On the way back from an October golf match last fall, I rode shotgun while the driver, a fellow Allderdice team member, slouched in his seat, a distraught look on his face.

"It was one bad outing," I said to him, hoping to lift his spirits. "Just play better next time."

"That's not what I'm worried about," he replied. "My dad is going to kill me. He knows I normally shoot, like, 10 shots lower than this. He's probably not going to feed me dinner tonight or something."

I chuckled at this remark as we made our way back from South Park Golf Course, where we practice and host competitors.

"I'm serious, dude," he added.

Whether he was being serious, and I sincerely hope we wasn't, this made me realize something: he was legitimately frightened to go home and face his parents.

Now, what do I know about parenting? But shouldn't your parents be the ones you look forward to going to home to? The ones who will support you no matter how far above par your scorecard reads? Call me old-fashioned, but shouldn't "Well, son, you tried your best," be the first thing out of a father's mouth after his son reveals the "bad" news?

Maybe I was raised a little differently.

Where I come from, parents are more than welcome to discipline their child if a D is brought home on a report card. It's perfectly acceptable. This is because the education counts. The grades count. The transcripts count. Shockingly enough, batting average, goals scored and holes birdied do not.

To the parents of the some 52 million kids of all ages who play organized sports, according to the National Youth Council for Organized Sports, let me say, from personal experience, that it's one of the most awful, demoralizing feelings to see a look of disappointment and frustration on your parents' faces.

So why put your kids through that? Let's be honest. There is a small chance that your child will receive an athletic scholarship to school and an even tinier likelihood that he or she will turn pro. Sure, it would be great, but, the betting man that I am, I'd say they probably won't.

So let them enjoy their time out on the field. Let them bask in the sheer joy that comes from friendly competition and getting something done as a team. Let them soak up their childhood and adolescent years by not forcing them to worry about whether you'll be satisfied with their performance. Be the parent, not the coach.

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