Too Good

Here's a story for you little league folks: Youth baseball officials in New Haven, CT dissolved and 8 and 9-year-old team because it's coach refused to sit his star pitcher, who was deemed "too good". The team went 8-0, but the players were moved to other teams and won't play in the playoffs. All of the players refused to go, now there's a lawsuit. By the way, the second place team is run by the league officials who dissolved the unbeaten team. Hmmm. (Hat tip: Jack Fowler at The Corner)

Good News

All those hours put in coaching kids in baseball may be teaching them more than pitching and hitting. A quote from this article at The American:

But below the radar of popular athletic culture is something that has profoundly shaped the lives of millions of Americans for the better: youth sports. A growing body of research is showing the social and economic benefits of participation in youth sports to be surprisingly large and overwhelmingly positive. Other things being equal, if a kid plays sports, he will earn more money, stay in school longer, and be more engaged in civic life.

Now, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's coached kids, but it certainly is nice to see evidence.