Genetic test to find out what sport junior should pursue?

New genetic test asks which sport a child was born to play - International Herald Tribune

E like baseball from the start. Age four, tee ball. Bat, glove - no idea what to do, but E and a team of preschoolers were figuring it out together. Abby hit the ball better than many of the boys. The garbage man's son did cartwheels in the outfield; he had way too much energy just to stand there. E did all he could to follow the coaches word. He liked baseball and continues playing to this day...and he is good at it.

Basketball for E started in the first grade. He played for the "Y". Dribbling the ball up and down the floor looks easy, but watching kids learn it is priceless. It's not that easy to start, but as they learn and practice, their moves become smoother and more natural.

Indoor soccer did not go well. A bunch of kindergartners running every which way. Confusion! Fun to watch, but E did not care for it.

Eric played football in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th grades. Football was hard for E. He does not like to get hit. Even so, E worked hard to succeed at it. He was a lineman and a kicker. He did well, but he just didn't like it. I liked the discipline of football - every player has a role, and every role needs to be executed for the team to have success. He skipped the fifth grade football. He was the one getting hit. We left the decision to him. He played football again in the 6th grade, but decided to take a pass on it this year.

The ugly part of kids sports is that kids want to have fun, but parents want their kid to be the best. The sports camps start at a young age anymore. We have striven to only have E participate in sports and sport camps when he wants to. Sometimes he is not sure, and we have to be "parents" and nudge them.

The thought of genetically testing kids to see what sport they would be best inclined for frightens me. I can see parents forcing their kids to do only that sport. I overheard a boy's father (E recently played baseball with him) say that his son played in two baseball leagues at once. Perhaps the boy liked it, but did he like it for himself, or for his parents?

The line is hard to figure out. Kids want to like what we like. Sometimes they will force themselves to "like" something to not disappoint us.

Trial and error seems to be the best way to figure out what your kid likes to do. The process of struggle and achievement teaches a valuable lesson of life. Genetic testing to circumvent such lesson seems like it could lead to disappointed parents and resentful kids.