Maybe it is about the physical maturity vs. boys. You can pretty much see where a girl (on average) is going to be by the time they are 14/15 from a height perspective. If you assume muscle weight gain over the next 3/4 years perhaps they are thinking they can project what a girl is going to look like.

Speed is also a huge factor in softball. If you can get down the line in under 2.7 seconds, you are pretty hard to get out. There are two girls on our team that we turned into slap hitters because they are so fast. I noticed the young lady in Jerseys original post had 25 stolen bases. My guess is she is one of those speed demons that is hard to throw out - hence also the batting average.

I just think it's a huge risk. The sport has not been popular long enough to know if 8th and 9th graders are going to stick with it. A lot of these girls are playing 6 out of 7 weekends in the summer (many are three or four day tourneys) after a long high school season in which they are practicing/playing six days a week and they get burned out. Many girls exit softball at 16 once they get cars, significant others, etc.

Again, I feel for the coaches. They have a hell of a job. I think they miss a lot of girls because they have to lock into a choice before someone else gets the recruit. My personal belief is 8th and 9th grade is way too early as the girls still have a lot of development (muscle/core mass) to get to what I would call a true D1 player.