OK, then I'll just have to brag. My 10-year-old niece was one of only a couple girls in the Houston little-league system, and she was among the youngest in the league. Pitched entire games and was pitcher for Houston all-star team. But I have to agree with her: Baseball is boring. She switched to soccer and I'm turning her into quite the Ultimate Frisbee player.

When I was younger, my folks focused too much on academics and even though I was a good athlete, they never encouraged me to join any teams/leagues, other than summer camp.

Once I played competitively in grad school and beyond, I realized what I was missing. Organized sports is just as important as academics, I think.