Louuuuu, I am definitely in no hurry for my girls to grow up, if I had my choice they would still be 5, playing tee ball in the rec organization were all of my dd's played. I would never advocate throwing them in the deep end and forcing them crank up the intensity. I would love to keep my kids in a rec league, however, there are some legitimate reasons that I seen why many little ones (like mine), at their own pace, start playing travel/tournament/summer ball (whatever you want to call it) earlier.
- Our rec leagues here are 6 weeks long, some kids want to play more than 6 week and travel is the only option for that.
- Not all kids in rec want to play. Those that are competitive at a younger age get bored quickly. They want to play with similar skilled or like minded players.
- If they have older sisters that play travel and they go to tournaments every other weekend for a few years, they see a lot of different things happen. Like my youngest, they want to play the game as they see their sisters play, ie. stealing bases, bunting, pitching... If we had 8u kid pitch that is where I would guide my dd.
-Again, if they have older sisters that play travel and they go to tournaments every other weekend for a few years, they make friends with the other younger sisters and they decide they want to play with their friends. In rec you don't always have that option, due to drafts or random selection to avoid "stacking"teams.
I agree there is a delicate balance in playing with in their abilities and the young teams don't need to play "A" or PGF level ball. There is a place for everyone. As long as they are having fun and learning...
Back to the OP question, I think there are not as many 8u teams because of the demand and tournament options. There are not many tournament options for 8u. If you play 8u you may have to travel further, which I don't think is what many parents want to do at 8u. Also. many of the girls that decide to play travel do so, because they want to pitch, bunt, or steal bases like they see their older sisters do. You can't pitch, bunt or steal in any of the 8u tournaments I have seen lately.