If you have to put a boot up someone's BUTT, it sounds like they may be living your dream as opposed to theirs. For kids who love the game, they don't view it as work but rather something they love to do. If the parents have to supply the motivation, then it will catch up to the player sooner or later. Most parents never played high school baseball let alone college or pros. Leave it up to the coaches to decide how much work needs to be done. Encourage your kids to love the game and do good in school. I believe hounding them to "work" on their games will eventually blow up. In extreme cases, like Jimmy Piersol and Todd Marinovich, it can blow up profoundly.
I am not sure I agree 100%. As kids growing up, they have a lot of influences -- good and bad. They can get lazy. How do they know what they want to do? How do they know what they "love?" As parents, isn't our role to provide guidance and motivation to persevere? Don't we have more knowledge and experience than they do (even though he thinks I am stupid)? Now I am not talking about forcing a kid to do something he doesn't want to do. I am not talking about going overboard. I am talking about that gentle nudge to continue on his path of success. I don't want him to suffer the consequences of laziness.