Sports and ADHD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

This is wild how young kids get competitive now. I didn’t even play club ball until 13 and I went on to play D1 in college 20 years ago. There wasn’t competition over playing time that pitted kids against each other. I love soccer and it did so much for me (I also have ADHD). I’m sorry your kid experienced this.

[Anonymous]

My kid is ADHD and has done gymnastics, running and swimming but the thing she has stuck with is soccer. Now on a team in high school. Maybe it helps that she’s medicated though most of it is out of her system by the time they practice/play games.

She got bored with the others. She needs a team atmosphere and loves the coaches. Maybe that’s the difference.

[Anonymous]

What worked - swimming and gymnastics (at times, she often gets distracted at times and will just stand there.)

What did not work - soccer and softball. Soccer worked when they were young and just did a lot of running. As they got older (around 10/11), it was a flop. She couldn't "see" the field or control the impulse just to run towards the ball.

[Anonymous]

Horseback riding - helps with balance, coordination, discipline, emotional regulation

[Anonymous]

DD 10. Loves dance and gymnastics and focuses well enough. Has completely refused to do anything with a ball, ever. Has done climbing occasionally and liked it but given how logistically challenging it would be for us, haven’t pursued it.

My DS doesn’t have a diagnosis but loves sports that have a big running component. I think that if your kid loves one running/ball type sport they are likely to enjoy others. If they hate to run that rules out a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

This is wild how young kids get competitive now. I didn’t even play club ball until 13 and I went on to play D1 in college 20 years ago. There wasn’t competition over playing time that pitted kids against each other. I love soccer and it did so much for me (I also have ADHD). I’m sorry your kid experienced this.

I do think it was probably more the complexity of the team dynamics and the lack of a supportive coach than the sport itself. On a different team, or perhaps if we hadn't of followed the travel trend, he might have retained passion. However, the reality of youth soccer in the DMV is that the teams are political and the structure gets intense in a way that isn't friendly to ADHD kids.

[Anonymous]

Fluid games - soccer, basketball and field hockey were a bust for my ADHD DD. She couldn’t focus on the play when away from her and couldn’t anticipate what other players were going to do next. She would freeze when the ball came her way!

A to B sports were much better - swimming and track and field. The fine technique points are a challenge but manageable. I also think individual sports with practice as a team but compete on your own are lower stakes from a teammate perspective and end up with a more supportive environment and less likely to have a negative team/coach experience.

[Anonymous]

This may not be an option for you depending on where you live, but my ADHD kid loves sailing. He likes that he's a part of a team, but is in the boat by himself, independently captaining the boat. While it isn't particularly physical, I think he also likes that he's always checking on things and doing things - tightening/loosening the sail, turning, etc. It keeps his mind busy, and I think being on the water chills him out.

[Anonymous]

Hockey

[Anonymous]

Rock climbing (agree with PP on 70% + have ADHD), swimming, sailing, horseback riding, skiing, mountain biking, running, hiking, sometimes tennis. No soccer, basketball, lacrosse, football, baseball, or anything where there's high parental involvement + competition. If gardening was a sport, would on the list too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

NP. This is stated much too broadly. Soccer can be fantastic for older kids with ADHD. My kid with severe ADHD is now playing college soccer. It was the only thing that kept him focused in high school.

But, soccer became his ADHD hyper-focus. He practiced and played for hours on his own. I have now known multiple kids with severe ADHD who are playing at high levels, and I would say that is a constant feature among them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

I get that! And I replied in another thread that I don't think soccer itself was the problem, the problem became navigating toxic dramatic teams, which unfortunately is common in this area with this sport. I wish I had known that pitfall and better prepared or avoided to keep the passion in the sport.

NP. This is stated much too broadly. Soccer can be fantastic for older kids with ADHD. My kid with severe ADHD is now playing college soccer. It was the only thing that kept him focused in high school.

But, soccer became his ADHD hyper-focus. He practiced and played for hours on his own. I have now known multiple kids with severe ADHD who are playing at high levels, and I would say that is a constant feature among them.

[Anonymous]

Tennis!