You probably want to encourage an interest/skill level that is good enough to get scholarship money to a good college, but not so good he wants to pursue it as an actual career. That is - just another box tick on the resume.
I grew up in a football obsessed town in a football obsesses county which frequently won the championships, etc.
Of all the kids in all the decades before/after me that played, 1 guy made it to the NFL and made ~$10M over 10 years. Amazing money, yes. But this was the kid who was practicing non-stop from a young age. He had nothing else. You'd see him & his dad running their own 1-1 football practice at the field in the off season.
Similarly there was another kid I was friend with who was smart, played football enough to get a scholarship, went to an Ivy and became a doctor. Probably better lifetime earnings than the NFL kid, and theres way more spots for doctors!
And in the 25 years since, all the 100s of kid who went through the program, no one has gone pro. For that 1 kid who went pro, I'm sure there were 100s who got in inadequate educational preparation for their adult life and football was a net negative in the end for them.
I grew up in a football obsessed town in a football obsesses county which frequently won the championships, etc.
Of all the kids in all the decades before/after me that played, 1 guy made it to the NFL and made ~$10M over 10 years. Amazing money, yes. But this was the kid who was practicing non-stop from a young age. He had nothing else. You'd see him & his dad running their own 1-1 football practice at the field in the off season.
Similarly there was another kid I was friend with who was smart, played football enough to get a scholarship, went to an Ivy and became a doctor. Probably better lifetime earnings than the NFL kid, and theres way more spots for doctors!
And in the 25 years since, all the 100s of kid who went through the program, no one has gone pro. For that 1 kid who went pro, I'm sure there were 100s who got in inadequate educational preparation for their adult life and football was a net negative in the end for them.