Parents of ADHD Soccer kids question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was a problem for my kid when he played goalkeeper, which thankfully he no longer does. If the ball was at the other end of the field, he was completely unfocused. It was also an issue when he was on the bench—totally screwing around and not watching the game.

FWIW, we’re just starting meds so I can’t say yet whether that might help, but he does much better playing midfield where he rarely gets a break from the action.

Good luck.

I played goalie with ADHD and it was totally chaotic until I moved to defense. I made incredible saves when I was focused and locked in but when the game slowed down... I'd miss some embarrassing shots.

[Anonymous]

Im confused about how your 10 year old is on year 4 of travel but I digress...

My 9 year old had adhd and is medicated. Medicine generally wears off before the evening (so they can sleep) so finding one that works for practice is tricky. My son is often running laps at practice because he kicks other kids balls or doesn't pay attention to the coach. Its not bad enough to be a problem for his development yet, but I know its because of adhd. And as others have posted, coaches do not care. So there may be a natural barrier where the kid can no longer play at a high level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Im confused about how your 10 year old is on year 4 of travel but I digress...

My 9 year old had adhd and is medicated. Medicine generally wears off before the evening (so they can sleep) so finding one that works for practice is tricky. My son is often running laps at practice because he kicks other kids balls or doesn't pay attention to the coach. Its not bad enough to be a problem for his development yet, but I know its because of adhd. And as others have posted, coaches do not care. So there may be a natural barrier where the kid can no longer play at a high level.

This is the OP, we started a year early in travel, this is her 4th year now.

I want to say thank you for all the parents who have provided helpful responses, I like the idea about getting her more involved in the play... it's magic when she is and it's the opposite when she's on the periphery and tuned out. And I have not been able to observe her in a school classroom setting, like we are able to in soccer; so combined with her teacher's prior feedback and observing kids on the field (1st hand) is pushing us to a formal evaluation with her primary doctor and follow-on specialist. I can empathize with others who are on a process of discovery with their children and helping them with certain issues. It was cute, masked by a lot of children and ok, when she was 6-7; but now at 10-11, no one else is as tuned out as she is when she is not involved in the play. (Also, she immediately tunes out the coach when instructions are given for a new drill, resulting in her messing up the drill.) Her coach is very good and patient, but doesn't spoon feed her, but we'll see how else we can help her improver her focus. In school and at practice. -Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ADHD etc drugs are one of the most wrongfully highly prescribed medication in the US for kids

$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Meds are absolutely necessary for some ADHD kids. If you’re looking into an ADHD diagnosis because of sports, I find that very suspect. There would be evidence in all aspects of life, and to medicate your child for a perceived athletic advantage is wrong on many levels.

This. I have a sporty kid who just got diagnosed in 6th last year. We’re trying therapy before meds. It’s totally wrong to put your kid on meds for sports. There are side effects.

Hmmm. I have kids with severe ADHD and they don't medicate for sports. I am not against it, but the medications have side effects that are challenging. One of them takes medication in the morning on school days and the other only on days he has tests. Without a doubt the ADHD affects them in sports but (cost-benefit analysis) it isn't worth it for us to medicate. That said, if we didn't see the side effects, sure I'd consider it.

[Anonymous]

My ds could not do soccer for this reason, he just lacked enough awareness to keep track of the ball. Yes meds can help but if you have routinely late games you cannot take that late or it will impact sleep. We medicate so DS can get through school but I would not medicate only for a sport. We switched to swimming which worked better with his ADHD vs fighting through an optional sport that wasn't a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My ds could not do soccer for this reason, he just lacked enough awareness to keep track of the ball. Yes meds can help but if you have routinely late games you cannot take that late or it will impact sleep. We medicate so DS can get through school but I would not medicate only for a sport. We switched to swimming which worked better with his ADHD vs fighting through an optional sport that wasn't a good fit.

+100. We've been on this journey for many years with three children. Every counselor, pediatrician, and specialist we have seen has said that ADHD medication should be used for moderate to severe cases. We have one DS on medication and two who are not. Our DS on medication is only on it because his executive functioning skills are so hot and cold that he was struggling in school (started in 4th grade, he's now in 7th), and he had trouble staying focused in many other aspects of his life.

At first read it sounded like your motivation for ADHD medication was to improve your DDs soccer performance. That isn't beyond the realm of belief on DCUM/in this area. But I assume that your concerns are much broader. You shouldn't just start meds based on your pediatrician's quick diagnosis using a few written tests. You should take a week or two to read some books about ADHD and ask your doctor a lot of questions about it. The last book we read on the subject was Scattered to Focused. But you can find many others that might be better for education on ADHD itself. For example, as others noted, finding the right choice of medication options and dosing takes some time and experimentation (ours became very irritable on the first med he was prescribed... FWIW he takes an extended pill in the morning and very small dose immediately after school.)

