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Post by Panenka on Aug 16, 2023 10:05:35 GMT -5
Hey fellow soccer parents,
I hope you're all doing well! I'm reaching out to you all seeking some advice and recommendations. My child is passionate about soccer and plays academy soccer at a competitive team for his age group, but also has ADHD.
I'd love to hear from parents who have been in similar situations or have insights to share. Here are a few areas I'm particularly interested in:
Focus and Concentration: Have you found any techniques or exercises that have worked effectively for helping your child with ADHD stay engaged during practices and games?
Communication with Coaches: How do you approach conversations with coaches about your child's ADHD? Have coaches been understanding and accommodating? Any tips for fostering a positive coach-player relationship?
Goal Setting and Motivation: Setting and achieving goals can be a challenge for kids with ADHD. How have you helped your child stay motivated and work towards their soccer goals, both on and off the field?
Behavioral Therapies and Medications: Have you tried any behavioral therapies or medications for managing your child's ADHD? Have you noticed any specific effects of these interventions on their performance on the soccer field?
I'm open to any insights, personal experiences, resources, or tips you can share. Fully understand some of you would prefer to discuss this offline, we can connect and agree on how to reach other.
Thank you all in advance for your time and support.
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Post by slickdaddy96 on Aug 16, 2023 10:18:38 GMT -5
I'm going to be honest. My daughter is not only ADHD but also on the Autism Spectrum (high-functioning would be Asperger's if they still still diagnosed it that way). She is on ADHD medication. It used to be Concerta (extended release methylphenidate) until insurance only allowed generics and the generics are sub-par based on the delivery and extended-release method which the name brand has patented so the generics are not the same. We moved over to a new drug Azstarys (Serdexmethylphenidate/dexmethylphenidate), and the highest dosage has been great and is now lasting through her entire school day something the generic methylphenidate was not doing. The drug takes longer to metabolize and also when it metabolizes the metabolites are also active on the body still which is how it lasts longer. Here is the wiki on it. My insurance covered it but the manufacturer has a discount card you can put in as a 3rd party insurance and it will knock your co-pay down $25 a month as well which helps. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serdexmethylphenidate/dexmethylphenidateThat is the biggest thing is if they are ADHD and really need meds, the meds are what help my daughter focus on the soccer field. I can tell the difference on when she takes it and when she doesn't game wise. We will sometimes delay having her take it if her game is later in the day. She knows she needs it as well, as her grades slip (straight A student) if she doesn't take them. As far as training goes (since its always at night) she just doesn't do as well at training because a lot of the drug has worn off by that point, and it is what it is. I just tell her to try to stay focused at training as best she can. For younger kids that might be an issue. Mine is a teenager though. As far as coaches go, yes I let them know of both her medical conditions (spectrum disorder, and ADHD) so they are aware. No coach has had an issue, and most folks might not even realize she has either condition to be honest. Hope this helps. |
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Post by triffling on Aug 16, 2023 10:33:19 GMT -5
I would simply have a conversation with the coach and note that your child may at times have a lack of focus or effective listening skills due to adhd. I think enough people understand this that it shouldn’t be an issue and will help the coach know what’s going on with the child.
As for meds, obviously discuss those with your pediatrician. One challenge will be that you will not want to medicate them for later afternoon or evening activities. If taking a stimulant such as Adderall, it will keep them up all night if take too late in the day, but if prescribed to help in school, using it on Sat or Sunday morning will help them maintain focus for their morning or afternoon games.
Matches are usually stimulating enough as there is a lot to process. But as an adult referee with adhd, one trick I use when my mind starts to wander in slow games is to just make clicking noises with my tongue which sort of act to snap me back into focus.
Another mental trick may be to just teach your child to mentally hum a familiar tune while playing. It’s hard to explain to people who don’t have adhd, but humming something as silly as a nursery rhyme or a favorite song, helps keep the adhd brain occupied and focused on the task at hand.
From a soccer perspective, teach your child to constantly be asking him or herself where is the ball going? Where is play going? Who am I marking? what will I do if the ball goes here or there? Channel their active mind into processing the game.
But just realize that sometimes that plane flying overhead is just going to distract them for a few seconds. It happens to the best of us.
Good luck.
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Post by slickdaddy96 on Aug 16, 2023 11:14:55 GMT -5
I guess I'll add and explain the "delaying her taking" it part of my post. I'm not saying delay till afternoon, but she does generally wake up later on weekends when there are not earlier games so taking her meds at 11am-12pm has not had any serious bad effects of her not being able to get to sleep by 10pm-11pm (which would be her normal bedtime say on the weekend)
I realize every child may be different, so talking with a pediatrician and also testing if taking later (say 11am-12pm) actually hurts their sleep cycle or not. For mine it doesn't. I wouldn't advocate taking it past about noon though either way.
