I see so many fantastic opportunities open to children these days when it comes to youth sports and after school activities. I had ample opportunties to participate in sports and activities when I was kid but it all seems primative to me now when I look at all the opportunities out there for kids these days. The competition level is also heating up.

My son is pretty fickle when it comes to his interests. He wants to try them all and darn near has. He plays guitar, baseball, flag football, tennis and is always hounding my husband and I to take part in different sports camps. Even though my son is only 9 years old my husband thinks he should start zeroing in on a particular interest now if he ever "wants to take ______ to the next level." It's strange for me to think at 9 years old that he may want to make up his mind soon about what (if any) particular sports or activities he may want to focus on.

I walked in on my sports geek husband watching TV recently. He was watching a movie/documentary on ESPN about a guy named Todd Marinovich. I never heard of Marinovich but I found the story interesting.

Todd Marinovich was a talented young quarterback raised (you could say bred) to be an NFL quarterback from birth by his professional trainer father. Todd's fathers' almost maniacal diet and training regimine produced a gifted athlete in Todd. Todd was even called "Robo QB" as he was heavily scouted by colleges. Todd even made it in to the NFL but his the dreams of Marinovich's father crashed as his son fell into a cycle of drug abuse and Todd never realized his full potential. It's implied that the pressure heaped upon Marinovich by his father was the cause of Todd's crash.

My sports geek husband also sent me this link about NFL star Rob Gronkowski. In the article Gronkowski said that his father used to hurl tennis balls at Rob and his brothers when he was 4 years old in an effort to get them the football skills needed to be a professional athlete. Mr. Gronkowski was always quick to remind his sons that there is always someone out there gunning to be better than they are. I can't argue with the success. Rob and his brothers all made it in the NFL.

Am I taking the whole competition aspect of youth sports and kids' activities too lightly? I guess I never realized that there are parents out there with dollar signs in their eyes firing tennis balls at 4 year olds. I'm not bemoaning parents that drive their children. To each their own. But, it's a little scary for me to think that my son may have gotten involved with the guitar "too late" at the age of 8 if he ever did decide he wanted to be the next Eddie Van Halen or that he's past his prime if he ever wanted to aspire to be the next Barry Sanders. I guess I can take solace in the fact that he's currently not on the path to becoming the next Todd Marinovich.

Click here to become an Oakland County Moms member and find us on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.