by Jonathan Wolf | Apr 17, 2025 | ADHD, Advice, Behavior, college, Communication, Consistency, Energy, Expectations, Focus, Mindset, Motivation, parents, Sports, Teenagers
ADHD and Why It Matters in Sports
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) affects millions of students — and a growing number of high school and college athletes. We can get one thing straight: ADHD isn’t just about forgetting homework or bouncing off walls — it also shows up on the field, court, track, or wherever your kid is trying to shine in sports.
While ADHD is often discussed in academic settings, it plays a big role in how athletes focus, train, compete, and recover. If your high school or college athlete has ADHD, you’ve probably seen it already. One second, they’re crushing it; the next, they’re staring into space while their coach explains a drill for the third time.
If you’re a parent of a student-athlete with ADHD, a high school or college athlete managing symptoms, or a coach working with neurodiverse players, understanding how ADHD impacts sports is crucial. Let’s talk about how ADHD messes with (and sometimes boosts) sports performance — and what to do about it.
Whether the young person is in middle-school, high-school or college it can sometimes be quite challenging to distinguish between “normal” and “could use some help” (especially these days). So let’s clear a couple things up first regarding “help”.
How ADHD Affects Athletic Performance
Athletes with ADHD may bring a ton of passion and energy to the field — but they also face unique challenges. Here’s how ADHD can influence sports:
INCONSISTENT FOCUS
- Trouble following multi-step instructions
- Drifting attention during plays, drills, or team meetings
- Zoning out at key moments
IMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR
- Jumping the gun on plays
- Taking risks without thinking them through
- Higher rates of fouls or penalties
EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY
- Frustration can spiral quickly after mistakes
- Trouble bouncing back from criticism or losses
- Difficulty regulating emotions under stress
SLEEP AND RECOVERY STRUGGLES
- Many athletes with ADHD have disrupted sleep cycles
- Poor sleep = slower reaction times, lower energy, and higher injury risk
INCREASED INJURY RISK
A study in Sports Health found that college athletes with ADHD are more likely to get injured — likely due to impulsivity or distraction during play.
ADHD Strengths in Sports
It’s not all challenges. In fact, ADHD can be a superpower in the right athletic environment.
- High energy: Ideal for high-intensity or endurance sports
- Hyper-focus: Being locked in and maintaining a deep concentration during games
- Creativity: Thinking outside the box can lead to smart and unexpected plays
Practical Strategies for Success
FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES WITH ADHD:
Use short-term goals:
Break practice into 10-15 minute mental time blocks with “missions” for each block.
Create a pre-game routine:
Use the same warm-up (include mental rehearsal, paced breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and an inner-dialogue script to help cue/prime), create a “hype” and “chill” playlist, and be consistent because consistency = less chaos
Ask questions to get clarity:
Don’t pretend to understand a play — clarify it with one of the coaches or another player. Ask for DIRECTIONS or a different way of explaining something if you need it.
Move during downtime:
Stretch, pace, or shake out between drills
Cool down mentally:
Journal, breathe or debrief after games or practices
Prioritize sleep:
No screens in bed, and try to keep
consistent sleep/wake times
Work with your doctor on meds:
Timing matters for performance (with both stimulant and non-stimulant medications)
FOR coaches working WITH athletes who have ADHD:
keep instruction clear and short.
Adhd impacts working memory and sustained attention. Communicating in this way will help reduce some of those added challenges.
repeat key information or provide an ADDITIONAL visual or kinesthetic example
most people learn through a combination of teaching styles. some players may need you or a teammate to physically demonstrate, write directions down, or HAVE a visual cue, and others may need directions repeated.
allow movement between drills
Movement can help with focus. Come up with a couple of exercises and movements that are appropriate for the environment. the goal is to provide structure and support that will allow for self-regulation while minimizing distractions for others.
Don’t over-personalize the behaviors:
frequently, fidgeting AND quick/intense EMOTIONS can be perceived as disrespect. with someone who has adhd, it is typically far from the truth.
help build emotional resilience after setbacks:
Journal, breathe, or debrief after games and practices.
connection over consequence:
ask how you can support them, not just discipline them.
