ers. For acting their age, they are made to feel incompetent. This is the basic fault with Little League . . . What would seem like a basic training ground for baseball often turns out to be a program of negative thoughts that only retards young players (Roberts, 1975, p. 11).
Little Leagues not only foster friendships, develop coordination and good health habits in boys, but they break down social barriers to make a more closely knit community . . . No one pays any attention to how much money the boy's father has, or his social standing . . . Where else is there a more practical training for democracy? (Feller, 1956, p. 78).
Five major societal benefits are attributed by adherents to the conduct of youth sports programs (Fine, 1987, p. 195). The first claim is that participation in youth athletic pro
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