This is a very tricky question and topic.

I am who I am today because of the life lessons I was taught by my father through his pushing me in tennis. It is such a fine line of encouraging and pushing.

Look at some of the infamous tennis fathers and parents…Jennifer Capriati’s father, Steffi Graf’s father, the Williams sister’s father, Mary Pierce’s father…I can’t seem to think of any male tennis player’s crazy parents!! Why is that?? Wait, Bob and Mike Bryan have a very “active” father and I did read Agassi’s memoir.

You have to ask would Venus and Serena be who they are today and as good as they are if it weren’t for their father’s drive for them? I don’t know.

I do know that it is better to love, nurture, and make the sport fun for your child than making it a job. If there is true professional athlete potential in your child then make sure the coaches and experts that are surrounding you are coming from a positive healthy place.

There will be great sacrifices made to go down this path and someone needs to check in with the budding athlete to make sure they are okay and having fun and that should be the parents’ job.