Don.........I have seen some pretty good foolishness in "A" and Travelball (none THIS bad however).........most have involved teams the oldest has played on........EVERY parent seems to think their daughter is the next "Dr. Dot"..........
(Little do they know that ONLY my daughter is the next Dr. Dot.............
)
Tempers can run pretty high when parents can have $1,000's tied up in their kid.........
For the most part though........we have had VERY good experiences........
As in "AA" (Alleged Adult) ball.........there are good and bad tied up into any division/age/sex............
In our area.........the local associations take a fairly hard line on the kind of shenanigans you describe........
Our DC would probably NOT allow a coach who was sanctioned by a local league to take a team to any ASA event..........(we have a pretty strong/strict DC and DYC........I know some areas of Tx are not as strict).
I don't paint a broad brush on the SP game based on Ed's humerous adventures........don't think that all FP is the way your friends experiences describe.........
Joel