Giftedness and sports

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on processing speed. It is really common for gifted kids to have lower PSI scores, and I think that makes most team sports hard.

That's an interesting point. My gifted DS has the focus, picks up on techniques quickly, memorizes easily, and is quite strong for his age, but he's terrible with any sports that require that quick, split-second decision making. His PSI is very average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on processing speed. It is really common for gifted kids to have lower PSI scores, and I think that makes most team sports hard.

This describes my child. Very bright but lower processing speed. Has trouble making quick decisions in a sports setting. We're still trying to figure out an activity that would appeal and be a chance at success.

[Anonymous]

My young teen DS has an IQ in the 145 range and very fast processing speed. He's incredibly athletic (physically) but I see the benefit of his IQ on the baseball field as he processes the game very quickly. As a PP said, I think IQ plays a role in sports that require a combination of mental and physical ability. Although my DS excels at several other sports, the difference between him and other kids his age is only apparent in a sport like baseball (and basketball to some extent) which requires very quick thinking.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure that giftedness and athletic ability are closely related- my son is terrible at team sports- his friend (I know the mom really well and these boys are within five IQ points of one another) is a gifted athlete in almost every sport he has tried.
For those whose kids have trouble making the split second decisions on the field, but enjoy an athletic outlet- individual sports work great- swimming, running, competitive climbing, etc. will burn a lot of energy. Tennis can be a good sport because there are fewer variables than soccer or basketball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on processing speed. It is really common for gifted kids to have lower PSI scores, and I think that makes most team sports hard.

This describes my child. Very bright but lower processing speed. Has trouble making quick decisions in a sports setting. We're still trying to figure out an activity that would appeal and be a chance at success.

8:23 PP. My DS has done very well with rock climbing, parkour, and swimming. All of them are very technical without requiring quick thinking. I think rock climbing is especially great for very intelligent, but slower processing kids, since there is quite a bit of thinking involved, but it tends to be a slow, methodical sport. Martial arts might be okay, if you can find a style that focuses more on kata/forms and less on sparring. Dance or gymnastics might also be decent choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see being smart as ever a problem in sports. Sports requires quick thinking. The main issue with being smart and playing sports is that you could get a concussion that might have a lasting effect on your brain.

I'm not sure if you're replying to OP or to other posts here, but the point of this topic is for gifted kids, not smart ones. Those terms are not interchangeable.

I think smart and gifted are used interchangeably in our school system to a large extent. All the kids at TJ are smart, and I'm assuming most of them were labelled "gifted" in elementary school if their parents got around to filling in the forms, even though most of the kids aren't Einstein/Mozart-level of genius. When I filled out the gifted applications for my kids, it was more a test of my writing ability and my ability to "spin" their achievements than anything else, which made me sad for smart/gifted kids whose parents couldn't do this so easily.

Can you define the differences?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see being smart as ever a problem in sports. Sports requires quick thinking. The main issue with being smart and playing sports is that you could get a concussion that might have a lasting effect on your brain.

I'm not sure if you're replying to OP or to other posts here, but the point of this topic is for gifted kids, not smart ones. Those terms are not interchangeable.

I think smart and gifted are used interchangeably in our school system to a large extent. All the kids at TJ are smart, and I'm assuming most of them were labelled "gifted" in elementary school if their parents got around to filling in the forms, even though most of the kids aren't Einstein/Mozart-level of genius. When I filled out the gifted applications for my kids, it was more a test of my writing ability and my ability to "spin" their achievements than anything else, which made me sad for smart/gifted kids whose parents couldn't do this so easily.

Can you define the differences?

OP did specify a > 130 FSIQ. I think "smart" and "gifted" are incorrectly used interchangeably, since every parent is desperate to believe that their smart/above average kids are gifted. If you needed to test your writing and spin your kids achievements to gain AAP eligibility, then your kids are almost certainly smart, but not gifted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see being smart as ever a problem in sports. Sports requires quick thinking. The main issue with being smart and playing sports is that you could get a concussion that might have a lasting effect on your brain.

I'm not sure if you're replying to OP or to other posts here, but the point of this topic is for gifted kids, not smart ones. Those terms are not interchangeable.

Oh my god. I used smart instead of gifted! You're not sounding that intelligent yourself with your little quip. My point was that while being gifted isn't a detriment in sports, kids who are "gifted" can get brain injuries by playing sports which then affect their future intellect. So sports can be a detriment to intellect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see being smart as ever a problem in sports. Sports requires quick thinking. The main issue with being smart and playing sports is that you could get a concussion that might have a lasting effect on your brain.

I'm not sure if you're replying to OP or to other posts here, but the point of this topic is for gifted kids, not smart ones. Those terms are not interchangeable.

Oh my god. I used smart instead of gifted! You're not sounding that intelligent yourself with your little quip. My point was that while being gifted isn't a detriment in sports, kids who are "gifted" can get brain injuries by playing sports which then affect their future intellect. So sports can be a detriment to intellect.

I'm glad my children's teachers understand the difference between smart and gifted. Whether I sound intelligent or not, or whether I am intelligent at all, has nothing to do with the difference between smart and gifted. Did you get a brain injury from sports and have become incoherent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see being smart as ever a problem in sports. Sports requires quick thinking. The main issue with being smart and playing sports is that you could get a concussion that might have a lasting effect on your brain.

I'm not sure if you're replying to OP or to other posts here, but the point of this topic is for gifted kids, not smart ones. Those terms are not interchangeable.

I think smart and gifted are used interchangeably in our school system to a large extent. All the kids at TJ are smart, and I'm assuming most of them were labelled "gifted" in elementary school if their parents got around to filling in the forms, even though most of the kids aren't Einstein/Mozart-level of genius. When I filled out the gifted applications for my kids, it was more a test of my writing ability and my ability to "spin" their achievements than anything else, which made me sad for smart/gifted kids whose parents couldn't do this so easily.