FOR parents of athletes with ADHD:
Build routines at home:
Focus on establishing routines around getting your gear together, meals and snacks, and bedtime
Talk to your kid(s) about how adhd can show up in sports:
Use this article or the resources at the end to guide your conversation.
normalize needing extra support
adhd is a NEURODEVELOPMENTAL disorder, not a character flaw. there are plenty of professional athletes facing the same struggle and need extra support.
advocate with coaches and school staff:
adhd support doesn’t stop in the classroom. plus, someone with adhd needs to have that advocacy muscle to flex. leading by example provides positive modeling for the young person.
focus on progress, not perfection:
Your kid’s inner critic is likely already too harsh, so focus on progress and the process VS. outcomes and perfection. adhd minds frequently have issues with “all or nothing thinking, “ so teach them to live in the gray sometimes.
Helpful ADHD Resources for Student-Athletes and Families
Helpful ADHD Resources for Student-Athletes and Families
Final Takeaway: ADHD Isn’t a Limitation — It’s a Playbook You Need to Learn
Whether you’re a parent, a coach, or an athlete on the field, understanding ADHD is the key to unlocking performance, potential, and peace of mind.
ADHD athletes are not broken—they’re just built differently. They can reach their optimal performance with the right structure, support, and mindset.
If you would like to find out more about our coaching, visit the ‘GET HELP NOW‘ page by clicking above or sending us a message below. You can also reach out to YouTime Coaching at [email protected].
by YouTime Coaching | Jun 25, 2019 | Advice, Anxiety, Arguments, Behavior, Emotions, Expectations, Failure, parenting, parents, Uncategorized
The gymnastics of raising a child is one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences even when the role of being a parent challenges us to the core. Reactive Parenting is a direct response to those challenges.
Parenting is unique as it tests your boundaries on a daily basis and those tests frequently evolve. As a kid develops from infancy through adolescence and early adulthood, they will provide a parent with plenty of opportunities to carve out their own style of handling all that is thrown at them.
The way that a parent communicates and interacts with their child can affect their overall functioning and development in a multitude of ways. While there are pros and cons to various existing parenting techniques, one of the most detrimental is reactive parenting. Keep in mind that parents exhibit a variety of parenting styles and this is not an “all or nothing” discussion. We are talking about when reactive parenting dominates the household, drives most of the interactions, and is (for whatever reason) the most frequent “go to” response.
Reactive parenting is where a parent, acts on
their emotions when responding to a child’s
behavior.
This often times results in interactions fueled by anger, aggression, irritation, and hostility. Some examples of reactive parenting include using the phrases, “Stop” or “Right. We will not be going to/doing that” or constantly using commanding language like “Do/don’t do that”. These types of interactions will find their way into day to day life with a child and in some cases are necessary.
As someone who was born in 1985, I am very aware of the “snowflake” argument. Some parents attempt to raise their kids without reprimanding them, avoiding the use of words such as “no” or “bad (girl/boy)”. While the solution in many minds is likely quite simple, the problems are typically a little more complex. Parents verbalizing criticisms will not disappear any time soon and this is not inherently the problem. Projecting you’re own anger, impatience, and frustrations onto a child is an issues that falls in-line with reactive parenting and will usually come with direct side effects. So, what are some of the reasons for why a parent might be more reactive instead of proactive in their approach to parenting?
Three reasons for being prone to reactive parenting:
- Feeling overwhelmed
One of the most frequent things you hear from new parents is that there is a severe lack of sleep. Now that the kids are a little more grown up it doesn’t mean that things like work, relationships, money, or other sources of stress won’t interrupt your sleep cycle. Lack of sleep is a huge contributor to stress and anxiety.
Just think of visiting a friend who just got a puppy. It small, fuzzy, cuddly, cute and screams, “take me home” with their eyes. Suddenly, it pees on the ground. Do you, A) Point your finger at it and yell “bad dog” and stick their nose in it, B) Hit and yell at the puppy, C) Not get angry, because after all it’s not your house, not your puppy, and not your problem. So you just let the owner know what happened (please choose “C”). You are able to do this because you are able to separate yourself from the emotions around the puppy having an accident. You create space for objectivity. Also, keep in mind that the catalyst for being stressed/overwhelmed could be something unrelated to your kid (but your kid won’t know this).
2. H.A.L.T.: Feeling Hunger, Anger, Loneliness, and/or Tiredness
The H.A.L.T. strategy can help identify times where you need to take a step back, create some space, satisfy an underlying need, and re-approach more strategically. When you first wake up, come home from work, had a late night, had an argument (you get it), simply ask yourself if you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. If so, find a way to meet that need before moving forward with any other major decisions, conversations, or interactions.
