When my own son played between the ages of 10-12, I was simply appalled by the adults in charge of the kids. Appalled with a Capital A. And Pierce County is hardly a bright lights brand of Little League. The administrators, coaches and parents (that I worked with anyway) were problems for the chlidren on so many different levels.
IMHO, kids these days need to just go play outside more than they do. Hitting the nail on the head Rick.
....
And, yes, the attempt to minimize even *differences* between boys and girls (not roles or opportunities, simply "differences") does our youth very little good. There are a fair amount of adults in the Seattle area who genuinely resent simple biology, the scientific fact that genders (in all mammals) are COMPLEMENTARY. For a female, the males in her life are not the "opposite sex" they are the "complementary sex." :- )
In the Seattle area there are people who need to learn to look at the positive side of a ledger along with the problematic side.
Thanks for your thought-provoking ideas Rick!