Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Are Gifted Kids Naturally good at Athletics too?

Hi all, something I've been thinking about and so far I haven't seen anything written on it (somewhat new to the forum) Are GT kids just naturally good at athletics too. Example, I have DD5 and DD4 and I put them in activies such as dance, swimming, ice skating, soccer ect... they always stand out in their classes to the point I get so many comments on it that I play it down to the other parents. don't get me wrong I love to see them master things so quickly and do well, I'm just wondering is this a common thing with GT kids

This link doesn't really answer the question but it's a theory about how intelligence and athletic ability may be correlated. Seems that according to this theory, since high athletic ability (e.g., speed, strength) at one point was highly associated with
survival, it is not likely to be highly correlated with high levels of intelligence (i.e., people of average intelligence were just as likely to procreate as people with high intelligence). Lower levels of intelligence, though, are definitely correlated with athletic ability because brain damage often affects both types of abilities.

http://paulcooijmans.lunarpages.com/psy/gdef.html

My husband was very athletic and played football in the army. Physical things always came easy for him. My cousin's sons are very bright and athletic. My daughter, who I couldn't afford to send to dance lessons or gymnastics when she was in elementary school, learned dance routines and how to do a cartwheel and all the things cheerleaders need to be able to do in middle school well enough that she became a cheerleader. She tried out and earned a place on the cheerleading squad when some of the girls who had years of lessons didn't make it, so I would say that she is also physically gifted, but she never appeared to be as "academically gifted" as my son.

My son, although he learned to read on his own at 2 and seemed gifted in other ways always had difficulty with anything physical, but he was able to learn academic things twice as fast as most kids, but it took him twice as long to learn to do anything physical because he has motor dyspraxia.

If there is any physical activity required, like in piano, he makes only average progress because even though he recognizes patterns in music very quickly, his other difficulties slow him down.

Totally anecdotal, but I was better than average at the sports I did. (Not a star, but I always made the all-star team.) Generally my sports were ones that required more strategy and less physical prowess. I was good at softball and volleyball, but lousy at basketball because it didn't allow much time for me to analyze the plays--I just had to react.

OTOH, softball and volleyball allowed me to analyze where players were standing or how they were positioned and respond accordingly. I was always the "coach on the field" in these sports, whispering what I saw to my teammates: "Shift toward third because her body is turned more than it was last time she batted," or "She can't hit with her left hand. Block closer to the middle and give up the line shot. She can't make it."

I can already see the same thing with DS7. He's one of the better players on his soccer team, mainly because he understands where he is supposed to be and can recognize the patterns of plays developing.

I think people often underestimate how much of sports--especially at the recreation level--is pattern recognition. Getting a one-step jump on a grounder because you knew the batter was going to pull the ball toward left field can make a big difference in how you play.

DS5 actually had a gross motor delay as a toddler requiring a year of physical therapy. I never thought he'd have enough coordination for playing sports well.

So far he has played both baseball and soccer on teams and has stood out as a star in both. I think it's mostly because he knows the rules and strategy. He also practices very hard. I think he was the only kid on his t-ball team last year that could really play catch with the coaches but he spent hours in the evening time practicing with his throwback net.

In soccer he scored most of his team's goals because he was able to find spaces where the other teams defenders were not standing rather than just kicking into the pile of kids.

I still don't think he will excel at sports but for now he's pretty good for a 5 year old.

DD4 (untested but suspected gifted as well) is really standing out as a star on her competitive cheerleader team for 3-6 years old. Although she is one of the youngest she has such focus and determination that is needed to learn cheer routines. She also has same determination as her brother and last winter at 3.5 years old she was determined to learn to do a real cartwheel. She practicing for hours each day over 2 week span and mastered the skill. It was an amazing progression to see her go from barely getting her legs over her head to a perfect straight leg cartwheel.

Nope!!! At least not in our house

That's not to say that none of us is good at anything related to sports, but we don't have any particular natural talent. DS came in 136th out of 136 in the city-wide swimming championship last year, even though he was at the top of the age group and had been swimming for years, works hard at it, etc. On the other hand, he's a pretty good tap dancer and rock climber, and ~really~ good at putt putt golf. We're going to try tennis next... He has much better hand-eye coordination than I do. (I can't play tennis to save my life...)

That's not to say DS's talents are restricted to academic fields... actually he's freaky-good at video games (marketable skill, that! LOL) but sports isn't really his area. He had mild gross motor delays as a baby and didn't walk until very late, so I can't say I'm surprised that he doesn't really shine in the gross motor kinds of areas! Also, he's on the very-small side, so anything that requires brute force is probably not going to be his forte. Strategy, coordination, rhythm, motor planning and control he can do pretty darn well, but not sheer strength or speed.

DS has been growing so fast his whole life, he's never really had a chance to be coordinated. He also is easily distracted and not very interested in sports. So everything on the field is more interesting to him than where the ball is.

I guess it is possible that once he grows into his body and matures he will get better, but right now, we have no high hopes that his college will be funded by a sports scholarship.

Interesting thread, but it begs the question... what do you do with a child that doesn't show any athletic ability? I appreciate that not every kid will shine in the athletic arena but it's the only area on Miss 7's report that is below an age appropriate level. She currently endures gymnastics and she's constantly in the pool but she really struggles with any and all ball games and still can't ride her bike without trainer wheels (and is not the kind of kid that will perservere if she can't do something quickly). I'm not exactly the "sporty" type, but I always danced and I still do the odd triathlon. I've included some daily ball exercises with the girls over the summer holidays but wondering how far to push things??? I guess my thinking is that every little girl needs to be able to do a handstand, back-bend and the monkey bars to be able to survive the playground. Plus ride a bike and possibly roller-blade. I suspect that Miss 7 will shine in the pool when she's a bit older so perhaps that's enough athleticism?

Well, I have never done a handstand or a back-bend and my monkey bar skills were lacking and it never really bothered me. There are lots of other things going on on the playground that don't require these skills. In fact, on my playground the girls who did handstands were celebrities. They were certainly not the norm.

Do you have any reason to worry about her balance or her visual tracking? My mother and I were both really bad at ball games and, as adults, found we had visual tracking problems that were solved with some eye exercises. I do wish I had known about the eye problems sooner.

Interesting thread, but it begs the question... what do you do with a child that doesn't show any athletic ability? I appreciate that not every kid will shine in the athletic arena but it's the only area on Miss 7's report that is below an age appropriate level
That was from jojo, sorry I don't know how to do the block thing yet.

I would say try different things to see what clicks, that's what I was doing, 6-8 week classes one at a time to see what they liked, turned out they like them all, and did well at them all, but the dance classes is what stuck, it's been about a year now. I think what is important is that they have fun with it and as long as they're having fun we'll continue.

What is interesting to me is when I watch my 5 year old dance you can see her counting to herself to make sure she does the move on time, also directing the other girls if their off a beat, and she learns the name of every step she is taught (she's so intense). My 4 year old just goes on stage and does it with the biggest smile you have ever seen.