No, I stand corrected. I didn't click through & read the article. (I miss the days when FR didn't have to excerpt :)
I still think 40mph isn't "too fast" in the first place, and the whole issue need not have been raised. The forfeiting also seems like a rather stupid reaction. But if the option of moving up in age-bracket was given, and the kid/parents refused it, I have to wonder why.
Because they want the accolades of having a son that is a stud.
Put him up a level or put him in travel and then see how good his is when all of the kids can pitch 40 and the hitters are used to seeing that kind of pitching and launch the ball.
Maybe the really good pitcher is not that great of a batter or fielder, so he needs to play in a development league to get better at those other skills. He can’t pitch all the time if it is a “little league.” Even the non “little leagues” where our boys play have pitching rules for various age levels. The child cannot pitch for every game. And making a 9-year-old play with 11/12yrolds could be too much for him. (I don’t think so based on our boys, but it’s possible. Our second son has been playing with 12yrolds since he was barely 9. He hasn’t had a problem except when he was catching for a boy who was throwing 75+. He cried a few times when he had to catch for that boy, but by the next season, he loved the challenge.)