I can’t stress how important it is for you as a parent to understand how your young athlete is perceiving your love. At 62 and 87, I know my dad loves me. When I was developing I knew my mistakes on the course caused him much pain that I felt later.

Pleasing my dad meant everything to me so I endured his criticism of my play, which he was right much of the time but his delivery would’ve made anyone question his approach. I owe much of my success to my dad but we missed a lot of years because I kept him at a distance.

I write this because it was not necessary for him to have this approach because pleasing him meant everything to me. Please for the sake of all the young athletes out there take a good look at your approach. This problem is everywhere and it’s not healthy.