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Post by gasoccernewb on Aug 16, 2023 22:25:19 GMT -5
A lot of great information already, but I'll add that my daughter has always struggled with maintaining focus. My wife and I tried many different natural remedies (diet, vitamins, etc.) over the years with varying effect. We really didn't want to go the route of medicine, but about a year ago (age 13) her grades took a nose dive along with her soccer play. We made the decision to take the next step and the change was absolutely amazing. She was prescribed Concerta and within a couple of days she was a new kid. Over the next few weeks she went from struggling in school with B/C's to straight A's. Her play on the field was more consistent day-to-day and she started making larger gains in soccer in a shorter amount of time. All with zero sides effects.
We do take care to make sure she doesn't take her meds past mid-morning (if she sleeps in). Otherwise she will have issues sleeping. We do notice that the medicine isn't as effective later in the day. On days when she is feeling a little run down I'll give her some Cliff Blocs or a 5 hour energy. Those give her a boost of energy and help her stay focused during late practices.
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Post by Panenka on Aug 17, 2023 8:29:13 GMT -5
A lot of great information already, but I'll add that my daughter has always struggled with maintaining focus. My wife and I tried many different natural remedies (diet, vitamins, etc.) over the years with varying effect. We really didn't want to go the route of medicine, but about a year ago (age 13) her grades took a nose dive along with her soccer play. We made the decision to take the next step and the change was absolutely amazing. She was prescribed Concerta and within a couple of days she was a new kid. Over the next few weeks she went from struggling in school with B/C's to straight A's. Her play on the field was more consistent day-to-day and she started making larger gains in soccer in a shorter amount of time. All with zero sides effects. We do take care to make sure she doesn't take her meds past mid-morning (if she sleeps in). Otherwise she will have issues sleeping. We do notice that the medicine isn't as effective later in the day. On days when she is feeling a little run down I'll give her some Cliff Blocs or a 5 hour energy. Those give her a boost of energy and help her stay focused during late practices. So glad to hear your daughter has improved dramatically at school and on the field. That gives some degree of hope if we ever go down that path. We are also somewhat apprehensive of starting meds and I'll explain why. Son is currently not on any meds and has never been on meds. We had him evaluated and after my wife and I answered 30 plus questions the Dr said, yes he has it….here is the prescription if you want it. My wife and I felt the evaluation was so subjective and simplistic that quite frankly we did not want to give him meds in part because we didn’t have a great concern. Our son does well in school for the most part, well in sports, socializes well and most of the tantrums are with us at home so we can handle it. Despite the simple evaluation we wanted a much deeper evaluation which we were fortunate to have done. The outcome of that was yes child has ADHD but mild and has a high IQ which helps offset the ADHD to some extent. Since child overall does well in the things I said before the new Dr said no meds are necessary unless something changes, for example bad grades. So no meds. That being said if circumstances change just like you mentioned grades taking a nose dive or something else we would consider it. Back to soccer , the season just started and we have a new coach. I’ve recently told the coach about my child ADHD and he was receptive. However I keep noticing the coach has to call my child’s name quite often during practice and I’m starting to wonder if this is going to cause frustration from the coach as well as my child who could lose interest because he is being called out. No complaints at all about the coach he is doing his job with respect to making the team stronger and teaching my son, however if my son is somewhat distracted at times I'm noticing he might be put on the bench during games more often because of his ADHD. Prior to your daughter starting meds, did you try anything else that provided marginal benefit, such as Behavioral Therapy, neurofeedback? or perhaps non-stimulant meds? |
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Post by Panenka on Aug 17, 2023 8:35:41 GMT -5
I would simply have a conversation with the coach and note that your child may at times have a lack of focus or effective listening skills due to adhd. I think enough people understand this that it shouldn’t be an issue and will help the coach know what’s going on with the child. As for meds, obviously discuss those with your pediatrician. One challenge will be that you will not want to medicate them for later afternoon or evening activities. If taking a stimulant such as Adderall, it will keep them up all night if take too late in the day, but if prescribed to help in school, using it on Sat or Sunday morning will help them maintain focus for their morning or afternoon games. Matches are usually stimulating enough as there is a lot to process. But as an adult referee with adhd, one trick I use when my mind starts to wander in slow games is to just make clicking noises with my tongue which sort of act to snap me back into focus. Another mental trick may be to just teach your child to mentally hum a familiar tune while playing. It’s hard to explain to people who don’t have adhd, but humming something as silly as a nursery rhyme or a favorite song, helps keep the adhd brain occupied and focused on the task at hand. From a soccer perspective, teach your child to constantly be asking him or herself where is the ball going? Where is play going? Who am I marking? what will I do if the ball goes here or there? Channel their active mind into processing the game. But just realize that sometimes that plane flying overhead is just going to distract them for a few seconds. It happens to the best of us. Good luck. Greatly appreciate the mental tricks you suggested. I had the conversation with the coach a week ago so to soon to assess how the interaction between coach and my son has changed, but he was receptive so I'm thankful. I will bring up those questions you suggested to my son, to constantly ask himself, that should help keep him engaged. I'll try any tips I can get, so thank you. |
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Post by Panenka on Aug 17, 2023 8:42:12 GMT -5
