I have posted previously about my experience coaching with neurodivergent players, so I was very interested to read Dr Josephine Perry‘s ADHD in Sport: Strategies for Success.
The book builds through chapters on the neurology and psychology of the sporting brain, the potential impact of sport on ADHD, and of ADHD on sporting performance, through chapters on strategies to support wellbeing, training and competition, all written for the athlete. †
I can see how some of the strategies could be helpful for all athletes, neurodivergent & neurotypical.
Helpful chapters on common ADHD co-occurring conditions, and on the available medications, provide a broader perspective, for athletes, coaches & parents.
The chapter on coaching an athlete with ADHD was especially relevant for coaches, with suggestions for understanding and accommodating behaviours to deliver better outcomes for the athlete.
But, for all the sound advice from Dr Perry, perhaps most helpful for athletes and coaches were the short pieces from athletes, from a range of sports, and their parents and coaches, with experience of ADHD. Not, certainly, as templates to be followed, but more to illustrate the (genuine, and very important) caveat that what works for one person might not work for another. And that it is possible to find a (better) way.
† Although written with the young athlete in mind, I did find some of the text a little difficult to follow — long sentences really do need “formal” punctuation, and nearly 30 years in publishing has left me unable to read through a typo without losing my thread!
The Teesra 
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