you claim she can throw. How can you claim she has all those pitches?!
Parent to Little Suzy: SUZY! Get back in the car! You can't play for this guy! He's a moron! He can't tell what a pitch is based on the spin! We're going somewhere else!
Sorry folks, I couldn't resist. Truth be told, I agree with most everyone here. The sooner the better. 8U is not too early. The one thing parents need to be aware of is the need to continue to make practice fun for them. Most pitchers quit pitching by 2nd year 14U. That's due to them feeling like it's more of a job than a calling and a study done several years ago cites parents as the main reason. Just an FYI.
As for those that may feel that this is mean and/or condescending, please don't. The point is, although we have a lot of great pitching coaches on here and a lot of great parents, your kids need to master each individual pitch and be able to hit their spots with it 9 out of 10 times before moving onto the next one. There are pitching coaches out there that just like to brag about how many pitches their pitchers can throw. There are also parents out there the same way. If the pitchers can't hit their spots consistently with a particular pitch, or the pitch itself has no movement, they
will get teed off on. JMHO