[VLM]

And I hate to reply twice but the other thing was organized sports = responsibility responsibility responsibility. Pay your dues. Buy your uniform. Responsible for getting your name and number on your uniform. Do your 10 hours of "volunteer" groundskeeping after the games. Which kid (aka parent) is responsible for the water bottles today, and which kid is bringing the snack this week. Make sure you show up at 5:47 on wednesday on the dot or we'll have to forfeit. You're responsible for 2nd base, I don't like being 2nd base, too bad you're responsible. You're responsible to wear the proper color sweatpants with your uniform shirt or whatever it was. All a bunch of totally non-fun BS. Nothing to do with play or fun.

In comparison, disorganized sports at the park is awesome, your only responsibility is not intentionally hurting another kid.

[mrexroad]

seriously?

organized sports were nothing like that for me during the late 80s / early 90s, nor are they like that now for my 7yo and 5yo boys. baseball is the same now (in california) as it was for me growing up on the east coast. soccer is a little different, but that seems more b/c of it's sheer popularity in these parts.

only difference i really note is that they're a little more strict about parents not helping out as assistant coaches unless they fill out a background check and attend a single training session for tips on coaching children of that age group. i don't object to either.

my boys love the sports they play.

note: they play at the recreational level, not competitive.

[dragontamer]

I grew up in the 90s.

Organized sports were mostly a fun thing until high school. In High School and above, sports became deadly serious (scholarship, scholarship, SCHOLARSHIP!!!), but before that it was almost simply playtime. I don't remember ever being stressed about Soccer or Track and Field.

Even in High School, Track and Field remained a "fun" sport for me (I can't fathom why anymore, but I remember enjoying running in the rain, and up/down stairs and everything). It was pretty much "stay at your own pace", since there were so many people at different skill levels.

I can imagine organized High School play to be stressful for a teenager, but I can't fathom being stressed about any sport before then.