Is Tiger Woods to blame?

SOMEBODY refers to the recent trend of parents grooming their children to become sporting superstars.

Channel 7's Sunday Night program recently covered child prodigies - including 4-year-old aspiring tennis player Mia Lines.

It was a little disturbing...

Mia's dad, Glenn, is a big fan of his daughter's on-court moves, exclaiming "As a kid I thought yeah I'd love to be a tennis player. But I didn't have the talent. She's got more talent than I ever did."

But is it natural talent?

The Sunday Night show played some very odd home video footage of Glenn waving a tennis ball in front of newborn Mia in hospital.

Someone in the room asks Glenn why he's waving a tennis ball in his newborn's face, and he retorts, "eye/ball coordination!"

Indeed, Mia's future has been mapped out for her long before she secured a sports agent and was accepted into Rick Macci's Tennis Academy in Florida!

Mia's mum explains: "Glenn knew. He brought a tennis ball to the hospital. That was his gift to me....a tennis ball. He knew straight away."

And even better: "I do see a future in tennis with her. I see myself in the Grand Slams sitting there watching her."

Other home video footage showed a very sullen Mia being bribed with a milkshake to hit a ball. Her sullen expression is somewhat understandable - whilst her friends are out playing hide-and-seek she is being put through an intensive training program - up to 3 hours per day!

There are so many issues that might stem from Mia's grooming...

Is it fair her future is mapped out for her? Will she become burnt out? What if her body-shape is not suited for elite level sport? Will she have the scope to form normal friendships? What happens if she decides tennis is not for her?

It's hard to imagine her parents letting go of the time, energy, and money invested.

Milkshakes aren't cheap, you know?