Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Team Sports and GT?

Do any of you have MG/HG/PG kids who love team sports?
If so, did your kids always love them? Did it take time?

DS8 plays team sports but his focus is downright embarrassing sometimes. I am not talking about his skill level. While he is tall for his age, his sports teams are often grade based so, with a late birthday, he ends up with kids who are at least a full year to year and a half older (and much larger and more focused). When they are age based, he ends up with kids who are sometimes two grades younger (and often more skilled).

It's just that, during warm ups, he'll try to start a game of tag. During the game, he'll try to get the attention of kids a court over or he'll engage the kid he's guarding in a conversation about legos. Oh sometimes he'll get a basket or hit the ball into the outfield, but still...

DH coaches so maybe that doesn't help. I should mention, his teachers say he is the most well-behaved and direction oriented kid in class. He's fine at his piano lessons.

I am wondering if it's a lost cause as far as team sports goes. It's the same for any other team sport he's played. DH and I loved team sports as kids and we would dearly love if DS derived some enjoyment as well. DS hasn't asked to stop playing yet and we are hoping a love for a game kicks in.

Anyhoo...any hope out there??
Thank you

My kids found their sport...competitive swimming. You have the camaraderie of a team and shared practice but other than relays it is pretty much an individual sport. My kids look at each race as just an opportunity to make a personal best or improved time.

That's so interesting. My DYS is a competitive gymnast and his HG brother is a competitive swimmer. They've never wanted to play ball sports where they're on a team. I think this way they have control over how well they do, yet they're still on a team.

For some reason gifted kids not liking team sports is a common observation. The psychologist who tested my son mentioned it in our follow up appointment.

He suggested sports like tennis and golf. DS is doing Jedi yoga.

If you really want him to have a team sport experience you might consider him being the pitcher in baseball. DH was very athletic and his parents really pushed sports. He was never really close to his teammates. He made his friends in his honors classes. Anyway, between batting and pitching, it seems like an individual sport within a team sport.

This is a interesting thread. A dislike of team sports among my gifted family (me, dh, dd, ds) runs pretty deep. Gym was nearly traumatizing for me. I tried with both kids. My EG/PG daughter absolutely hated it. When we tried soccer at 5, she just stood on the field and didnt move. My son tolerated baseball last year but has fallen in love with fencing since. Both my kids sing in choirs, and I know that can give them their group experience. My husband and I both sang in choirs too. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I hadn't thought about this being connected with giftedness. That's kind of a healing thought...

My kids skate, swim and my DD also enjoys gymnastics. DS skates well enough to play hockey but insists "I'm not playing that!" DD meanwhile wants to pursue figure skating. She went through a brief soccer phase (playing at lunch with the other kids at school) but never asked if she could join a team like some of her friends have.

LOL gym class was INCREDIBLY traumatizing for me. I H.A.T.E.D. team sports. I just didn't have the "social attention span" ...you know, the joint attention to the key happenings in the game. It was like... if I wasn't controlling all of it, it didn't make sense to me and I'd lose track of what was happening.

I've always loved running though

I'm not sure if it is simply a "gifted thing" to not like team sports. If your child is grade accelerated, then they will be younger than their teammates and probably will not perform as well. It could be simply that.
Both of my kids are tiny, so that alone limits sports (plus my older boy wears a hearing aid!). They are on the swim team year-round, and the older one is also doing fencing.

I don't know if it is a gifted thing or not, but DS 4 is plenty athletic and loves swimming and gymnastics, but any attempt at a team sport has been a complete failure. In soccer, he would watch as the other kids ran after the ball, and then cry because he didn't score a goal. These have all been fun, park district classes, with a laid back coach, so it wasn't a bad experience, he just didn't enjoy it.

My attitude is that as long as he is active, and learning about healthy exercise, I'm not going to worry.

Maybe it's an introverted, perfectionist thing, both of which are often found in gifted kids?

I know some gifted kids who are great at team sports, and some who prefer them to academics.

Based on my experiences, I'd rather think of this as both not linked to giftedness, and not immutable. My DS had to really learn how to do this-- his early team sport experiences were pretty awful. Now he likes them and is fairly good at them. Experience and teaching matter as much as what equipment the kid started with.

DeeDee