Sports and ADHD
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Anonymous
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What sport did your ADHD kid love? What sport wasnt a good fit or was harder due to ADHD?
I know this is all anecdotal but am just curious and interested in others experiences. |
Anonymous
At first soccer was amazing for my son. At a young age it was a place where he was accepted, encouraged, and valued. He had a hard time making friends at school and one year his entire birthday party was just soccer team kids. Teachers were always criticizing him, but his coaches praised him. It was the best thing for him. But unfortunately as he aged, he followed his friends to a travel club. The stricter coaching, longer training sessions, and higher pressure environment wasn't a good fit. The team environment was not welcoming. There was friend discord and jealousy over playing time. He was also expected to train on his own, and he lacked the focus to do so. At age 11 he stopped playing. ADHD definitely made it harder at a more competitive level. His coaches yelled at him for "not listening" and he didn't have the inner drive to push as much as some other kids did. He was more sensitive to criticism and drama. Managing meds and late night practices was hard. I wouldn't say we wasted our time because when it was good it was very good, but I would caution other families that soccer and ADHD aren't as good a fit for older ages. |
Anonymous
| Baseball was not a fit. Too much standing around, not enough clear direction, way too many ways to get distracted and not enough ways to ping the brain. |
Anonymous
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^^^I was just going to say that my 10YO is starting to get a little bored with baseball after loving it for the past five years. He no longer wants to try out for a travel team, which I’m secretly over the moon about, since rec is so much more manageable.
He likes tennis and basketball because you’re always on the move. He’s pretty bad at basketball, not that I care, as long as it doesn’t bother him. |
Anonymous
| Gymnastics has been amazing. Soccer was a complete and utter disaster, because he could not focus and is unable to make quick decisions so he woild just freeze. Gymnastics has a strict routine and he knows exactly what to do at every single moment. Plus a ton of sensory inputs from flipping/being upside down. |
Anonymous
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Kids are so different, and what “pings their brain” as pp said is unique to them - it’s a special interest, and you can’t necessarily predict it.
My ADHD son loves baseball- he has since he was a small child. He played in high school and now plays in college. He was puzzled by people who find it boring - the fact that the ball could be hit right at you at any moment was enough to keep his brain engaged. But that’s him - I like to go to baseball games to zone out. He found soccer no fun and rock climbing boring. People are weird. |
Anonymous
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My kid loves rock climbing, and while I know I shouldn’t diagnose other people, it seems like half his team and 70% of staff are ADHD.
Swimming but only at a rec level. The constant feedback from the water feels great to him but he can’t focus on longer practices or on fine technique work. But it tires him out in a good way. |
Anonymous
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13yo DD.
Loves basketball and soccer. Did swimming for 2 years age 9-11 but gave it up. She definitely does better with a team sport over non team. |
Anonymous
| Cross country has been a good fit for many that I know |
Anonymous
| My ADHD kid loved soccer. It becomes challenging if they get older and move up to club level, where reaction times and positioning on the field are higher stakes. |
Anonymous
| Club swim. It’s structured, it’s a great workout, and it’s the one sport where you physically cannot talk to anyone else when you are doing it. |
Anonymous
| Research I've read indicates sports that require balance, such as gymnastics does is good for ADHD brains. Sports that require running also appear to be good for adhd brains. Since ADHD people easily focus on something they enjoy doing, it ought be something the kid enjoys. |
Anonymous
| Another one for club swimming. Everything feels better in the water and she is always happier after a workout. And she's good at it so it's great for her confidence! |
Anonymous
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Swim was good. Cross country and track was good. Because my kid's profile is inattentive, things that require monitoring of a wide area like softball, and things where a projectile might come at you unexpectedly like soccer or softball, were not successful.
We are hoping to try crew. |
Anonymous
| Another vote for club swimming, and also martial arts. |