Are Kids' Sports Taken Too Seriously?

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High school football is in full swing as is midget football for the younger ones and some people go totally bonkers over it! My hometown is a huge football town and has been for over 35 years; "we've" won six state championships and even two "national" titles from USA Today! Hey, that's great and I'm very proud of my former school and my town but some people here think there is nothing in life other than football and if the team doesn't deliver the way they think they should...LOOK OUT! Our former high school coach received death threats when he announced his retirement then later took a coaching job at a rival school. Sadly, he'd also received threats before he "retired" because the team lost in the playoffs after a key player was disciplined for having marijuana in his locker. My 12 year old grandson is in his fifth year in midget football and my 10 year old granddaughter is in her third as a cheerleader. To me this should be all about having fun, learning the basics and - above all - learning sportsmanship and teamwork. High school is a few notches up but it still shouldn't be all about winning championships even if it meant overlooking serious violations of the law. A few years ago there was a mother who tried to have someone killed so her daughter could make the cheerleading squad! Last week a ten year old boy was made to strip down to his scivvies and walk home because his midget football coach claimed he was "too slow" to make the team. As of now my grandkids both seem to want to go on to the next level as they get older and I think that's fine, they enjoy it and they do it well but only if they're allowed to be kids and students first and athletes second. Do you agree with me that some adults take kids' sports much too seriously, sometimes dangerously so? Annie