Youth sports going too far

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A year-long $5 billion youth sports industry is pushing some children too hard and pressuring families to spend big money traveling the country for games, specialized training and the pursuit of elusive college scholarships.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Sunday in the first of a five-part series that non-school leagues are largely unregulated and can leave children more susceptible to injury. At a minimum, many kids are robbed of their childhood.

The Dispatch says one Cleveland family spent $30,000 in six months to help their son pursue a soccer dream, while another mother arranged to send her 11-year-old son to live with a trainer in Alabama to refine his football skills.