Pluses and Minuses of Tournament Baseball

Ms. DeLench and all of the Team at MomsTeam, to say that your web site has been a life line for me is an understatement. Let's just say I've experienced every situation you address on your web site and in your wonderful book, which I've made sure our library bought a copy of! Here's my question: would you consider addressing, perhaps as an editorial—but here in the forums with all parents, the Williamsport Baseball Tournament, specifically, the plusses and minuses of participating. My son will be eligible to participate this year, and I have grave doubts about this tournament due to the high level of competition for such young boys. We live in a small town, and our Williamsport team has never done well-often getting eliminated in the first round. I worry that this is the sort of potentially traumatic experience Shane Murphy addresses in his work. Is it wise to encourage a twelve year old boy who does well in baseball but finds it stressful at times to join a select team (an honor to be sure) and face what will undoubtedly prove to be stiff competition, or skip the experience and go canoeing! What
kind of fallout can participating have on kids?, do kids who skip the tournament "suffer" from missing on a little league rite of passage?
With so many moms and dads of 12 year old boys facing this situation in the months ahead, I'd love to hear your take on this. Thank you for all your work,