9-year-old banned from pitching...

[OnWis97]

I agree the pussification is there, but I do not agree that it is really about political correctness. There may be a PC aspect to these "no keeping score" and "everyone gets a trophy" leagues. But there is a ton more at play. Most kids get rides to school from their parents. They don't walk. They don't wait for the bus in weather. They just go into their attached garage, get in the car and walk from the curb to the front door. It's all about fear of abductions. Statistically, they are probably much more likely to die in a car accident on the way to school than be abducted waiting for the bus, but the media coverage is huge now, so we think about it more.

And I wonder if kids even own bikes? I don't see why most would. There are so few safe places to ride. I was lucky enough to grow up on a quiet grid system and biked to baseball games and practice. It was only about four blocks, but in newer developments, that four blocks becomes four miles, which out to be bikeable, except for the 60 mph vehicles soon as you get off of the cul-de-sac. So mom and dad drive.

Transportation is now so reliant on parents, I think it takes some self-sufficiency away.

I think Dead is onto something with technology. I don't blame the technology, but the parents for letting it create the wussification. The first thing any kid should do after breakfast and teeth brushing in summer vacation is go out side and play. But we allow them to rot in front of tv/xbox, etc.

There is a general fear of competition that causes this. A fear of making a kid feel bad. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe it is political correctness--just a bit of a different kind then we usually talk about. I don't know. But there certainly should be winners and losers. And any kid in the age limit should be able to play. I wish there had been someone that good in my little league that was in the majors today. I'd love to be able to say "I got one hit off of him and he struck me out eight times." It's all part of the growth process. I played various sports as a kid and I know I was on some teams that would lose by huge scores. Those games were not fun. And I would not argue that they made me a better (or worse) person, but the bottom line is that I lived.

And when you lose? Parents do need to teach their kids that it is not that big of a deal. That it is just a game. That it is fun. That you want to win, but if you lose, you move on and get them next time. And most importantly, that you don't need to be good at sports to be worthwhile.

I happen to love the rule that all kids should get into the game, so I guess I am guilty of this myself. But not keeping score? I don't know where the line is, but it is somewhere between those two things.

[BB61]

When I was 17, I was the commissioner of a 7-8 year old machine pitch league. There were 6 teams. This was the way I was instructed to run the league:

No scores / standings were kept...

Playoff spots were done by draw (all six made the playoffs, two got byes into the semis).

And only the champs got a trophy.

...you figure that one out.

[OnWis97]

When I was 17, I was the commissioner of a 7-8 year old machine pitch league. There were 6 teams. This was the way I was instructed to run the league:

No scores / standings were kept...

Playoff spots were done by draw (all six made the playoffs, two got byes into the semis).

And only the champs got a trophy.

...you figure that one out.

Only the champs getting a trophy is contradictory to the rest. So they did not keep score all year, then did in the playoffs? Stupid.

I am OK with all teams getting in the playoffs, but seed them so they feel there is a value to playing the regular season (not to mention so the top two teams don't play in the first game).

[DEAD!]

When I was 17, I was the commissioner of a 7-8 year old machine pitch league. There were 6 teams. This was the way I was instructed to run the league:

No scores / standings were kept...

Playoff spots were done by draw (all six made the playoffs, two got byes into the semis).

And only the champs got a trophy.

...you figure that one out.

... no trophies were handed out.

[JRH1991]

Since everyone plays, I guess this is sort of inaccurate now but it still sort of fits.

I wish I could play little league now, I'd kick some f***in' ass. Who's the back up now?

This kid is possibly a pitching prodigy. And what I wanna know is, these mothers who threaten to sue the league because their kid sucks, how do you think that makes the really good kids feel? What about their psyches and their self-esteems? The only way to make everyone equal is to treat it like a real game. (Note: This doesn't mean Little League managers should kick dirt onto umpires, and the parents should NEVER get involved in anyway.) I played little league, I sucked and once even asked my coach to not let me play because my friends kept getting on my case and I wanted them to "win.*"

*At this age I was not aware that there was no score. My team was called the Red Sox, so we lost no matter what the score was (if it was even there) but I thought that it was for real.

Point: Some kids are just not great athletes and some are. I am the kind of person who believes everyone has a talent, so maybe the parents should support their sons/daughters not through athletics, but through something. Find their niche etc.

Does any of this make sense? Or was this a wasted post?

[Breakwood]

They have leagues that don't keep score? Does this mean I can go to a school that doesn't give grades?

[youcan'tseeme]

Thanks goodness Sidney Crosby was never treated like that. Imagine if a league would have banned him because he was "too skilled". There goes the kid's dream of perhaps playing in the MLB...unless he finds some other league.

More like to bad he wasn't then we wouldn't have to watch him whine.

Crosby jokes aside this is a joke. Competition makes you better, I'd be doing my best to outdo this kid when I was that age, not run from him.

[scottysprings]

I don't care what anyone says, 40's for a 9 year old really isn't that fast. I'd say above average at best, nowhere near fast enough to keep him from throwing in the league..

[leopard88]

They have leagues that don't keep score? Does this mean I can go to a school that doesn't give grades?

You can go to Hampshire College. According to the college's website, the faculty "evaluates student achievement with detailed written evaluations emphasizing individual goals, engagement, intellectual development, growth, and accomplishments" as opposed to "measuring student performance relative to other students using grades and/or numeric symbols, fostering competition" like a traditional liberal arts college.

Hampshire College -- Academic Philosophy

All you had to do was ask.

[Mac the Knife]

I'm often asked why my organization doesn't have youth programs, and this thread just about sums up the answer in a nutshell: overbearing parents looking out for their kids often if not invariably wind up interfering with the program's design, making it simply not worth doing.

What's surprising to me is the amount of money that's involved - I could easily double my organization's annual revenue simply by running one kid's flag football season a year. But the hassles simply aren't worth the aggravation that comes along with it, predominately due to pussified parents that insist that their particular crotchfruit is really unique, special, unlike the others.

Reality is what I tell my kid: "Just remember you're special - just like everyone else."

[Breakwood]

They have leagues that don't keep score? Does this mean I can go to a school that doesn't give grades?

You can go to Hampshire College. According to the college's website, the faculty "evaluates student achievement with detailed written evaluations emphasizing individual goals, engagement, intellectual development, growth, and accomplishments" as opposed to "measuring student performance relative to other students using grades and/or numeric symbols, fostering competition" like a traditional liberal arts college.

Hampshire College -- Academic Philosophy

All you had to do was ask.

Hot Damn! I'm transferring as soon as possible

[winters in buffalo]

Sort of on topic, one of my coworkers was recently telling about a situation that happened at his wife's company. She had not one, but TWO of her new employees' mothers call and complain about their heavy workload.

Needless to say, neither made it through the rest of that day.

[jamdawg1]

To me it's part pussification, part the intrusion of politics into little league play. Note how they bring up that they tried to make the kid play for the defending champion....which is run by the employer of a league admin.

That is, I think, the key element to the story.

This isn't about the pussification of America, or helicopter parents, it's about influence peddling.

The Wussification (as I call it.) of America is somewhat of a factor since it's real, but so is the influence peddling that you point out. Reminds me of the original (...and far superior) version of the Bad News Bears where the Manager of the Yankees ran the whole league.