Most good school are used to dealing with ADHD and teachers and counselors can work with you to help give your DD the best chance of having a positive school experience despite ADHD. And you too will need to better learn how YOU interact with your child. And sadly, there are social stigmas about neurodivergent children and the meds they sometimes take (overprescribing IS a big problem in the US), so you should educate yourself on the subject to be informed and make the best judgment for your child. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My ds could not do soccer for this reason, he just lacked enough awareness to keep track of the ball. Yes meds can help but if you have routinely late games you cannot take that late or it will impact sleep. We medicate so DS can get through school but I would not medicate only for a sport. We switched to swimming which worked better with his ADHD vs fighting through an optional sport that wasn't a good fit.

+100. We've been on this journey for many years with three children. Every counselor, pediatrician, and specialist we have seen has said that ADHD medication should be used for moderate to severe cases. We have one DS on medication and two who are not. Our DS on medication is only on it because his executive functioning skills are so hot and cold that he was struggling in school (started in 4th grade, he's now in 7th), and he had trouble staying focused in many other aspects of his life.

At first read it sounded like your motivation for ADHD medication was to improve your DDs soccer performance. That isn't beyond the realm of belief on DCUM/in this area. But I assume that your concerns are much broader. You shouldn't just start meds based on your pediatrician's quick diagnosis using a few written tests. You should take a week or two to read some books about ADHD and ask your doctor a lot of questions about it. The last book we read on the subject was Scattered to Focused. But you can find many others that might be better for education on ADHD itself. For example, as others noted, finding the right choice of medication options and dosing takes some time and experimentation (ours became very irritable on the first med he was prescribed... FWIW he takes an extended pill in the morning and very small dose immediately after school.)

Most good school are used to dealing with ADHD and teachers and counselors can work with you to help give your DD the best chance of having a positive school experience despite ADHD. And you too will need to better learn how YOU interact with your child. And sadly, there are social stigmas about neurodivergent children and the meds they sometimes take (overprescribing IS a big problem in the US), so you should educate yourself on the subject to be informed and make the best judgment for your child. Good luck.

This is the OP, I really appreciate your feedback as well! You provided caring and good advice, which helps us get our arms around the issues we’re noticing. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

I have coached teams with ADHD players. It can be hard trying to accommodate them while not taking away from the other players. Sadly, on a high level team ADHD players usually slip away just not enough to spread around

[Anonymous]

We experience focus challenges with our son. Trying to go natural all around in school and sports. Since he loved the game and also loved strategy, we got him hyperfocused like it was a board game that he gets to move around in. After a few years it worked. No meds and almost 16.

[Anonymous]

What a great thread

My 6 year old son has it and he struggles during practice with it. During the games you can also see he struggles with staying in his position and he forgets to fully use all the skills he has. He can do all the dribbles but forgets to use them during the games. He will admit that he just doesn’t remember. He is just playing off of instinct.

Despite that he is a beast during game time. He plays 1 and 2 years up cause he is big and has good skills.

I’m always wondering how good he really could be if he was given medicine. (He struggles in school)

Anyhow Im just trying to get him through these years and I’m hoping he will start to develop some coping strategies

[Anonymous]

Following. My DS is a goalie and has adhd.

[Anonymous]

Meds can be tricky with sports but if you find them necessary, it is worth trying several different kinds until you find what works for your child. I think it’s important to be upfront with the coach and help educate them on behaviors that may be seen as unmotivated or not being receptive to listening. Sometimes coaches are quick to judgements and it can be very hard to change their opinions once they have labeled your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meds can be tricky with sports but if you find them necessary, it is worth trying several different kinds until you find what works for your child. I think it’s important to be upfront with the coach and help educate them on behaviors that may be seen as unmotivated or not being receptive to listening. Sometimes coaches are quick to judgements and it can be very hard to change their opinions once they have labeled your child.

This is the OP, and I would say I am seeing this little bit already...thanks for mentioning it. We are on a competitive team and and my kid defiantly has a difficult time following instructions to complete new drills. I am sure in the Coaches mind, she has a few strikes against my daughter as her Coach does not have a ton of experience with U11-U9 kids. She just kind of ignores my kid now instead of giving her extra coaching. It's frustrating, I defiantly thin she might think my kid is not receptive to listening. We would like to move up to the 1st team in year or two when rosters expand at u13, but we have a lot to work on. I am pretty sure my kid is labeled already. Our coach is a little stoic and I'm not sure anything we mention will sink in, but we'll bring it up with a diagnosis.

We talk about the importance of staying focused in school (with our kid) and when the Coach is talking quite a lot. My kid knows it's important, but can't quite seem to be able to do it with the ease that other kids can. We're waiting on the 1st QTR report card now and to see if this year's teacher says her inability to focus is affecting her grades. With that, we'll consult a professional to check for an assessment and what is a good path forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid went from having ADHD to being cured without meds.

Coincidentally, we took away her phone during the same period

Your child never actually had ADHD. Congrats.

Not according to the school counselors

Yep, doctors. Wow... this thread is sad.

[Anonymous]

ADHD adult who played travel soccer getting up with a kid with ADHD playing travel now.

If your kid is bored they won't do well paying attention in games or practice. ADHD is not an excuse for poor performance. This isn't school. If they aren't motivated and engaged they aren't on the right team so next year go somewhere else. Medicine can help but it's not a cure all just like in school. Don't bring school bias into sports.