What sports are good for Aspies?

Post Reply New Topic

Bad motor skills and bullying prevents most Aspies from doing sports. But if an Aspie wants to play some sports to keep fit, which sports are good?

The motor skills are what made me challenged at baseball, basketball, etc. I dreaded gym class because of this. But, I had one sport I was very good at---bowling.

With bowling, I didn't have to worry about anyone stealing the ball from me. I didn't have to worry about the sun hurting my eyes, or hearing jeers from the crowd. I was fascinated by bowling machinery, and I enjoyed bowling. And, It is a sport of repetition. Unlike golf where every hole is different, in bowling, it's the same ten pins set up at the beginning of each frame. And there are the "routine spares"---routine---that's what I like.

I was alright at soccer at school, in fact i would never play anything else. I had poorish hand eye coordination but decent foot eye coordination. I played really well at defence cos I could always tell when people were gonna try something tricky. But often they would make me the goalie cos no one else wanted to do it... I did alright at that too, probably cos i wasnt scared of diving on the ball even if it meant a kick in the face!

I was also good at batting in cricket but you're probably American, right?

Whats weird is my hand eye coordination suddenly came back in high school with minimal practice. I couldnt catch well before that but suddenly i was ok!

And bowling, I enjoy bowling too. Good suggestion!

Oh and pool, I loved playing that and was fairly good at it dunno if it counts as a sport though

I would recommend martial arts very heartily.

I started sports very late (15) and dived into karate like nothing else. The rigor and quest for perfection (katas) ideally matched my mindset.

I think it also improved tremendously my speed, precision and strength. It also had that the extra benefit of mysteriously preventing aggressive or bullying behavior from school bullies. Even though I never had to get into a fight, they just stopped.

At that time, I also loved to play basketball, even though in a strange way: i would not dribble, or make sense of people's position very well, but my new found coordination let me score 3-point shots with very high consistency. This skill made up for a lot of other problems.

If fitness is your goal, you don't need a SPORT - Weight Training is something you can do by yourself (unless you're lifting so much you need a spotter - but that's going beyond simple fitness), it requires only the most minimal coordination, no teamwork, no spectators, and best of all - YOU create the routines and they can be as rigid or as flexible as makes you comfortable.

Its entirely solitary and you own it. Throw in some cardio like a treadmill (jump ropes do require coordination) and some ab crunches (workout videos help a lot with this - to keep rhythm and length of routine consistent) , and you've got something you can do every day, or every other day, rain or shine with no need for any human social contact. And you'll start seeing results in less than two weeks.

Weight benches typically go for under a hundred dollars and can last for a decade or more (few if any moving parts to break down). You can do it while you watch television or listen to music. I've never found a physical activity (other than sex) that's more gratifying and rewarding.

I do enjoy bowling, but it's too expensive to do it every day, you can't do it at home (unless you're wealthy), and it does usually require social interaction. Not to mention that it doesn't require enough physical exertion to actually keep you fit. If you can do it WHILE you drink beer, its not giving you much of a workout. :D

Another one is just walking on your own. You can put some weights around your wrists to help build upper-body strength at the same time. 30-45 minutes per day with 5 pounds around each wrist will help you to build up some strength.

I play club rugby. I picked it because it was out of my comfort zone and presented a lot of challenges. But it's turned out to be the best thing for me.

Rugby passes are short, with two hands. They are a lot easier than in any other ball sport. Most of what I do is support (I'm a lock).

I've had to figure out a lot of special tricks to keep up with the real-time action, but they work pretty well. It takes me five times as long to get a skill to work effectively, because it has to become muscle memory instead of 'executive function', but once I learn it I'm as good as anyone else.

My team is the San Francisco Fog, and it's an amazing group of people. I really enjoy the social aspect of the team, also. It isn't stressful, because there is a focus and purpose, and I can be social or not. I'm also 'out' as an Aspie to the team.

So sometimes the best sport isn't the most natural one.

I bowled at Molotov cocktails once, but you only get one frame.

Any sport which does not require hand-eye coordination, and does not require working in a team.

Chasing after a ball with a bunch of other people is out (soccer, basketball, football, baseball etc...).