I'm going to be honest. My daughter is not only ADHD but also on the Autism Spectrum (high-functioning would be Asperger's if they still still diagnosed it that way). She is on ADHD medication. It used to be Concerta (extended release methylphenidate) until insurance only allowed generics and the generics are sub-par based on the delivery and extended-release method which the name brand has patented so the generics are not the same. We moved over to a new drug Azstarys (Serdexmethylphenidate/dexmethylphenidate), and the highest dosage has been great and is now lasting through her entire school day something the generic methylphenidate was not doing. The drug takes longer to metabolize and also when it metabolizes the metabolites are also active on the body still which is how it lasts longer. Here is the wiki on it. My insurance covered it but the manufacturer has a discount card you can put in as a 3rd party insurance and it will knock your co-pay down $25 a month as well which helps. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serdexmethylphenidate/dexmethylphenidateThat is the biggest thing is if they are ADHD and really need meds, the meds are what help my daughter focus on the soccer field. I can tell the difference on when she takes it and when she doesn't game wise. We will sometimes delay having her take it if her game is later in the day. She knows she needs it as well, as her grades slip (straight A student) if she doesn't take them. As far as training goes (since its always at night) she just doesn't do as well at training because a lot of the drug has worn off by that point, and it is what it is. I just tell her to try to stay focused at training as best she can. For younger kids that might be an issue. Mine is a teenager though. As far as coaches go, yes I let them know of both her medical conditions (spectrum disorder, and ADHD) so they are aware. No coach has had an issue, and most folks might not even realize she has either condition to be honest. Hope this helps. Thank you for sharing your daughters story. Similar situation with respect to most folks don't notice our sons condition. In a different post I mentioned why we have not gone down the path of meds but if the day comes we will need to consider it. Our son is 8 years old, so school work is not much of a work load at all, but surely that will change as he grows. At the moment I'm trying to read upon what other alternatives exist such as neurofeedback. Just trying to see what else can provide a marginal benefit if meds are not absolutely necessary at this time. |
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Post by slickdaddy96 on Aug 17, 2023 9:09:37 GMT -5
I'm going to be honest. My daughter is not only ADHD but also on the Autism Spectrum (high-functioning would be Asperger's if they still still diagnosed it that way). She is on ADHD medication. It used to be Concerta (extended release methylphenidate) until insurance only allowed generics and the generics are sub-par based on the delivery and extended-release method which the name brand has patented so the generics are not the same. We moved over to a new drug Azstarys (Serdexmethylphenidate/dexmethylphenidate), and the highest dosage has been great and is now lasting through her entire school day something the generic methylphenidate was not doing. The drug takes longer to metabolize and also when it metabolizes the metabolites are also active on the body still which is how it lasts longer. Here is the wiki on it. My insurance covered it but the manufacturer has a discount card you can put in as a 3rd party insurance and it will knock your co-pay down $25 a month as well which helps. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serdexmethylphenidate/dexmethylphenidateThat is the biggest thing is if they are ADHD and really need meds, the meds are what help my daughter focus on the soccer field. I can tell the difference on when she takes it and when she doesn't game wise. We will sometimes delay having her take it if her game is later in the day. She knows she needs it as well, as her grades slip (straight A student) if she doesn't take them. As far as training goes (since its always at night) she just doesn't do as well at training because a lot of the drug has worn off by that point, and it is what it is. I just tell her to try to stay focused at training as best she can. For younger kids that might be an issue. Mine is a teenager though. As far as coaches go, yes I let them know of both her medical conditions (spectrum disorder, and ADHD) so they are aware. No coach has had an issue, and most folks might not even realize she has either condition to be honest. Hope this helps. Thank you for sharing your daughters story. Similar situation with respect to most folks don't notice our sons condition. In a different post I mentioned why we have not gone down the path of meds but if the day comes we will need to consider it. Our son is 8 years old, so school work is not much of a work load at all, but surely that will change as he grows. At the moment I'm trying to read upon what other alternatives exist such as neurofeedback. Just trying to see what else can provide a marginal benefit if meds are not absolutely necessary at this time. To add to what I already said. We did not medicate our daughter until I think either 4th or 5th grade when it was clear her grades were starting to slip due to lack of focus along with her distracting the rest of the classes she was in due to her not being on task due to her ADHD. We tried everything prior to keep her off the meds. Energy chews like the Gatorade ones that gave her a little caffeine bump, etc.... nothing really worked. I was apprehensive about her getting put on meds because she was a creative ball of energy, I didn't want her to lose any of her personality. My worries were for nothing. She is still the same creative and smart girl she always has been. She is just able to focus more which has lead to nothing but straight A's from then on. I will add that both my wife and I believe I am undiagnosed ADHD as well, and when I was in elementary school the school even told my mom I needed to be on meds. In reality yes I am/was ADHD, but I have a high IQ and in reality the classes were boring to me because I finished stuff in minutes and then started acting up. My mom told them to let me be errand boy or do something to keep me occupied and most importantly move me to the more advanced level classes so that the pace was faster. That all worked, along with me learning coping mechanisms to stay focused on my own. I think mine is mild, but my mind does go 100 different direction at once if I let it. My daughter's issues are al little more severe than what I had to go through or still have as an adult. I applaud your want to stay unmedicated as long as possible in hopes you will never have to medicate. Medicating my daughter was the last resort, but it was the only resort that worked. |
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