Honestly I don't think they are ever too young to instill values and work ethic in them. My kids are all very geneticly gifted, so sports have always come very easy to them. My oldest and my youngest are gifted in the fact that school work comes easy to them, the middle child has to bust his ass to make decent grades, but is the most physically gifted of the three. I have always approched them the same, if you do it, you work your ass off to do it the best you can, if you do it the best that you can, it will be better than anyone else. My outlook on life is some what backwards from what most people think. I say work your ass off to make your life easy while you are young and able and generally that means starting very young. As you get older you slow down and let the fruits of your labor be enjoyed. Most people would have you think be young have fun while youre a kid, those are the people who at 50 are still busting there ass to make ends meet. You cant demand that your child be better than others, but you can demand he be the best he can be. Teach him to work at wahtever he does. Demand he spend a lil time each day working at whatever it is he is playing. If its soccer then make him spend 30 to 45 mins working on some aspect of his game. Thats a small amount of time out of a childs day. You will create good work habits and they will soon become part of his every day routine. They will carry over to every aspect of his life as he grows older. My kid still swings a baseball bat 50 times a day in a mirror to this day. He learned that as a 6 year old and has carried it with him for the last 9 years. If he goes off for the weekend he carries a wood bat handle so that he can do it every nite before bed. has he ever missed a day? I'm sure he has, but I watched him pack his bags this morning, he's going to Athens for 4 days, the baseball bat handle was the first thing he stuck in the bag. I've basically taken all the mistakes I have ever made and done my best to train my kids around them. And my kids love me, they love to be with me, so you can teach them how to prepare themselves for life and still be a loving parent. Stay after his lil ass, when he falls flat on his face, pick him up dust his ass off and shove him back in the fire. you'll be glad you did.