Seriously, what is wrong with youth sports in this country. We've got one city discontinuing All-Star games because it hurts too many kids feelings, we've got others that have just stopped keeping score, and now this. 9-year-old Jericho Scott of New Haven, Connecticut, was told he could no longer pitch in the New Haven Youth Baseball League. Why? He's too good.
Yep, not because he's too old, just because he's too good at the sport he loves. No more pitching for you.
Even worse, because his coach and team found this claim to be absurd, they sent Scott out to the mound for their next game.
The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.
Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho’s team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it. They say Jericho’s coach, Wilfred Vidro, has resigned.
Not to go all 'When I played little league, we used to play in 5 feet of snow,' but we've got some serious issues with youth sports.
One reality of life is losing. Losing is good for you, even when you're nine. It makes you work harder, set goals, and decide what drives you in life. You don't appreciate how rewarding winning can be, unless you've lost. In the big boy world, when you're too good at your job, you get rewarded, not punished.
At the very least, couldn't they have just moved Jericho Scott up a few age groups, instead of punishing him and his teammates because the rest of the league wasn't good enough.
9-year-old boy told he’s too good to pitch [Yahoo!Sports]
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