Wanna Be A Pro Athlete? Here’s Your Chances Of Being One In Texas.

It's something every kid that plays sports dreams of. I know it's all I thought about as I was entering and going through high school. No, I'm not talking about representing my high school on the field either.

Going pro. Any kid that sits there and watches games or highlights, has a favorite player they try to model themselves after, or simply plays the sport and pours everything they've got into it. Their dream is to go pro and have other kids wearing THEIR jersey.

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There are a couple of realities though that most must deal with. One, the percentage of kids playing now that get the chance to go pro is super low. It's not easy to make it as a professional athlete. Many will play high school sports, some will play in college, but the number of those kids that turn pro are slim.

Another challenge some kids deal with in their quest to turn pro is where they live. Yes, location most certainly plays a part as to whether they turn pro in something they love. The climate can certainly play into whether or not they're able to play enough to gain the skill they need.

Texas is a big state, and there are areas where it's possible to play outdoor sports like baseball nearly year round. There are a TON of kids in general, and a lot of sports offered and focused on, none bigger than football here.

That would surely mean we have to be tops in producing baseball and football players right? That would be correct when it comes to football. However, when you break it down into the percentage of how many we produce per capita, we aren't even in the top five if you can believe it. That's simply based on the sheer number of kids playing compared to some other states.

So how does Texas stack up when it comes to athletes going pro? Across all sports, 1 in every 336 will make it to the professional ranks of SOMETHING in Texas.

When you break it down by specific sports, those numbers grow even longer. Here's how many will turn professional in the main sports.

NFL: 1 in 929
MLB: 1 in 1868
Soccer: 1 in 2198
Olympian: 1 in 2707
Golf: 1 in 3221
NBA: 1 in 9831
Tennis: 1 in 20755
Boxing/MMA: 1 in 23350
NHL: 1 in 26685

Long story short, to those parents who are pushing their kids WAY too hard to get them to turn pro, my message to you is this. Yes, go ahead and train them hard, as long as they want to do it. Will the training help their odds? Of course it will, but remember, you should be pushing them to try and get a scholarship in college playing sports, NOT pushing them to turn pro. It's not an easy thing to do.

If the talent and drive is there, they'll at least have a shot. However, most of the kids you see on the field today won't be the stars we're cheering for tomorrow. Let the kids have fun and enjoy it, and let destiny do the rest.

The full study from Gambler.com, and how other states rank, can be found here.