The days of the Bad News Bears are long gone. No longer can a drunk, a bail bond company, and a cigarette-smoking teenager propel an underdog team to victory in the world of youth sports. Today, it’s all about time, money, and travel. Mostly, though, it’s about over-involved parents, ones who are too often living vicariously through their little athletes.
I know this because I spent years as a soccer dad, even if our experience wasn’t quite as harrowing as the ones described in “Pay to Play Childhood,” written by Caitlin Moscatello for New York Magazine’s “Intelligencer.” In her piece, she details much of what I saw. Actual team members get benched for guest players, aka ringers. Parents scream at other kids, coaches, and the refs. Families spend holidays and vacations to go to even more specialized tournaments around the country and the world. And kids, once they become teenagers, get burned out and more prone to injury.
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