With college costs soaring, some parents can't help thinking "Hey, maybe my kid could win a baseball scholarship." This type of thinking puts undue pressure on the kids at a very early age. Instead of a way to have fun, baseball takes on many aspects of a competitive, sometmes cut-throat, business. Unless your child is one of the very, very few natural-born athletes, it is unrealistic to plan on winning a baseball scholarship.

If your son or daughter happens to be a "natural," and does go on to win an athletic scholarship, take a tip from a manager that has seen a lot:

If your natural athlete plans to major in a difficult field, SUCH AS ENGINEERING, Have him or her plan, right from the start, to take the lightest course load allowable. This will give your young athlete the time to keep up with his or her studies, to complete all the lab experiments, and to do the required projects, while still attending all of the team's practices and all of the team's games (some of which will be on the road.)

This usually means that it will take him or her five years to graduate. So be it. The alternative is to flunk out and lose the scholarship too. Don't think that it can't happen to your kid. It can and does happen to smart, motivated kids who also happen to be natural athletes. Some universities are aware of this, and they take steps to preclude it. They have rules saying that certain science or engineering students who are on athletic scholarships must automatically be "five year men." Other institutions are too busy or too stupid to care. Don't let your smart, athletic kid fall through the cracks.