3. Negatively reinforced learned behavior from other parental figures
This is just one of the reasons why reactive parenting is so detrimental to child behavior. The parent-child relationship is the first major relationship to develop in a child’s life and shapes the child’s perspective of what healthy relationships should look like. You are a parent, but at one point was a child with parents that had particular parenting styles. Sometimes particular behaviors are replicated when that was what you were raised like, while others are sometimes overcompensated to “prevent” feelings that you had growing up. These forces that impact our behaviors or sometimes invisible to us, so take a second to think about how your biography is shaping your child’s prologue.
Reactive parenting could lead children into thinking that negative and even abusive relationships are normal when they really are not. Children learn a substantial amount of how the world works and how they should behave in the world from their parents. Therefore, parents who use reactive parenting are teaching their children that reacting with anger and frustration towards their children is the correct way to parent.
Curious about your parenting style? Try Psych Central’s Parenting Style Quiz HERE.
by YouTime Coaching | May 9, 2019 | Academics, Advice, alcohol, Anxiety, Arguments, Behavior, Certainty, Children, Communication, Confidence, Depression, Expectations, Fear, happiness, Motivation, parenting, parents, Relationships, Sadness, Self-Esteem, Teenagers, Uncategorized, Uncertainty
As hard as it is to admit, when I was in high-school, I bullied kids. Let me explain…
I didn’t take their lunches (I was a 6ft lanky fella who could have easily been beat up), get in physical fights, give out wedgies and hang them up by their underwear, or shove people into lockers. I was into sports, had popular friends, usually had a popular girlfriend, was invited to junior and senior parties as a freshman and sophomore, and dressed nice.
On the inside, none of that shit really mattered. I was incredibly anxious, insecure (pro at hiding it), constantly questioned where I stood in the eyes of others and typically felt inadequate because of self-comparison.
My bullying method of choice in high-school was mental warfare. I would insult other people about how they looked, moved, ate, spoke, and just about anything else they was available for others to see. In my insecure teenage mind, if I put someone down 10 social/confidence points then I would go up 10 points and so on. Making fun of others to feel better about myself was the currency and I was rich in that respect, but oh was I super fucking poor in more important areas.
You see, I had convinced myself that this was the fast way to feeling confident, happy, accepted, and comfortable. Unfortunately, this method breeds the opposite feelings and sets you on a really challenging trajectory.
A kid’s search for acceptance is very messy.
As a parent, you may not agree with the decisions your kid is making and that is completely fine. Coming from a place of, “I can understand why you would do this but it doesn’t make it excusable”, is a healthy mindset.
As a Freshman on Varsity soccer and baseball, I was hanging out with the “super cool” Juniors and Seniors. I started smoking weed, drinking, and finding ways to “fit in” with others because I wasn’t sure at all about myself. I managed to get “good enough” grades so people would stay off my back and expect just a little less out of me compared to others. I got into trouble at home and in school, with the exception being sports. Sports was special because I was able to channel many of the tough emotions (anger/sadness) into physical output. It was the closet thing I knew to a direct correlation between how much personal effort I put in and how much positive feedback I got out of it. It kept me more in line than anything else at the time.
One thing I know for sure is that if you put all your eggs in one basket for support, as a crutch, and tie it to your identify then you run the risk of a crisis down the line. That’s what happened next.
After high-school graduation, I moved up to New England to play baseball for the University of Rhode Island (notice how I didn’t say “to be a student” or “to major in…”). On September 17th, which just so happened to be my birthday as well as two weeks after I moved-in and less than a week before training started, I broke my left pitching elbow. Getting my legs taken out from under me playing (sober) soccer on a basketball court did me in. It was the ending of baseball career before if started and the beginning of a crisis.
I have to be a student now?
That’s not what I signed up for but it was my new reality. It caused significant anxiety, panic attacks, a desire to isolate myself. Since I’m left handed and broke that elbow, I couldn’t write and so I stopped going to a lot of classes or just never took notes which led to my gpa being an impressive 2.4.
Things got a little worse before they got massively better and I credit where I’m at today with reaching out for outside support.
In the final two years of undergrad, my gpa was almost a 4.0. The first year out I worked psych research with detained adolescence, got accepted and went to Boston University’s Sport Psychology and Counseling Master’s program (on a 75% scholarship and finishing with a 3.9 gpa), and have been running a Youth, Family, and Adult Life Coaching company for 10+ years.
We live in a world where it’s all too common for kids to be shamed for their weirdness and uniqueness. It teaches them to turn AWAY from their uniqueness and TOWARD… acceptance.
With kids, this basically means trying to “fit in”, conform, and act within the group norms. Conformity has its appropriate place and time as does groups norms, but having kids turn AWAY from their weirdness and uniqueness because of shame, uncertainty of what their social status will be, or whether they think others (including parents) will accept them will in no doubt backfire for them in the future.
