How Coaches and Parents Can Support Neurodivergent Athletes

How Coaches and Parents Can Support Neurodivergent Athletes

The Prerequisite

At every level, successful tennis players are surrounded by people who positively shape their experiences. As coaches, whether we’re working with young kids, tournament level juniors, or competitive adults, one principle remains paramount: TRUST. Trust is earned through consistency, clear communication, and genuine relationship building.

For players with ADHD, earning that trust often means traveling a slightly different road. But with empathy, awareness, and a willingness to learn, coaches and parents can become incredibly effective leaders and communicators.

The Neurodivergent Mind

Imagine you press play on a video at normal speed – that’s how thoughts move in a neurotypical brain. Now fast forward that same video 100x, rewind, and scroll through 500 images in a matter of seconds. That whirlwind is what thought patterns can feel like for someone with ADHD. 

Rather than calmly choosing which thoughts to keep or discard, a person with ADHD may experience a rapid-fire rush of ideas with little control over what sticks. It’s mentally exhausting, especially in socially or academically demanding situations.

The Cause

Individuals with ADHD face many of the same growing pains as their peers, plus a few extras. Challenges such as impulsivity, time blindness, emotional sensitivity, low frustration tolerance, and inconsistent short-term memory can compound their experience.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that around 9% of kids aged 13–18 in the U.S. have ADHD, with the rate suspected to be even higher among athletes. It is four times more commonly diagnosed in boys than in girls.

In Australia, the stats are below: 

The Young Minds Mattersurvey (2013–2014) reported ADHD as the most common mental disorder among 4–17-year-olds, with a prevalence of 7.4%.

The Australian ADHD Professionals Associationestimates ADHD prevalence in Australian children and adolescents to be between 6% and 10%.

Gender differences are notable, with ADHD being more commonly diagnosed in boys than girls. The Young Minds Matter survey found that among children aged 4–11 years, 10.9% of boys and 5.4% of girls were diagnosed with ADHD. In the 12–17 age group, 9.8% of boys and 2.7% of girls were diagnosed.

ADHD stems from differences in brain chemistry. Specifically, those with ADHD tend to have lower levels of dopamine and irregular dopamine regulation. Dopamine is critical to attention, motivation, and reward systems. When dopamine levels are too low, focus becomes elusive. When they spike, hyperfocus can take over.

This is why someone with ADHD may completely zone out during homework but obsessively master a video game or anything of interest. The same pattern often emerges in sport. Many ADHD players struggle with doing the simple routine drills but excel in high-pressure match situations. 

Strengths and Challenges

ADHD comes with a unique blend of strengths and challenges. Among the strengths:

• High energy
• Creative problem-solving
• Non-linear thinking
• Risk-taking tendencies
• Calmness under pressure
• Hyperfocus on areas of interest
  
  

These attributes often translate beautifully to tennis, a game requiring bursts of focus, adaptability, and intuitive decision-making. ADHD players can thrive in chaos, respond instinctively, and react rapidly, potentially often faster than their peers.

Research shows ADHD brains tend to produce more Theta waves, associated with relaxed alertness. This makes people with ADHD highly capable in high-stakes or crisis situations, which may explain the prevalence of ADHD traits in emergency responders, entertainers, and elite athletes.

However, challenges also surface – particularly in areas that don’t provide instant rewards. Tasks like organising gear, following multi-step instructions, or remembering appointments can feel like scaling a mountain.

It’s not about intelligence. ADHD is not a learning disability, and there is no correlation between ADHD and IQ. The challenge lies in regulation, not comprehension. When something fails to engage, the ADHD brain will quickly move on to something else that does.

Collaborating with ADHD Players

ADHD brains can excel in the right conditions. Coaches and teachers who take time to understand these conditions can unlock enormous potential. As a coach or parent, you have got to be willing to do work that is necessary to understand a few things. From my own experience, they are the following: 

1. The Dopamine Deficit Drives the Behaviour

ADHD isn’t a discipline issue – it’s a chemistry issue. The ADHD brain has lower levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that fuels motivation, attention, and reward. This is why kids with ADHD struggle to complete tasks they’re not interested in, yet can hyperfocus on things they find exciting. They’re not lazy – their brain simply doesn’t activate without enough dopamine. Understanding this changes how we set up training, rewards, and feedback loops.

