I have read about how some parents have "unfinished business" and live vicariously through their child playing youth sports. Is this common? If so, is this healthy for their children?

- B.A., Westerville

Dear B.A.:

Yes, it is true that some parents still have their own "unfinished business" and, sadly, try to fulfill their own unmet athletic dreams by occasionally pushing their children to succeed in unhealthy ways. Some basic signs of unfinished business include forcing a child to compete in a sport against his or her will, setting unrealistic sport-related goals, and becoming overly-involved (and sometimes downright angry) at youth sporting events. It is difficult to say exactly how many parents have unfinished business, but it doesn't usually take an expert to see it when it happens as the signs are fairly obvious.

Dear Dr. Stankovich:

You have written in the past about the differences between travel and recreation leagues, but I'm curious if you could share more insights about the differences between them, as well as how to decide which league is best for my child?

- H.H., Columbus

Dear H.H.:

The easiest way to describe the difference between travel and recreation leagues is level of competition; the former is more competitive while the latter is usually a bit more relaxed. Neither league is necessarily better than the other when it comes to personal development and growth opportunities, and the decision to choose one over the other is a unique experience for every family. With travel leagues, you can expect more practices, more games, more travel, and more time and money commitments. Conversely, recreation leagues are usually less demanding in all of those areas.

One thing that does appear to be happening these days is what I call the "pride factor" component. Clearly, not every child should play on a travel team, as not every child truly wants to play as many as 60-80 games a season. Unfortunately, with the rise of travel leagues, more parents seem to view recreation leagues as something for kids without any talent or abilities, and consequently, bypass these leagues.

Not every child should compete on travel teams, just as not every child should take accelerated courses in school. The best advice is to pick up information on both leagues and sit down with your child to determine what makes the most sense for your family.

Dear Dr. Stankovich:

We often hear about how difficult it is for a child to "make it" to the pros. Can you tell us exactly what these odds are? Thanks!

-- F.W., Grandview Heights

Dear F.W.:

The odds of making it to the pros are quite difficult indeed! Probably the best way to describe these odds is to offer a few statistics: of all the high school student athletes competing today, usually only 5-7 percent go on to play at the college level (meaning almost 95 percent of high school kids won't even make it to the college level, let alone the pros). Of all the college athletes playing today, roughly 1.5 percent will go on to play professional sports (a 98.5 percent attrition rate). Obviously these numbers are not very inspiring, but they are reality. That said, I would never discourage a child from chasing his or her athletic dreams, but instead steer him or her into developing more realistic "backup" plans along the way!

Dr. Chris Stankovich is an expert in sport psychology and has co-written two books, The Parent Playbook and Positive Transitions for Student Athletes. If you have a sports question,chris@drstankovich.com, visit DrStankovich.com or call 614-561-4482.