Every week, I see the impact this has on young people. I hear them share perspectives and stories on how they feel as though they are “putting on a show”, “don’t know who they are”, “will lose friends in a second if they don’t…[insert superficial factor]”, how they “don’t feel good enough”, and how they “feel that they can’t act like themselves around their parents and most of their friends”.
I see a little bit of me in each of them.
It’s sad, but it’s real and the solution starts at home. Parenting is tough, being a kid is tough, and it’s not about placing your kid in a bubble. No bulldozer, helicopter, or tiger parenting here. We need to get back to a place where we put down our screens, have them put theirs down too, listen and communicate with empathy and honesty, find out what kinds of weirdness/uniqueness they have, help them explore it, and teach them ways to persevere.
Parents need to have boundaries (which are seen as a source of love from kids), talk about the tough topics, incentivize healthy behavior but also (appropriately) discipline poor choices. Yes, this can be done compassionately and keeping in tact the message that you love and support them.
This can happen anywhere, but it starts in the home.
by YouTime Coaching | Sep 26, 2017 | Advice, Anxiety, Attitudes, boundaries, Children, Communication, Compromise, Consistency, Decisions, Emotions, Expectations, Failure, Fear, Fighting, Focus, Life Coaching, Listening, parenting, parents, positive reinforcement, Trust
As a parent, ever wonder what is going on inside your kid’s mind?
Through the positive work we have completed with adolescence, young adults, and families we’ve heard and seen almost everything. Kids want their freedom (sometimes without responsibility) and respect, while parents struggle with communication, setting boundaries, and timing.
Here are ten real thoughts direct from clients about their parents.
#1 I can’t talk to them because they will just get angry at me.
#2 All they care about are grades.
#3 They tell me to stop doing things that they do all the time and it’s bullshit.
#4 They won’t understand if I told them or will make me feel like it isn’t important.
#5 They choose when it’s convenient to say no and get upset.
#6 I don’t want to be like them.
#7 I tell them what they want to hear.
#8 When I actually try to talk to them about something that happened, I just get in trouble.
#9 When you start lecturing, I stop listening.
#10 When you trash my friends, I start disliking you, not them.
Remember, parenting is an imperfect process and so is being a kid. We are not sharing this list so you can take on all of the items one by one, instead, use it as a guide to see where more attention could be placed. When it comes to your kid’s motivation things can drastically change as they get older but if you’re able to adapt with the times, stay hip, and simultaneously hold true to healthy principles then this process could be easier on you.
Here’s just one easier way to think about motivation. Remember, in parenting, effort counts.
What goes into your kid’s motivation?
Just like when a kid doesn’t get their way, the thoughts kids have about their parents are changing by the minute. The importance behind these thoughts is where the focus should lay. Communication is typically always an underlying relationship issue between parents and kids. Check out these other blogs for helpful tips on communication with your teens, How to Love Your Kids When They Are Tough to Love and Do NOT Try to be Your Child’s Best Friend.
Feel free to leave comments below or on any of our social media pages to get a conversation going!
by YouTime Coaching | Jul 25, 2017 | Advice
Are you one of those parents who see summer as an obstacle for your kids? Do you have the goal of ensuring that your kids stay active both physically and mentally? If so, you are not alone! What should a summer break be for a kid? Do you need to take it easy or should you focus on the mental and physical growth of your children? Yes, to both! And we have a few ideas how in our article below!
This article first appeared in The Grafton News: http://www.thegraftonnews.com/articles/keeping-your-kids-busy-this-summer/
Just because it’s summer break doesn’t mean that parents get the summer off. This time away from tests, homework, and structure just means that kids need new things to do. While this may be old news to most of the parents out there, it is still a reality check each year when school comes to a close. Over 30 percent of households in Grafton have kids under the age of 18, which means, there are many more parents like you out there.
While some kids look forward to joining one of the summer sports leagues or camps, others may cringe at the idea. Bottom line, kids can sometimes be picky, emotional, and have a demeanor that can scream “unmotivated.” Picture it now, your child has just reached a new personal record of consecutive hours in front of the television, on Facebook, and texting. While this may not be the proudest moment for a parent, some kids may say this was quite the productive day. Within the challenge of keeping your children busy throughout the summer months, it is helpful first to understand why and how maintaining structure and meaningful activity is vital to their well-being and even their upcoming school year.
