As the playoffs continue through to the Super Bowl, we are fortunate to watch great athletes at heightened levels of motivation and performance. Throughout the week while preparing for the next game, they know that it's do or die.

I easily remember the practices and meetings in leading up to big games. I was there in 1981 with the Cincinnati Bengals on the way to a date with the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI. Film sessions were longer with more concentration, and more guys stayed after practice for extra studying and/or took films home for further work. Practices were crisper, fewer mistakes were made and it seemed the whole team was more involved in each drill and snap of the ball.

So it goes throughout the NFL year in and year out. This is one of the reasons games are often so great in the postseason versus the regular season. Yes, you do have the best teams, coaches and players in the playoffs, but those same coaches and players are so much more focused and motivated in their preparation and execution.

Of course, this type of attitude and approach is not possible throughout the long season. Some weeks in the regular season, when teams are beat up physically and exhausted mentally, it's all the players can do to get through the long film sessions and tedious practices.

For many parents and youth coaches, finding the proper level of motivation for young athletes is an ongoing, difficult proposition, too. Just as in an NFL season, a young athlete's journey through each sport, season and level of competition is a long one. Each athlete is different, each coach's approach is different, and parents somehow have to figure out what's best for their children each step along the way. This is particularly difficult and frustrating for parents who have naturally talented but, perhaps, less-motivated youngsters.

Too many parents assume that if their talented youngsters were more serious, harder working and more disciplined, they would perform better and go further in sports. While it is true that all of us must get serious about whatever it is we have decided to dedicate our energies to at some point, setting a time or date for an athlete simply doesn't work. For athletes, a change in attitude leading to greater focus and dedication may occur at any age, not necessarily when it would be most advantageous. It really isn't something that can be forced on them, especially when they're very young.

If you are facing this problem (as a parent or coach), don't put extra pressure on a child just because he or she is talented and you think the child isn't developing fast enough or reaching his or her full potential soon enough. Relax. It really is enough that kids have a good time playing sports and are allowed to mature naturally. Many great athletes simply enjoy the gifts they've been given, and playing is satisfaction enough. It's not for moms and dads to demand that players reach beyond this level at any given age.

Certainly, parental support and guidance are critical in children's development on and off the playing field. But moms and dads shouldn't make the mistake of pushing too hard, too fast, or living through their play. Young athletes need to understand that at some point, if sports are important to them, they'll have to be very dedicated and disciplined, but this doesn't have to be until they reach their teens in most team sports. Individual sports such as ice skating, tennis or gymnastics, of course, are a whole different ballgame.

If there is concern for the safety of an athlete giving less than his or her all, however, the concern may be well-founded. When you watch an NFL game, you'll seldom, if ever, see any of the players giving less than everything they have. This is true whether they're on a winning team, hopelessly out of the playoffs, or late in a game they're obviously going to either win or lose. These athletes are highly motivated for a variety of reasons, but the one overwhelming reason to play hard always is that, if they slack off or lose concentration at all, the odds of getting injured increase substantially.

The same goes for youth levels. Learning to concentrate and focus throughout games takes time. And if a young athlete does lose interest and simply begins to go through the motions, he or she can be injured unnecessarily. However, this is less likely until they reach higher levels of competition.

For youngsters, having great potential is a blessing and a burden. All too often, particularly with today's travel, teams and early specialization, young athletes can be pushed too hard by overzealous (even well-intended) coaches and parents. Sadly, we are losing many talented players because of burnout and too much pressure, leading to quitting the activity at far too young an age.

As long as a child isn't being disruptive to a team by playing around, distracting teammates or being disrespectful to the coach or the game, young athletes should be left to develop motivation at their own pace. There truly is no clear-cut formula of hard work and performance in youth sports that will decide future potential.

Ironically, pushing kids harder may not only lead to burnout and premature quitting but could actually result in poorer performance. Most children simply do not handle tremendous pressure or intense training very well.

Ultimately, parents should be happy with what their children do accomplish, not what they think they should accomplish. After all, they're not playing to get into the Super Bowl yet, are they?