A generation ago children went out to play sport for the fun of the game and if they became successful and were able to make a living from it then that was great. It was not the primary motivation for parents setting out their children on their sporting careers.
Many parents from the moment they see their child in sports kit and they begin to look like mini-adults, have a much greater expectation, which can often outweigh their patience in helping their child develop at the appropriate speed.
As obesity rates continue to rise globally, many young people are giving up sport in their teenage years due to some of the pressures, behaviours put on them by parents during their formative years and they simply fall out of love with sport. It is no longer fun and that is the primary reason that children want to play sport in the first place.
We all have a responsibility to address this. Sport and physical activity should be seen as a lifetime investment for our children, not a short term gain.
We need to go back to basics and see sport for what it is, a chance for our children to learn experiences for life.
Teamwork, dealing with adversity, friendships, sportsmanship are all valuable traits in life and not just in sport.