Youth baseball no longer supports healthy development

I’m a psychologist, a mother of three, and I spent over two decades playing competitive sports. Sports shaped who I am. They taught me discipline, resilience, leadership, and how to lose with grace. So when my son picked up a baseball glove, I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait for him to fall in love with the game the way I had.

But that joy didn’t last.

Youth baseball today looks nothing like the game I grew up with. Gone are the scraped knees and neighborhood rivalries. In their place: private coaches, year-round schedules, and kids specializing before they’ve even lost their baby teeth. The joy has been replaced with pressure.

I’ll never forget watching a 6-year-old strike out to end an inning. He walked off the field alone, head down, while coaches sighed and teammates looked away. No one clapped. No one told him he tried his best. My own son, also 6, started crying after every strikeout − not because he feared the ball, but because he feared letting us down. At 6 years old, he already felt like a failure.

The game isn’t the problem. It’s the way we’ve built it. We’ve turned childhood into a proving ground, where mistakes feel like shame and success is the only currency. But kids need space to fail, learn, and try again − without the weight of adult expectations on their shoulders.

Baseball is still a beautiful game. It teaches patience, strategy, and second chances. But we need to give it back to the kids. Less pressure. More play. Fewer trophies. More joy.

Because if we’re not careful, we won’t just lose future ballplayers − we’ll lose the light in our children’s eyes.

And that’s too high a price for any game.

Maggie Klotz, Knoxville, 37931