When I was a kid back in the '70's, you had one option: kid pitch Little League. Because there were no other options, it wasn't even called "kid pitch". It was just called Little League baseball. There were no tees, no "machine pitch" or "coach pitch". There were crazy parents even back then, but not like there are today. Back then, you didn't get a trophy (or medal, etc.) for just being on the team. You actually had to win something to get a trophy. There wasn't "fall ball" or travel teams or year-round leagues. You played in the spring and were done before school got out for the summer.
I played Little League for as long as I could, which I think ended before 7th grade. Even then, I got burnt out on baseball and stopped playing. I can only imagine what's going to happen to kids today when they start playing at such a young age. I'm afraid to let my son play more than one season a year, with All Stars thrown in. The problem is, you run the risk of falling behind the kids that play year-round. I guess that's a risk I'm going to have to take.
Like everything else in our crazy world, we've taken something pure and innocent such as Little League baseball and turned it into an "I'm a parent living vicariously through my child" event. Some parents/coaches are driven by a "win at any cost" mentality, when most of their kid's biggest concern is "what's the snack after the game?". Parents are making their kids play year-round, get private (translation: expensive) lessons, when the kids would be just as happy going to the swimming pool or having friends over to play.
Next time you yell at your kid for messing up a play, or yell at the coach (who's volunteered their own time for free), or the umpire (who's probably making $10), think back to the days when Little League was about having fun, getting better at baseball, and learning to play on a team.
Let's not turn games into Armaggeddon or World War III. The world will be a better place for it.
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