Sports parenting sometimes requires an honest reality check.

Every parent wants their child to have success. But success doesn’t look the same for every athlete, and it certainly doesn’t mean your child is going to play in the pros, or even in college.

You’ve probably heard the daunting statistics of athletes who actually get college scholarships, or even end up playing professionally.

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Let me give you a for-instance. According to collegescholarships.com, 3 percent of male high school basketball players will play in the NCAA; 3.3 percent for women. The percentage of women’s basketball players who will end up playing professionally after playing in college is 1 percent; for men it’s 1.2 percent.

The statistics are similar for other sports.

I do not say this so you will squash your child’s dreams with the facts. I say this so you will squash your own efforts to make your children into something they may not really want to be, or into someone they are not gifted to be.

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It’s one thing to believe in your children, to support them and let them reach for the stars. It’s another to force your children to be something they are not.

When your children are little, let them dream big. At age 6, when my son started playing flag football, he wanted to be the next Dan Marino. We didn’t squash that dream; we let him go after it. He played quarterback all the way through college. But life has a way of reshaping dreams, and when he was in high school, it became evident that he was probably not going to be another Dan Marino. However, that dream set him on a path as a little boy that helped him become the man he is today.

He ended up playing NCAA Division III football, and even though he wasn’t a star player there, his college football days were a huge growing experience for him and helped shape him into a strong person.

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Thinking realistically doesn’t mean we become wet blankets that suffocate our kids’ dreams. It simply means we don’t shape them into a mold that doesn’t fit. It’s hard to admit that your children may not be the amazing athletes you think they are. If you are the only one who thinks your child is a phenom and absolutely no one — not other coaches, teammates, family, or friends — sees what you think you are seeing, then chances are, you do not have an objective and clear assessment of your child’s athletic ability. If your child is truly talented, others will see it.

Thinking realistically simply means you are honest about your children’s abilities, that you believe in them as they do their very best, and you let them follow where their dreams lead as they work hard to achieve them.

Be a fan, always. But take the rose-colored glasses. It’s OK if your kid doesn’t go pro.

Janis B. Meredith is a life coach for parents. She provides resources to help parents raise champions. Learn more about how she can help parents Raise Champions. This post is an excerpt from her book, 11 Habits for Happy and Positive Sports Parents.