Continued wimpification of the world.

You know. For the children. Jesus.

RossTraining.com Blog » Let a kid be a kid - Part II:

"...Nine-year-old Jericho Scott was recently told by the Youth Baseball League of New Haven, Connecticut that he is too good to pitch in the league... The eight league team, with approximately 100 players has decided that Jericho throws the ball too fast for the rest of the league.

...My own state is kicking kids out of little league because they are too good! What the hell is going on? What kind of message are we sending our kids? Let’s all play nicey nice, but let’s not try to be good at anything. Should we all get together in a group hug and start playing with foam baseballs instead?

...it isn’t as if the 9 and 10 year olds had a meeting and decided to ban Jericho from the league. It is obvious that the parents got together and made this decision. What message is a parent sending his or her own kids? They can play sports, but they should never face an opponent who might be better? Should we pretend that everything in life is fair and even? Should we pretend that there are no challenges in the world? Is that the message we want to send our kids?

When I played little league, there wasn’t a 9 and 10 year old league. We played with the 12 year olds. At 9 years old, a 12 year old is an imposing monster on the mound. That was part of the fun. There was nothing better than a base hit against a pitcher who was a few grades above you in school...

Sooner or later your kids will figure out that life isn’t all fun and games. I’m not suggesting that we throw our children to the wolves, but little league baseball shouldn’t be confused with a rabid pack of wolves. Let kids be kids!"