Will my kid be a pro athlete? Study finds most parents are realistic, but some are not
By Jeff Grabmeier
Many children grow up dreaming – or maybe even expecting – that they will become a star in football, basketball or whatever their favorite sport may be.
Most parents have more realistic expectations of their children’s future athletic achievement, a new study finds. But a substantial minority believe their kids will beat the odds and become collegiate, pro or even Olympic athletes.
In a survey of 785 American parents, 34% thought it was somewhat or very likely that their child would become a small-college athlete, 27% thought it was likely they would become a college scholarship athlete, and 17% thought it was somewhat or very likely they would become a professional or Olympic athlete.
“Most parents seem to have realistically pessimistic expectations about how much their children might achieve in sports,” said Chris Knoester, co-author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.