Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”)

What is ADHD?

• CDC estimates 1 in 10 young athletes has some level of ADHD.
• Is there a kid on your team who plays and behaves inconsistently — outperforming everyone else one day and then fighting with a teammate over a snack the next? Does she or he show up late, have trouble remembering plays or get easily distracted?
• It’s easy to label such kids undisciplined, even defiant, but there may be something else going on: Your player may have ADHD.
• Although you might associate ADHD with hyperactivity, it’s not always that straightforward.
• ADHD affects how the brain processes and filters information — and it causes delays in developing communication or learning skills, unrelated to intelligence.

What behaviors might be demonstrated?

• ADHD is much more than just a child who is always on the go or hyperactive, or who can’t focus or is inattentive. These kids have attentional challenges as well as challenges with executive functioning.
• On the field, or in practice, kids without well-developed executive functioning may have a hard time prioritizing, remembering the sequence of things and thinking ahead, as well as with emotional regulation. Kids with ADHD can get easily overwhelmed.

What can we do as Coaches?

Summary

• Talk with parents
• Get to know them really well.
• Break it down
• Eye contact is everything
• Emphasize the positive
• Let them move
• Activities with energy
• Keep it brief
• Grab a small whiteboard
• Set up routines
• Don’t threaten or punish
• Keep your cool
• Give everyone game experience
• Go one-on-one
• Do a double-check
• Win or lose – as a team
• Move players around
• Manage excitement
• Keep them busy
• Let them rest

Detailed Summary

• Talk with the parents. Schedule time to talk before practice begins. It’s an opportunity to learn about a kid’s specific challenges and how to deal with them in a consistent way.
• Get to know them really well.  Build a relationship with them. Get ahead of the issues and learn how to recognize the early signs of frustration and how to get them back on track.
• Break it down. Let go of standard expectations for where you think a player with ADHD should be based on age, size or talent. Help them set attainable goals, and break down complex skills into segments that will allow the child to have success.
• Eye contact is everything. For kids with ADHD, verbal commands from the sidelines might not really land. It’s important to get their attention first, and pair commands with eye contact.
• Emphasize the positive. This builds confidence and trust. They have all these strengths that a coach who knows what to look for can bring out. If they feel like they have a coach who is on their side they will really want to work hard for them and do a good job.
• Let them move. Have all of your kids burn off some energy before you talk or give directions (so no one is singled out). It helps everyone listen and focus better. If your ADHD athletes get bored and restless quickly, find a way for them to fidget appropriately while you’re talking or if they have to wait their turn.
• Activities with energy. Children with ADHD get bored and distracted standing around waiting their turn. Use activities that require change and continuous movement.
• Keep it brief. Lecturing doesn’t work. Even with short talks, ask them to repeat back what they heard.
• Grab a small whiteboard. Use visual diagrams if you can. The ADHD brain thrives on seeing what the plan of action is going to be.
• Set up routines. Provide a routine or structure to meetings and practices. When possible, preview any upcoming changes, communicate the changes ahead of time. This will help the child with ADHD who does well with structure and is accustomed to doing things in a certain order. And most kids appreciate structure. A special daily job (i.e. setting out the cones) can also keep kids engaged.
• Don’t threaten or punish. These kids live in the moment. This can make it harder to learn from past experience or look to the future. But they will, eventually, learn from natural consequences.
• Keep your cool. Their sensitive brains can hear softly spoken constructive criticism as angry screaming and see a frustrated glance as a furious glare. And like all kids, they will model your emotional energy — calm or otherwise.
• Give everyone game experience. Don’t let ego get in the way of helping each child. Helping your players is more important than winning. Remember, as a coach you are a teacher and the welfare of your players comes first.
• Go one-on-one. Kids with ADHD get lost in group directions. But they do well in one-on-one coaching situations. Ask the coach to talk to your child individually to explain instructions.
• Do a double-check. Suggest that the coach ask your child privately if she understood directions, asking her to repeat what she heard. This goes a long way toward avoiding communication breakdowns. If a child appears to be disengaged or confused, the coach should try to find out where the breakdown occurred so the problem can be corrected with further explanation.
• Win — and lose — as a team. Many children have a hard time with losing. The coach should make sure that the players know that winning or losing is a team responsibility. A player should not be held at fault, even if he missed the last shot or made the last strikeout. It is the coach’s job to instill and demonstrate sportsmanship values for all players, beginning with the first practice. Support, encouragement, and respect for all players should be a top priority.
• Move players around. The coach should rotate positions so that everyone on the team has an opportunity to be in active positions. This will help your child — and the other players — to use excess energy well and possibly to learn a new skill.
• Manage excitement. Children with ADHD often get caught up in the action of the game, forgetting about strategy and teamwork. Awareness of this will help the coach help your child focus.
• Keep them busy. Your child should have a job to do while waiting on the bench or during downtimes: assisting scorekeepers, keeping equipment in order, anything that will hold her interest.
• Let them rest. The coach should devise a take-a-break plan with your child. Breaks offer respite to children who become overwhelmed.