hi Pete, your youngster would of spent a long time over this period probably feeling trapped and in some ways penned in. through no fault of anybody.

It will feel very strange for the child and he/she will be trying to figure out how to deal with it. he/she will probably want to scream/shout/run just to get some sort of release.

in your seesions try to set out a good solid structure for the youngster give him managable tasks so he/she can really focus on these.9let the player choose the tasks from a selection0  Try to give the youngster tasks to do out of football aswell to keep his/her excersise continuing, this is  really good for their mental health in general.

ask the parents if he/she could come a bit earlier so they can help set out the cones, you could ask him/her to see how quick they can set them out.

structure, ownership and  focus will all help.

all the best

Cheers Lee

I agree lockdown will not have helped. I have had a long conversation with his mum and his behavior can be difficult. Thanks for your word of wisdom. We are determined to give him a good footballing experience and this will hopefully also help with his management of ADHD. Unchartered waters so it will be a steep learning curve for me.

Thanks again

Pete

Hi Peter , I have coached lots of children that have had challenges with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ,most of my challenges with them were instructions when interventions with groups , each individual is different , what helped me with the children was how well their home and school structure was with the child ,find this out ? Engage with the parent or career .they need clear and precise information and rules , we want them to be expressive and creative but with the condition some need a structured session or always busy give him or her responsibilities and challenges within the practice but try not to single them out , ignore bad behaviour and reward good . They like to feel they are being helpful and looking for that attention and reaction from players and coaches ,sometimes disruptive (ignore this ) but when completing something good reward like you would do with others , we also need to try and balance the appraisals for good actions and not over do it ,others within your group needs the same also , balance is crucial .but tough and challenging . I’m no expert in this field but sharing some knowledge and experience.

I have linked a article below  

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/living-with/

I hope this helps 

regards 

barry

Great info for support lee  

Barry thats excellent, especially the link, certainly for coaches to be able to view, very important for research into the unknow.

Pete one more thing to think about is select the words you use when setting a task or interventions. Direct words with simple meanings.

Sometimes words can be took too litteral by youngsters especially those with hidden disabilities like ADHD, autism.

tiredness could also play a major part in the individual also.

Thanks Barry

We had a training session last night and what I've found that he needs something to do all the time. If not he becomes distracted and messes around. This has an impact on the other players and the session. You're right using simple but direct language really worked last night. I asked him to help collect cones at the end which he relished.

I am learning all the time and the challenge will broaden my experience.

Thanks again!

Lee

Like I said above simple, direct language does work. I think you're right tiredness may be an issue. This young lad's behavior became more difficult towards the end. He was running around a lot.

Thanks again Lee for your advice!

I have just been doing this in my spare time which i have felt helpful www.open.edu/.../content-section-0

Thanks Amon. The link to the course looks like it might be very useful. I will do it and hope it gives me some food for thought!

Thanks again

Pete