No Stupid Questions

Let him try to aim for it..... As long as he doesn't neglect his education and other opportunities then there's no harm in giving him some years to figure this out himself the hard way.

If your asking, you probably already know the answer.

Maybe you could have said something like "A top player needs to know math, because they've got to do a lot of investing. they should have otehr languages, because they'll be playing all over the world. Science and computers because..."

You need to have a sit down with him. He's 16 so he should be able to be take in whatever you'll say. Don't degrade him, don't talk down to him or anything.

But tell him that he has a future ahead of him, whatever it is but futures also have different pathways to choose from. The wrong futures are the kind of futures where no matter how much devotion, ambition and time spent it is to drive towards a particular future, it isn't that path. And that's okay because the world isn't over for him yet. The only thing your son is going to regret the most, is not trying more things while he has the youth and the time to do so.

That is key, is to try many things and see what really sticks.

You should support your kid, even if you're not convinced of his chances of making it. Anything else is just going to permanently damage your relationship. The best you can do is make sure he has a plan B. If he's good in school he's well on his way to that, so not much to worry about.

Roy Kent here.

Same scenario with my son years back. He loved basketball and his skinny, 5ft 8" body was not going to propell him to NBA stardom. My wife accused me of crushing my son's spirits. I never discouraged him from the sport and went to every high school and travel ball ($$$) game where he mostly sat on the bench. He's in his 30s now and planning a family, so the dreams are different. I don't think I did any lasting damage.

But, would I do it the same way again? It's nuanced to be sure. We want our children to be prepared for their futures and excel, not wash out. What I would do is look for ways to help him discover, on his own, where his real talent lies and comes to the realization himself.l and be there to soften the blow to that dream. Then, if his passion is still football, help him discover all the different career options are available, on and off the field, that can keep him close to his passion.

I hope this helps. If you're asking, you're likely a better dad that many out there.

Oh, and his mother is a c#$t and I divorced her shitty ass. ;)

He'll either come to realize the truth on his own, or prove you wrong. Either way, you should support him.

You're literally a professional and your first thought isn't to use your own skills to coach him to get better?

All industries that pay well are competitive.

Perhaps an unpopular opinion: no, you’re not a jerk for doing this. Steering our children onto a realistic path of reasonable success and happiness is part of our job as parents. We should pursue this gently, but it mustn’t be avoided. Parenting is hard. We won’t always get it right.

Being objective and realistic = Not believing in him Why can't you be objective and realistic about your childs feelings, obviously, even if you are right and he's no good (which I doubt if you are saying it), you could have just made the statistical argument, "Son, while football is your dream, the chances of being sustained by it are small and you need a reliable way to survive in the world." Anything other than telling him YOU dont think HE can do it, and if you can't accept that, then you need to put aside your ego and seek professional expertise.

Maybe if he had someone coach him decently while he was growing up