Bob Meadows, an associate professor at Cal Lutheran in sociology and criminal justice, has researched the subject and he's had a 1st hand look as a youth baseball coach.

"Parents today spend 1000's of dollars on travel teams, private coaches. They're making quite a financial commitment," said Meadows. "They want immediate results and if they don't get it, they're going to assign blame. They don't see that maybe their child isn't good enough. They're going to deny reality."

Meadows is concerned parental interference can escalate, often to violence. He's seen youth sports at its darkest, when parents push and shove coaches and other parents before, during and after games.

"I've seen parents use curse words in front of their children," he said. "I've seen physical altercations as the tension escalates."

If parents are increasingly involved in youth sport, what's changed? Plenty, say coaches and administrators.

Meadows said many parents are not merely content to support their kids, they need to live the whole experience. Or, maybe, relive it all.

"You have a situation where the parents are reliving their own experiences vicariously through their child," he said. "Maybe there's a loss of self-esteem, some insecurities at work. All those things factor into the sports being more than a game."