hey there....
as a fairly athletic youth, I was faced with the pressures to try to make the Major Leagues when I was growing up in Pennsylvania in the mid 90's. The entire area was baseball crazy. Everyone wanted to be on that baseball team.
Of course kids being kids they would pick on you or whomever they perceived to be a threat. As one of the few lefties, I was able to get a look as a pitcher and as a 1st baseman. Some of those guys would be the 4th or 5th short stop at the tryouts and 2 of the guys in front of them would be either MLB draft picks or college signees.
Add to that, you could get a great dose of "Little League Dad", the guy who wants to live vicariously through his kids and victory is the only option. The area was full of them. Thankfully my parents were not.
I didn't really realize until I was 16 that you play to have fun and if good things happen, they happen and if they don't life goes on. That REALLY improved my outlook and how I played the game. I went from barely making the JV team my sophomore year (and then not playing due to a shoulder injury and moving to Ohio), to making Varsity on a killer team in Ohio and starting at 1st base or right field. When I graduated I had an opportunity to play in college, but I couldn't afford being a walk-on.
I hope this helps you somewhat for the viewpoint of some athletic children that are out there.
Greatly appreciated. Thanks tons.
Certainly that sort of thing is epidemic in our society, imho.
Great your parents were sane!
What helped it sink in most that life was too short to get too up-tight about such things--and that having fun could be a viable higher priority than busting a blood-vessel staring?
Thanks for the input.