Let the kids be kids playing 23+ tournaments a year. Got it.
You are missing the point. There is so much more to youth baseball than just the games and competing. There is no reason why they can't have fun while doing it, especially for pre-pub kids. What they do now has little bearing on what they do once they hit puberty so why not let them enjoy instead of putting unnecessary pressure on them.
No. I get the point entirely. If they are youth kids, then why are they playing 20+ tournaments a year? That seems way over the top to me. No wonder why the kids don't have time to sleep over or go to parties.
Part of team sports is to learn commitment and priorities, especially at the travel ball level. It isn't about the parents worried that a kid would let the team down. You can't fool the kids. They know.
Yes, youth TB is SO important. If the kid loves the game when he gets older the commitment will be there. I know so many kids that were raised on this philosophy and are now out of the game either because they got burnt out or just were not enjoying the experience. The OP is right, parents need to take a step back and look at what youth baseball really is. It's a game for the kids to enjoy and have fun instead of having them make choices on having fun versus being 100% game ready for a youth baseball game.