I often hear coaches throw out phrases like “focus” or “stop being lazy”. Those comments usually come from a place of misunderstanding, not malice. If you haven’t taken the time to study how the ADHD brain works, it’s worth pausing before offering those kinds of labels.

The more productive approach is to look in the mirror and ask:

“Do I truly understand what’s driving this behaviour?”

Because chances are, it’s not laziness – it’s brain chemistry, and it’s on us as coaches to level up our knowledge.

Our job is to create environments where every player has the chance to succeed, especially the ones whose minds work differently. That starts with empathy, education, and the humility to admit what we don’t know yet, and the willingness to go learn it. 

2. Attention Is Inconsistent, Not Absent

A child with ADHD can’t always choose when to pay attention, but that doesn’t mean they’re incapable. Their attention fluctuates based on interest, environment, and emotional state. As a coach or parent, your job is to create conditions where focus becomes easier: short drills, competitive games, visual cues, and structured yet flexible routines. The same player who’s distracted during a talk might lock in completely during a 30-second challenge. It’s your job as coach to figure out what works for the individual. If you don’t want to invest the time into doing that, don’t expect extraordinary results. 

3. Structure Unlocks Their Strengths

Kids with ADHD often shine in dynamic, high-pressure situations – exactly the kind of moments tennis delivers. But they still need help with the logistics: remembering their gear, showing up on time, or staying on task. Clear expectations, consistent routines, and practical systems (like phone reminders or visual schedules) help them access their strengths more often. When structure is in place, their creativity, resilience, and competitive fire can truly come to life.

One useful concept is the 30% Rule from Dr. Russell Barkley: take the individuals actual age, reduce it by 30%, and that’s the attention span you should expect.

Open, ongoing communication between parents and coaches is essential. Sharing context around how a child is doing – whether they’re experimenting with new routines, medication, or therapies, can lead to a more effective coaching relationship.

Creative thinking can also be a bridge. One fun strategy used with a pair of 11–12 year olds involved role-playing, turning strengths into “superpowers” and weaknesses into challenges to overcome. This built engagement and awareness while subtly developing tactics and technique.

As the players grew, structures were introduced to help manage common ADHD challenges. Digital calendars with multiple reminders helped one player remember match times, equipment, and even things like filling up the car. Over time, systems like these created real independence and accountability.

There are many fun ways to implement strategies, but it goes back to my first principle which is TRUST. You can’t do any of this without trust from the parents and the student. 

Using Creativity with Structure

Both parents and coaches can use similar tools:

• Consistent expectations
• Frequent, short feedback loops
• Reward systems and bonuses
• Flexibility in rules and delivery
• Visual cues and demonstrations
• Short breaks and varied lesson pacing

On court, competitive structures work best. Instead of repetitive drills, turn forehand practice into a game with point systems. This gamifies focus and effort while leveraging natural dopamine-seeking tendencies.

Allowing the player to design some of these games also increases buy-in.

For example: “We’ll play a game to 11. Start each point with a 2-shot combo of your choice.” That simple change flips the drill into a collaborative, stimulating exercise with instant feedback opportunities built in. Doing this will build much better retention. 

Quick game rotations (every 3–5 minutes) are ideal. These allow for many short breaks where concepts can be reinforced without long lectures that lose attention. Video feedback – whether showing pro footage or recording the student’s own performance is another powerful tool.

Priorities

According to the ADHD Centre in the UK, tennis is “perfect for kids with ADHD” because of its fast-paced, energy-filled nature.

But ultimately, coaching these kids isn’t about tennis, it’s about the person. It’s about helping them build self-awareness, confidence, and responsibility through consistent action and support.

And in that sense, it’s no different than coaching anyone else.

Just be ready for a few speed bumps and maybe a few missing tennis shoes and balls.

If you have any questions, please email me at info@sparktennis.com.au – I would be more than happy to share my thoughts.