DEAR ATHLETIC SUPPORT: My son never wants to play catch. He’s 9.

He’s been playing baseball since he could hold a bat, but he never wants to practice. I don’t get it.

I love playing catch with my son. I want him to be a good player, maybe a pitcher in college one day.

But he’s not willing to put in the time.

He’s a bigger-than-average kid. His size has gotten him this far, but if he doesn’t start working on his pitching, all the other boys will catch up.

How can I convince my son to come out and play catch with me again?

—READY 2 PLAY.

 DEAR READY: Sounds to me like you’re not wanting to “play” anything, but instead you’re trying to mold your son into a collegiate pitcher. If that seems harsh, just know that I’m also speaking to myself.

My son isn’t quite 3 yet. I bought him his first glove a month back and made a big presentation out of showing it to him.

I had high hopes that he’d want to stand out in the backyard and toss that ball around all afternoon. After about 30 seconds of him trying to put his glove on the wrong hand, he dropped it and ran off to play “Trucks!”

As paremts, we have to temper our expectations.

We cannot let our own hopes and dreams take the place of what our kids really want.

In other words, you can’t make your son into a college baseball player.

Great players love the game. They enjoy putting in all that time and practice because there’s nothing else they’d rather be doing.

If your son enjoys his Little League games, maybe that’s good enough. At least he’s having fun.

Eli Cranor is a former professional quarterback and coach turned award-winning author.

Send questions for “Athletic Support” at www.elicranor. com.