After 16 years in the big leagues, a former Pirates player is trying to prevent adults from ruining youth sports.
11-year-old Travis Snider had a complete meltdown on the mound of a playoff baseball game in front of 6,000 fans.
After a 16-year career in the major leagues, he's with 3-AAthletics out of Seattle.
The mission is to tap the brakes on the intensity and the pressure these kids are feeling from parents.
The goal is to help parents and coaches bring the joy back to sports so kids can learn and have fun and not make it so pressurized and performance based.
“Just make this experience one that is not always the center of joy and self-growth, it’s really focused on performance and rankings and things that professional athletes should be worried about, not youth athletes,” Snider told KDKA Radio’s Colin Dunlap.
Snider adds “when the game and life punches them in the mouth, that we’re actually there to support them through that instead of our own stuff showing up and just perpetuating the problem even more.”
Snider talks to youth baseball organizations across the country and is working on a book.
The 37-year-old played for the Pirates from 2012 through 2015.