By Dr. Carey Heller, Licensed Psychologist | Coach Carey ADHD Sports

Summer is finally here! The sun is out, the school routine is on pause, and local baseball diamonds and soccer fields are calling.

As a licensed psychologist specializing in ADHD and executive functioning, parents often ask me how to keep their kids active during the break. We know the incredible ADHD exercise benefits—from burning off excess energy to boosting focus and improving mood. Naturally, summer feels like the perfect window to help our kids sharpen their athletic skills.

But if you’ve ever tried to force a neurodivergent brain to do standard, repetitive sports drills, you already know how that story ends: power struggles, meltdowns, and a child who wants to quit the sport entirely by July.

When we force practice, we drain the brain’s dopamine supply. For children with ADHD, dopamine is the primary fuel for attention, engagement, and intrinsic motivation. If a task isn’t stimulating or fun, an ADHD brain perceives it as physically exhausting.

This summer, let’s flip the script. Your job isn’t to be a strict drill sergeant; it’s to be an executive producer of fun. Here is how you can help your child build a self-motivated, low-pressure summer sports routine that builds skills and strengthens your parent-child bond.

1. Let Them Hold the Clipboard (Autonomy Triggers Motivation)

The secret to motivating an ADHD child is simple: ownership. If a practice plan comes directly from you, it feels like an extension of schoolwork. If it comes from them, it becomes an adventure.

Sit down with your child over ice cream or a cold drink and ask a simple, open-ended question:

“If you could absolutely nail one cool sports move or skill by the end of the summer, what would it be?”

• For Soccer: It might be learning a step-over juke, scoring a goal with their non-dominant foot, or juggling the ball five times in a row.

• For Baseball: It could be catching high fly balls confidently, hitting a ball past the driveway, or mastering a quick, accurate throw to first base.

Write it down. Put it on a poster board or a dedicated notebook. Or type it out.  Letting them choose the goal triggers that crucial spark of internal motivation.

2. Define “Micro-Drills” to Avoid Overwhelm

Because of how the brain processes executive functioning in sports, kids with ADHD often struggle with vague directions. A phrase like “let’s go practice soccer” feels massive and undefined, which frequently leads to avoidance or resistance.

Instead, break their chosen skill down into bite-sized, highly concrete “micro-drills” that take less than 10 minutes to complete.

Here are a few ways to turn traditional practice into structured play:

Sport	The Goal	The Concrete Micro-Drill
Soccer	Better Ball Control	The Landmine Drill: Scatter plastic cups or cones across the yard. They have to dribble from one side to the other without knocking any over.
Soccer	Passing Accuracy	Wall Ball: Pass the ball against a brick wall or rebounder, trying to trap the rebound within a small chalk-drawn square.
Baseball	Catching Fly Balls	The Pop-Up Challenge: Toss tennis balls or soft training balls high in the air while they try to catch them using proper glove and hand positioning.
Baseball	Bat Contact	The Tee Target: Set up a hitting tee. Put a piece of brightly colored tape on a net or fence. Can they line-drive the ball directly into the tape? Or build something with buckets for them to knock down with the ball.   Place it about ten to fifteen feet in front of the tee.

3. Map Out a Flexible Summer Sports Routine

Instead of blocking out rigid calendar slots like “Practice: Tuesday from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM,” build a flexible, “choose-your-own-adventure” schedule.

Kids with ADHD thrive on predictability but will actively resist rigidity. Create a visual weekly calendar where they get to pick three days a week to do their micro-drills. Let them decide exactly when it happens during those days.

Keep the sessions remarkably short—15 to 20 minutes max. The ultimate goal is to end the session while they are still having fun. Leaving them wanting more ensures they will gladly step back out onto the field later in the week.

4. Gamify Progress for a Natural Dopamine Hit

Instead of measuring progress by pointing out what they did wrong, use simple data to turn practice into a video game. Neurodivergent kids love video games because of the immediate feedback loops—levels, points, and instant high scores. You can easily mimic this in the backyard.

• Beat the Clock: “Let’s see how many successful passes we can make to each other in 60 seconds.”

• The Level-Up System: “If you hit the target 3 times today, you unlock ‘Level 2’ tomorrow (which means standing two steps further back).”

• Visual Progress Trackers: Use a sticker chart or a colorful bar graph on the fridge. Tracking that they went from 2 consecutive soccer juggles in week one to 6 juggles in week three provides a massive visual reward to the brain.

5. Use Practice to Bond, Not to Coach

Here is my strongest recommendation as both a psychologist and a coach: Give your kids the opportunity to practice, support them in executing what they want, but never force it.

If they are completely spent on a Tuesday afternoon, let it go. Forcing a child to practice is the fastest path to athletic burnout and a definitive desire to quit.

Instead, view this summer as a golden opportunity to strengthen your relationship. Step away from the “coach” persona and just be their teammate.

• Let them coach you. (Kids absolutely love watching their parents mess up a drill!)

• Put on an upbeat playlist while you chase down stray balls together.

• Focus your praise entirely on their effort, resilience, and creativity—never on perfection.

When your child looks back at the summer, they won’t remember the exact mechanics of their swing or their footwork. They will remember the laughs, the high-fives, and the invaluable feeling that their parent was entirely on their side, playing right along with them.

Does your child struggle with motivation, focus, or sports anxiety? The team at Heller Psychology Group is here to help. Contact us today to learn more about our neurodiversity-affirming coaching and therapy services.

What sports goals is your child hoping to master this summer? Drop a comment below or share your favorite backyard gamified drill with our community!

Additional resources are available at https://linktr.ee/AthleteDHD .