It is much more important for nine year olds to be having fun and learning the fundamentals/skill development than enduring the competitive stress of a travel team environment. I think you burn out far more potential starting that early than the actual number of prodigies/good players you create/identify. The travel environment in softball as well as the soccer and basketball models provide some benefit from an upgraded competition standpoint in the mid to late teen years but, even there the models break down in terms of actual elite player development, with limited exceptions.