Having spent 27 years in sports media, I am familiar with the college recruiting process and how it works.

Most of us will never go through that with our own children because so few high school players get recruited to college, but – especially in February with college football signing day – it’s nearly impossible to not know a little about it. For us, friends recently went through the process with their son, the result being an NCAA Division I football scholarship.

But what about what happens in youth football?

Some of you may be saying, “That’s ridiculous. What pee wee program would go to the extent of ‘recruiting’ kids to play for them?”

It’s sad to say, but it happens. Some parents “rent” their kids out to the highest bidders in some places, jumping from team to team for money or other benefits.

The ego of some adults in charge can really make you scratch your heads.

And though not to that level, it’s happened to my family twice.

A few years ago, some of my son’s coaches and fellow parents didn’t like the way things were being run, so they broke off, convincing some families to come along with them. Bradley was happy with the team he was on, and my wife and I saw no reason to leave. So we stayed.

But the phone calls, texts and emails from people associated with the new club didn’t stop.

When we saw members of the new program around town, they would badmouth the team we were with to no end. One coach practically begged me to bring Bradley over, promising us all the playing time he wants.

It’s been three years, and it hasn’t stopped.

I’m not criticizing them for leaving our program. That was their choice and their right. Good luck. But badmouthing another organization and kids picking on other kids in school over it is just awful. Focus on the positives of your program and what if offers chlidren. Be there to answer parents questions, and be an advocate for the sport. Avoid anything negative.

Two years ago, both teams were marching in a parade, and a coach from the new team had his kids hand out flyers to the kids in our program.

What’s wrong with people?

Then there is what happened just last week.

The father of a player who used to play with Bradley called me up with a proposal. His son is playing for a team in a different town this spring. They have already played one game, but their center is struggling with the quarterback exchange. Bradley plays center.

The father wanted to know if Bradley would like to play this spring season with no strings attached for the fall.

But that wasn’t all.

The team was so desperate to find a center that it promised to waive the registration fee if Bradley wanted to play. My gut feeling was to just say no thank you, but I told him I would get back to him. I wanted to share the news with my wife before even suggesting the idea to Bradley.

After thinking about it for a day, we decided that it was not in Bradley’s best interests to play for that team in the spring. Our reasons included the awkwardness of the situation, Bradley’s loyalty to his team and our son’s desire to play other sports and do other things in the spring and summer. We don’t want him playing football year-round.

Bradley agreed. He couldn’t see himself wearing another jersey or playing for another coach at that level. He plays because he loves the sport, but he also wants to be with his friends.

It’s sad to see recruiting at the youth football level. In many ways, its mind boggling. Why should a kid be pressured to play in one program over another? Why would a program be so desperate that it would have to beg players from other programs?

What would you do as a parent in those situations?

Peter Schwartz is an anchor and reporter for the CBS Sports Radio Network. He also writes a CBS New York sports blog at http://newyork.cbslocal.com/tag/peter-schwartz/. You can follow him on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. Peter’s son Bradley plays for the Levittown Red Devils of the Nassau Suffolk Football League on Long Island in New York. His son Jared cheers on Bradley and then Bradley returns the favor when Jared is playing soccer.