What hobbies could my unsporty ( dyspraxic) DS11 try?

[SnoopLabbyLab]

DS11 loves being active, but he is not, and never will be conventionally sporty. He’s at a loose end on Saturdays as his mates all do sports and his sister is at music school. He has developmental coordination disorder and ADHD which makes competitive team sports really hard for him. Performance and drama is tricky as his dyspraxia is also verbal. In fact, anything competitive is hard as he will often lag behind, and he’s very aware of this. This is unfortunate as about here there’s a huge emphasis on kids doing rugby, football, cricket and tennis. I’m sure there are alternatives but I
need inspiration to know what to look for.

He’s a kind, sociable, bright chap, if a little lacking in self belief. He enjoys golf (only the driving range) and is an okay skier, also loves sci-fi/ fantasy and Scouts.

Any ideas of a hobby or activity he could try when all his mates are tearing around the football pitch on a Saturday? I’m happy to join in, drive him there or support him in any other way.

Running? Rowing? It can be tricky to start with but once you've learnt the technique its repetitive....

dyspraxic ds couldnt do climbing, hated martial arts but i think we could have tried some diff clubs....

He liked cricket but wasn't great so eventually it fell by the wayside .

Basketball and badminton bizarrely! Hes tall and lanky though which helped...
He did dofe but map reading a challenge :) so was wary about orientation type stuff..
Tried horse riding once and instructors said good but turned out to be allergic!

Our sat mornings for years was music...picked the trumpet as least complex physically..
Also did singing there in a choir... which meant less performance focus... and samba band and music theory...
There was also a jazz band and orchestra again v low performance
Got the chance to try lits instruments...unfortunately covid halted most of it..and dropped trumpet once got grade5 (probably 2yrs longer but 1:1 so didn't matter)
But is now trying bass guitar (only 4 strings) and much cooler..

Bit left field here but how about yoga? Totally non competitive and about focusing on your body and what it can do not anyone else.

parkrun - run/walk and volunteering would be great for his confidence

Boxing

My dd has dyspraxia is is bizarrely good at climbing and dancing... any form of connecting an implement or body part with a ball is a total non starter she cannot get them in the same county ... also she is quite good at swimming, and loved windsurfing ( not sailing ... to much pulling, pushing,tiller. Sail, ropes etc to go in the wrong directions ) and she is good at tumbling but hopeless at vault/beam etc in gym...

She also loves mud run as she is very sensory seeking 🤣

My dyspraxia DS loves skateboarding. It takes him longer to learn tricks than others but it’s not a competitive sport, and has a good community to it.
Just means a few more trips to A&E!
He also enjoys martial arts.

Oh yeah, he’s a brilliant dancer too! He’s never done it in any formal setting, he is just really into music and likes to experience it with his whole body.

Actually, is your DS into music? DJing is a great hobby too.

Take ice skating lessons together!

My dyspraxic, ADHD 10yo has started judo. He's not amazing at it, but he enjoys it and the club is very inclusive.

We also tried taekwando, but he liked the judo better!

My severely dyspraxic DS is now a black belt at Tae Kwondo - great for core strength and general fitness and focus. Really supportive club and they move at the child's pace.

Another vote for climbing. Our local climbing wall does kids group sessions - either fun and informal or they can work towards NICAS certification - which helps develop skills (and climbing safety) with a view to them climbing independently in the future.

OP here ( with another Labrador-themed name change).
We tried several of the ideas here, with mixed results.
I thought he’d love parkour and he didn’t, but DD14 did ( and now goes each week with 12 boys, aged 11-18, which she loves as she’s a tomboy going to a girls’ grammar school!)
He is keeping up his drums and enjoying that. We can’t mention ‘scheduled drum practice’ but he plays when he fancies a few times a week and we now have a (terrible) family band.

In despair, convinced he’d never find a social hobby, we wandered off the street into our local Warhammer shop. Well, he’s not looked back! He loves the fantasy worlds, the modelling, the games and the fact that it’s such a welcoming community. He gets to geek-out in a non competitive environment, or model and game at home. And he is so careful with the painting projects- it must be good for his motor skills. The Warhammer tagline is ‘it’s your hobby’, which DS loves as he can now proudly say he’s got his own hobby he enjoys, and that he can make it into what he wants with no pressure. He’s even got his Warhammer Scout badge!

Anyway, thanks for the ideas. I’m off to out together ( yet another) Space Marine.

Rock climbing is amazing for kids like your son. A very supportive community. As competitive as you want to make it and most of the kids get six packs from it! Cycling is also a good shout and cheaper.

Great update OP 🙂, I'm really glad your DS found something he enjoys. I think my DS might like that too actually...

@SausageGuzzlingLabradors good to hear

That is fascinating. DS has ADHD and is a really good bassist and wants to learn drums. I'd never made the connection at all.