I can't say that I've come up with definitive answers; yet, I do know that the high value we place on professional sports sure plays a key role in how we developed the mindset we have today. Let's face it, the careers and personal lives of elite champions are scrutinized and followed with such passionate interest that even when the season ends and oftentimes long after their careers are over, the hype and publicity focused on them continues. The celebrity status given to these superstars, along with their mega-buck salaries and product endorsements make them well-respected, admired and frequently imitated by countless children. Even today, kids still want to grow up to be "like Mike." Lots of youngsters imitate and practice the moves their idols made famous, hoping that one day they too will follow in their hero's footsteps and achieve greatness.

All too often, parents get caught up in the excitement as well, dreaming of future college scholarships and ultimately seeing their offspring making it big. Many go to great lengths attempting to achieve this goal. Driven by their determination to ensure their young ones' success, a number of moms and dads make this aspiration their personal mission. They over-analyze their kid's talent and skill level; compare it to teammates as well as to the opposition and place undue significance on each play and especially the final score of every game. In trying to help their budding athletes' future careers along, quite a few parents invest enormous amounts of money and time into this undertaking by hiring private coaches and securing positions for their children on exclusive travel clubs.

Many times I question if we're pursuing appropriate goals for our youngsters and ourselves or have we crossed the line and taken things way too far. Don't get me wrong — I'm a firm believer in dreaming big and working hard to turn personal aspirations into reality — but when it comes to climbing up the sports career ladder, we all need to be aware of the cold, hard facts.

The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) calculated the estimated probability of how many youngsters who play high school interscholastic sports eventually make it to the pro teams. The numbers are sobering. Here are a few examples:

Of all the high school senior boys playing interscholastic basketball, less than one in 35 will play NCAA college basketball. Of those, fewer than one in 75 senior male players will get drafted by a National Basketball Association (NBA) team. The percentage of high school senior boys playing interscholastic basketball who will eventually be drafted by an NBA team is roughly three in 10,000.

The number of high school senior girls playing interscholastic basketball going on to play women's basketball at an NCAA school is around three in 100. Those making it to a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team are approximately one in 100. Generally speaking, one in 5000 high school senior girls playing interscholastic basketball will turn pro.