Can you define the differences?

OP did specify a > 130 FSIQ. I think "smart" and "gifted" are incorrectly used interchangeably, since every parent is desperate to believe that their smart/above average kids are gifted. If you needed to test your writing and spin your kids achievements to gain AAP eligibility, then your kids are almost certainly smart, but not gifted.

Actually I think "gifted" is just a word thrown around primarily in the US, where schools are less likely to put higher performing kids into a higher grade, and therefore they have created special gifted programs for those smart kids. In my home country, they put me into the class a year above my age group, because I guess they thought I was "brainy"- our term for gifted.

[Anonymous]

Actually gifted is gifted. Skipping a grade or two does not mean you were gifted, but that you were advanced and a high achiever. You may have been gifted, but skipping a grade is not how it shows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see being smart as ever a problem in sports. Sports requires quick thinking. The main issue with being smart and playing sports is that you could get a concussion that might have a lasting effect on your brain.

I'm not sure if you're replying to OP or to other posts here, but the point of this topic is for gifted kids, not smart ones. Those terms are not interchangeable.

Oh my god. I used smart instead of gifted! You're not sounding that intelligent yourself with your little quip. My point was that while being gifted isn't a detriment in sports, kids who are "gifted" can get brain injuries by playing sports which then affect their future intellect. So sports can be a detriment to intellect.

I'm glad my children's teachers understand the difference between smart and gifted. Whether I sound intelligent or not, or whether I am intelligent at all, has nothing to do with the difference between smart and gifted. Did you get a brain injury from sports and have become incoherent?

Your children's teachers overall most certainly do not understand the difference if it even exists which many studies agree it doesn't and there are multiple types of intelligences. They teachers know how to teach to a higher level and give open ended work. Give it a rest. When your children invent something greater than the wheel you can boast that your kids are gifted. Otherwise, just enjoy your advanced classes. BTW, my kids have close to a 150 WISC score and I don't consider them gifted either. And they are good at sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Actually I think "gifted" is just a word thrown around primarily in the US, where schools are less likely to put higher performing kids into a higher grade, and therefore they have created special gifted programs for those smart kids. In my home country, they put me into the class a year above my age group, because I guess they thought I was "brainy"- our term for gifted.

What percent of kids were placed into a higher grade? Gifted is the top 1-2% of the population. If your home country only skipped 1-2% of the children, then those kids probably were gifted.

In FCPS, at least, it seems to work like this:
-Kid scores a 132 CogAT or NNAT, and performs like a regular smart kid in school. Parents are convinced kid is gifted, even though CogAT is not an IQ test and doesn't necessarily imply a gifted IQ.
-Kid scores below a 132 CogAT and performs like a regular smart kid in school. Parents are convinced that the kid is a poor test taker, but still gifted.
-Kid is prepped and receives a high score on CogAT or even WISC. Parents convince themselves that the prep didn't matter, and the kid is gifted.
-Parents are motivated to get kid into AAP and enrich the heck out of the kid. Kid is advanced in school due to the enrichment, gets a high GBRS, and gets into AAP. Parents are convinced kid is gifted.
-Kid is pretty average in every way, but parents somehow think that the normal kid insights are profound and out of the ordinary. Parents are convinced kid is gifted.
-Kid scores in gifted range on only one test, but based on other tests and classroom performance, the gifted test seems to be a one-off. Parents are convinced kid is gifted.

Very few kids in FCPS take IQ tests, so very few parents officially "know" that their kids are gifted. Most are just assuming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Actually I think "gifted" is just a word thrown around primarily in the US, where schools are less likely to put higher performing kids into a higher grade, and therefore they have created special gifted programs for those smart kids. In my home country, they put me into the class a year above my age group, because I guess they thought I was "brainy"- our term for gifted.

What percent of kids were placed into a higher grade? Gifted is the top 1-2% of the population. If your home country only skipped 1-2% of the children, then those kids probably were gifted.

In FCPS, at least, it seems to work like this:
-Kid scores a 132 CogAT or NNAT, and performs like a regular smart kid in school. Parents are convinced kid is gifted, even though CogAT is not an IQ test and doesn't necessarily imply a gifted IQ.
-Kid scores below a 132 CogAT and performs like a regular smart kid in school. Parents are convinced that the kid is a poor test taker, but still gifted.
-Kid is prepped and receives a high score on CogAT or even WISC. Parents convince themselves that the prep didn't matter, and the kid is gifted.
-Parents are motivated to get kid into AAP and enrich the heck out of the kid. Kid is advanced in school due to the enrichment, gets a high GBRS, and gets into AAP. Parents are convinced kid is gifted.
-Kid is pretty average in every way, but parents somehow think that the normal kid insights are profound and out of the ordinary. Parents are convinced kid is gifted.
-Kid scores in gifted range on only one test, but based on other tests and classroom performance, the gifted test seems to be a one-off. Parents are convinced kid is gifted.

Very few kids in FCPS take IQ tests, so very few parents officially "know" that their kids are gifted. Most are just assuming.

Well, all the appeals kids took an IQ test! That’s quite a few!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I've known a number of gifted kids who were also excellent athletes. I know one who was in the FCPS GT program who went on to college with a combined merit/athletic scholarship, graduated and was employed as a professional athlete.

Also, there was a swimmer at TJ a few years ago who went to the Olympic trials.

You might as well ask if someone's gifted child is kind or artistic. Yes, there are gifted kids who are also athletes, but that's like any other random trait. There's no correlation. But it does give AAP parents another avenue to brag. DCUM never disappoints.