I think in most cases "Adults", mean well and try their best to get it right. I agree that politics and other issues, have just about ruined it for kids. I think the numbers for kids are down simply because the game is difficult, and when there is limited success, then rather than work harder to get better, in today's society of instant gratification, kids quit. It is the most difficult task in sports to hit a round object with another round object coming at you very fast. One other way, I think could potentially help would be to have volunteers who don't have a child in the program, when a league coach or president or other volunteer has a child in the program, then it turns ugly with politics. Anyway, it is a great game, keep score at every level and don't worry about damaging someone's self-esteem because they lost a baseball game at the age of 8. Sometimes, they learn more from losing than winning. Just my opinion.