. . . I honestly think that we are putting kids into organized sports too young that they lose interest before they get to junior high or high school. I ran into a mother the other day who had her daughter in kindergarten basketball.
Yes, this sort of thing is getting out of hand, IMHO. Let kids just play ball by themselves at the local park, the vacant lot down the street or their backyard. Organized sports for kids should not start until maybe about fourth grade, and then it should be somewhat low key. And, it should be on the kid's own initiative. I've heard of too many cases where the parent's push a kid into a sport that the child never wanted to play in the first place.
I would counter with, like so many things in life, balance and moderation are key here. My son is in his final year of preschool and played rec soccer last spring and is again this year in our local athletic association. Practice is once a week for an hour along with one game a week that takes about an hour, including halftime and post-game treats.
It's only 2 hours out of the week so he's hardly facing burnout or fatigue. Gives him physical activity, some basic structure, and the chance to make friends in the community before starting Kindergarten.
Totally agree to the other part about parents forcing kids into things they may not want to do. Our only rule is if they start a season, they have to finish it out and this is only after we affirm about 100 times they really want to do ______________.