The tragedy of organized sports is not the encouragement of children that want to play, but the kids who are there to fulfill their parents needs. The best advice I ever got was "If you force a flower to bloom, it dies." I've learned to keep that perspective and to encourage and help to support interests and passions, but not to force it -- EVEN IF they are great at the sport! That said, I don't think when I was a kid organized sports were as "organized" or as intense as they are now. You could actually try out for a sport you'd never played in high school!