Whether you are a parent working full-time outside of the home or are with your kid most of the day, a little bit of thought, mindfulness, and planning can make keeping your child mentally and physically active during the summer months much more manageable.
Let’s keep it simple. Research shows that a summer without an active mind and body have multiple downsides. First, academic retention over the summer without this type of stimulation drastically goes down which puts kids at a disadvantage going into the next school year by making the transition more challenging. Isn’t it tough enough?
Second, these adolescent years are crucial for developing communication and social skills, positive relationships, and healthy habits. Here are a couple of effective parenting strategies to help make navigating keeping your kids busy during the summer months a little easier.
For kids, communication on their level is essential. Very few want to hear about all the things they need, must, and have to do over the summer. Schedule a couple of uninterrupted sit-downs with them, so you won’t need to take on the entire season in one conversation. The first sit down should focus on your kid’s interests in how they want to spend their summer months, even if some of the ideas are unrealistic. Once you have a list, take a couple of days, and devise a plan for what is realistic and what may need to be compromised.
Take a trip to CVS and buy a calendar so when you sit back down with your kid, you can break it down by months instead of taking on the entire summer. Make it a goal to do one to two fun things (in the eyes of the child) each month. Take a step back after each sit down to see if you have a good balance of hitting the important categories, such as physical activity, mental activity, and social activity.
As parents, the summer isn’t simply about making your kid’s dreams a reality. Summer is also a time for your them to learn about the payoffs in being responsible. For some children, getting a part-time job, volunteering, or helping out around the house could be in the cards.
Having these opportunities for responsibility is important, but remember to communicate on their level. For instance, if your child is reluctant to get a job, help them with the search or possibly create a reward system to help them pay for something they want to save up for. Keep in mind that summer responsibility is most effective when they understand it’s meaning and purpose. While keeping your kids busy and safe during the summer is important, there is no harm in a little downtime for everyone (and yes, that includes you). Enjoy the warm weather, this great town, and most importantly time with family.
by YouTime Coaching | May 19, 2017 | Advice, Appreciation, Behavior, Benefit, boundaries, Children, Communication, Direction, Dreams, Growth, Human Needs, Insight, Kids, parenting, parents, Positive Psychology, positive reinforcement, Support, Teenagers, Understanding
Kids can be a pain in the ass sometimes.
Harsh words? Maybe. One thing is for sure though, those words are definitely filled to the brim with truth… harsh truth. This isn’t taking away from your unconditional love for them, it’s simply acknowledging that kids can sometimes do things that are very tough to love.
This is why parents turn to advice from others, seek out simple solutions, and time hacks. Sometimes it isn’t all that easy and you give into your frustrations, irritations, and anger. As parents, you are teachers, EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS YOUR KID DOES NOT WANT TO LEARN FROM YOU. Because the eyes are always on you, the advice you get absolutely needs to be solid.
YouTime Coaching’s extensive work with high-school and college students along with all of the hours worth of support for parents has allowed us to understand some keys elements in how to be a great teacher for your child even during those tough times. When it comes down to it, a child wants to understand, perceive they have some control, and feel supported in a non-judgmental way.
The hardest times to be a “good teacher” with your kids? (never thought you’d ask!)
Just to mention a few:
- when setting boundaries
- when you are angry, frustrated, or irritated (and sometimes hungry)
- when parents are on different pages
- when you feel as though your child is not listening
- when “nothing else seems to work”
- when your kid is an adolescent
- anytime
We don’t want you to be good teachers… we want you to be in many cases the kind of teacher “you wish you had growing up”, the kind of teacher that is more emotionally available than some families had in previous generations, and most importantly we want you to be the type of teacher that not only shows but explains the benefits in learning from failures, how to be compassionate to yourself and others, and have enough awareness/knowledge about what they are doing and why they are doing it.
For these reasons and with an entire year of putting together some of the most effective researched methods of teaching, motivation, and human behavior we have creating the “R.I.S.E. Method of Parent Teaching”.
The premise behind the acronym “R.I.S.E.” is for parents to use the powers of awareness, communication, non-judgmental support, and compassion as a way to elevate their parenting and ultimately their relationship with their child.
Use can use this method while trying to set boundaries with your children, teach them important lessons, disciplining (btw before disciplining your kid read this amazing article, https://www.verywell.com/what-is-child-discipline-620113), and even just trying to improve your communication with them.
Remember, punishment is easy, discipline is hard. Implementing this method may be challenging and outside your comfort zone, if you need some guidance please drop us a line!
DOWNLOAD THE R.I.S.E. METHOD HERE.