Track and field, cycling, swimming... those are perfect!

Ditto.

It is also helpful to understand how motor control works and how you learn "moves". If you observe a baby learning to walk the movement is very jarred and inaccurate. Same is true when a pigeon turns it head or walks (note involuntary bobbing), or a human operating a crane by joystick. Humans a have several parts of the brain dedicated to planning, executing, and refining moves. Movement in humans is mostly automated. When you are learning martial art or dancing, the moment won’t be a smooth to start with, you orientation and coordination won’t be as good. That is because you brain is not familiar with it. Also you brain is familiar with other moves you do day to day, so it might have a bias in favour of these and get confused. Over time it will be able to be able to filter those out. In martial arts and I believe dancing they talk of “muscle memory” they are generally talking about this automation. There is also another thing where the muscles themselves become conditioned for a particular application. However the dynamics still has a connection to the nervous system.

I was pretty mal-coordinated by anyone’s standard. I have seen a steady improvement. It is a question of sticking with it for the long haul, thought he bad times and the good.

I really wish soccer had been popular in the US when I was young. Found out in college that I was very good at it.

Cycling and walking are both good forms of exercise and are non-competitive. Mini golf and ten pin bowling are fun and aspie friendly but not overly fitness helping. I found badminton quite enjoyable at school, but wasn't that good at it - at least you didn't have team mates to worry about in that!! !

dunno if any other aspies had the same experiences as i have, but ill state them

From a VERY young age, I was a bowling prodigy. I never bowled with bumpers or anything, and had a PBA coach helping me because he saw me bowl at the bowling alley my father took my too (he ran it at the time, dont remember his name.) This was around when i was 7 years old. after i moved from that area to a different area, i kinda went and stopped bowling. so now when i used to be able to get upper 200s when i was in 1st-4th grade, nowadays im lucky if i get above 100 since i pretty much grew out of the sport (still dunno why, i just stopped playing and i am 21 now) 4th grade to 9th grade i got into basketball and the same thing pretty much happened was declared pretty much a prodigy by coaches but i failed to push onwards and just stopped playing it. Pretty much in internet terms, the team i played on would be considered broke, because i was already 6 foot by 5th/6th grade and I was always put as center, I was put there just for sheer defensive capabilities.


so yeah, i can say my sports cycle is start out, become really good at it and then just stop playing for no apparant reason that i dont know.
the only way you could tell i was physically uncoordinated was that some people could tell i just dont run normal

Hand-eye coordination? Oh man, I am ok in tennis

Anyway try walking first, walking rules, you get to get off your butt and start to rule the world.

Ya I didnt like playing team sports. I enjoy the individual sports my favorites are: swimming, biking, weight lifting, skateboarding, and surfing.

I really took to trail running and hiking. They require little coordination and build endurance. I also sprinkle in some intense strength training (weights and calisthenics) which can actually improve my performance in running and is essential to overall fitness. I am also going to try cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the future. I have absolutely zero interest in conventional sports (football, baseball, soccor, etc..). In my opinion they are not true tests of strength, but rather displays of machismo that rely more of coordination than raw strength and endurance. I wish track and field and cross country were as popular as football or baseball, then I would be more mainstream in my athletic interests.

I remember playing hockey 1 on 1 against some idiot when I was about 7, the rest of the class was all screaming and generally anoying me, and I have hated team sports ever sinse for that reason, but there is of course the other reason "Your F***ing S**t why didn't you get the F***ing ball?" I am always "asked" that in PE ect. The reason is that I hate cathing stuff, and if it's fast and heading my way way reaction is not "Ohh, lets run towards it" but "DUCK". Though there is a sport I do like, alot, but unfortunately cant do it much as I don't like all the ropes ect. So I use any cliffs I find. In case you hadn't guessed my sport is climbing. At climbing walls, since I am at a very low level I have to go with another newbie (who nearly always gets half way up the wall, burst in to tears and says "I'm scared of heights waaaaaa" THEN WHY THE HELL DID SHE COME!! !! !! ! but then this person is in charge of my descent!! !! And I say "lower me down gently" they promptly let go of the rope and I plummet to my dead (ish)

I apologise for the rant:)