I'm coaching a 6th grade boy with serious attention span issues. His father apologized to me after a game last weekend where the kid was totally out of it and the father suspected it was because they hadn't given him his meds yet, regular time for them was right in the middle of the game I guess, so they waited until after.
Anyhow, I get his attention, have him look me in the eye, repeat back what I said, stuff like that, and in 5 seconds, it's gone. Like as simple as "when we call swing, you catch the ball here and pass it there" and we do it immediately and he catches the ball and has no idea what he's supposed to do, like he's just frozen trying to remember. Forget about knowing an out of bounds play. The other guys have learned quickly they have to tell him where to go on those (we have one out of bounds play).
I've tried explaining with words, having him repeat after me and then having him do it immediately. I've tried demonstrating while he watches and having him repeat immediately after me. We've had a month and a half of practices and he has no idea of any of the team concepts we've worked on and has improved very little in the individual stuff. He's a very good baseball player and made it to 6th grade in a very good school system, so I'm pretty sure there is something there if I can figure out how to reach him.
Any tips or suggestions? I'm planning on asking the Mom, who is a teacher, about his learning style and the best way to get him to focus and retain things.
Anyhow, I get his attention, have him look me in the eye, repeat back what I said, stuff like that, and in 5 seconds, it's gone. Like as simple as "when we call swing, you catch the ball here and pass it there" and we do it immediately and he catches the ball and has no idea what he's supposed to do, like he's just frozen trying to remember. Forget about knowing an out of bounds play. The other guys have learned quickly they have to tell him where to go on those (we have one out of bounds play).
I've tried explaining with words, having him repeat after me and then having him do it immediately. I've tried demonstrating while he watches and having him repeat immediately after me. We've had a month and a half of practices and he has no idea of any of the team concepts we've worked on and has improved very little in the individual stuff. He's a very good baseball player and made it to 6th grade in a very good school system, so I'm pretty sure there is something there if I can figure out how to reach him.
Any tips or suggestions? I'm planning on asking the Mom, who is a teacher, about his learning style and the best way to get him to focus and retain things.