but elite sports are far, far too hard on children bodies (cept for synchro swimming )
I can see syncronised swimmers all over the world fainting over that comment

Anyway, I wouldn't do it 1 because it's sport and 2 I wouldn't do that to my family. I couldn't miss out on the important parts of their lives, even if supposing that I had one who was a champion in the making and the others weren't. At the end of the day, to me, being a sporting champion/superstar/ or god forbid, hero is a very limited career choice - it sometimes only takes one bad injury and that's it. And even if they didn't get injured, they have a finite number of years to do it before their body just can't keep them on top of the game anymore and then what? You've sacrificed so much to get them to that point - social lives, possibly education and the relationship with your family and your other children.

I look at footballers (for example) who start out really young at the highest level and once they are finished playing, what are they good for? They have spent all their years when other teens/young people are going to uni or working or doing other training playing football, so they have to start again from scratch. Even if you were at the top echelons of your sport, there is only so many years you can milk endorsements for before you are passed over for the next big thing.

It wouldn't matter if it was something I liked or didn't like, it's just not the life I want for my children.