Van Auken says that's why Little League requires coaches to let every child play every game and why scores aren't kept in the tee-ball league for 5- and 6-year-olds. By age 8, though, he says children are ready for both instruction and the experience of losing.
"We see no ill effects from having a Little League World Series," he says.
A game may end with children in tears. "But we also see that 15 minutes after the game, the kid that struck out and lost the game is upstairs playing pingpong in our rec room with the kid from Japan who struck him out and won the game."
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See? Can play ping pong afterwards. No need to be scared.
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