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I think (not speaking for him, I wouldn't presume to do so) the point Rut is trying to make is that many, including me, do not believe 4th graders need to be in competitive games. They do not, in most cases, possess the physical abilities or skills needed to play an actual game of basketball. I am not a believer in having these types of players put into a competetive environment. They have not had the practice to prepare them for such an environment. I think rather than have games with officials, scorers, and fans, why not have an open gym with some scrimmage time? Bring in coaches and some actual officials (if available) to help teach the game. Let them learn and practice the skills without winning and losing coming into play. Every official I've ever talked to says that sportsmanship gets worse the lower you go as far as levels. I believe this is because fans and coaches expect the game to look like what they see in a high school gym or in a college game on TV. That is simply impossible due to the skill level of the players. I think leagues such as this take the fun out of the game. I learned to play by playing. We played pick up games all day long. If you won, great, if you lost...well, you played harder the next game. You did not have parents complaining that you lost because an official was one-sided. You lost because the other team played better. I think with all of the lower level leagues forming, the players don't learn to enjoy the game for what it is...a game.
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