Asperger's and sports; Athletic aspies?

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I was pretty good at swimming as a kid (swim team, lifeguarding classes etc) and did 5 pin bowling for years. I also played fastpitch softball for a few years.

I've done all kinds of stuff since. Snowboarding, mountain biking etc. Kiteboarding (land, sea, snow.)

But the one sport I <3 is kiteboarding. When I first gave it a go about 10 years ago I was crap at it due to poor balance/coordination/fine motor skills. I got a bit better over time, but it was frustrating and I couldn't figure out why I could understand the physics but not follow through with the motions. I've since learned my diagnosis AND what to do about it and my balance/coordination/fine motor skills are infinitely better than they ever were. Last Summer I got out for 12 days of kiteboarding on the ocean in Squamish & am looking forward to many more this Summer - virtually every day I can get out that I'm not obligated to work. It's going to be AWESOME!

Here's a couple google image search pic results of my happy place:





Can't wait!!

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I fully believe aspies can be athletic. Many of us have a comorbid of adhd which helps. I believe I have really bad adhd, but I don't think of myself as a sufferer, I think of myself as an athlete. I can go 4+ hours a day doing what I love. I wouldn't do that if I were an NT and needed to socialize.

I've never played a 'real' sport, but I do like to workout.

I also have poor fine motor skills, and I'm clumsy. It doesn't stop me.

lifting weights to become a wrestler

I'm not naturally athletic, but I really enjoy physical activity--running, hiking, rock climbing, other gym activities. It's helped me improve my hand-eye coordination.

I'm into action sports like aggressive rollerblading , skateboarding and I have a scooter. Skate Parks are fun and just street skating is super fun. I have a dog I walk and play frisbee with. I like being active.

I'm a swimmer...

Weight training is the only athletic endeavor I've ever enjoyed. I can't stand to even watch team sports. In my experience, team sports are full of bullies.

Add another to the list for Olympic weightlifting. Absolutely love it.
I was never any good at team sports (obviously the social aspect was way too complicated). Not terribly coordinated when you add a ball to the mix.
Always enjoyed rock climbing and karate when I was younger (though both still tended to be made difficult when there were too many people).
Became addicted to snowboarding as soon as I was allowed to do so (at 18 when the parents could no longer say no).
In 2013 I found crossfit because I really needed to get in shape. I had a friend that went to this gym, so I decided to try it. Other gyms where I knew nobody and had no idea what I was doing were a no go. The social part of Crossfit will forever be difficult, but it wasn't a requirement. It helped that I knew people before I walked in. The rest were just as welcoming, accepting, helpful, encouraging without being pushy. Then I found I really just like lifting, and I'm pretty good at it. The best part is that my brain turns off when I'm lifting. I exert enough energy and have to focus enough that all the anxiety about being in a room with other people watching just melts away for that time. It became my therapy before I knew I needed therapy.

I like tree climbing, bowling, skiing and mountain hiking. But the one sport I like doing the most is free diving. and the reason I like free diving is that it teaches you how to show your body down and conserve your energy. I think that anybody that has any kind of sensory overload issues should take up this sport. It's does wonders for anyone that is sensory stressed.

I love full-contact sports. I'm into TKD (brown belt), I've done kickboxing, etc. I'm fairly atletic, but I suck at team sports.

I was awful at sports at school. I played football alot but wasnt very good as i didnt understand alot of the rules and offside rule. I also struggled with people watching me and still do. My friend was a very good footballer(soccer) i used to mimic him and go away and practice by myself obsessively dribbling etc. ive found im good at copying,and i ended up becoming ok at it due to OCD behaviours. I Struggled with left and right at school and I struggle learning in a schooling enviroment. I went to a thaiboxing class when i was 18 and i struggled and hated it. The whole concept was alien and something i never believed i would become proficient in, due to my difficulties with left and right,inability to take much information in,clumsyness,stress in groups,etc I was bullied badly at school so wanted to try martial arts/weight lifting as a self defence mechanism. Ive found through my obsessive nature i can become good at things i normally shouldnt have become good at,aslong as im interested in. Ive learned over the years to adapt my difficulties to whatever i want to do. With my inability to take things in and other issues i find teaching myself has been a valuable tool,along with my OCD nature. If i teach myself something i learn so much faster than learning from someone else. Im much more hands on. Ive taught myself several combat sports that i struggled to learn from a coach/teacher. Ive always been a very slow learner in a traditional sense.

Though I hated sports as a kid I liked to ride bicycles and climb trees. At puberty the cycling became faster and I started to ride longer distances which felt good. With 17 I read a book by Arnold Schwarzenegger and started working out with small barbells. Since then I've always been practising somehow, including martial arts, always some strength training, varying amounts of endurance training, a bit of surf kayaking. Now, with a little bit of expertise in my martial art of choice I barely ever attend lessons but practise on my own most of the time. Daily stretching, weekly strength units make me feel my body in a way I like.
As a student I rode my bicycle quite reckless in the city. Several crashes with feet tied to the pedals never led to serious injuries, probably thanks to judo skills I had picked up early. Same goes for some light motorcycle crashes. I found NTs, even the fit ones, tend to have more problems going to the ground than me.
The clumsimess was there from the start but It has been possible to slowly build up a repertoire of motor reactions that have been practised often enough to work alright. Dancing (besides pogo) is such a challenge I avoid it if I can.
As I grow older it looks like I'm physically fitter than most people my age which was the other way round as I was a teen.

I played 4 teams sports in high school(3 for the school), started playing most of them when I was very young. After went on to play American football and volleyball at a division 3 school.
Was diagnosed when I was young, but already had been playing sports for a few years and enjoying it..had my share of difficulties but ultimately was successful and happy playing team sports. I've heard that I'm more the exception than the rule, but that said I wouldn't let the diagnosis psyche you out from sports if you enjoy them

I mostly go biking, rollerblading and swimming, with some archery when i can. I've always loved swimming the most though, it's weird but i always felt more at home when i was swimming than i ever did anywhere else even my own bed. I used to be on my towns swim team back in 4th grade but i stopped because i thought i was horiible at it. Wasn't until near graduation from high school i learned most of my "red ribbons" weren't from being near last (dark red) but from finishing in 2nd place (bright red). I've regretted not staying with it ever since i found out. I'm good at archery though my coordination is worse than most (especically depth perception) due to being legally blind in my left eye (only has peripheral vision) so it's a good thing i'm right handed.

I am formally diagnosed with ADHD but I suspect I'm on the autism spectrum as well. So take my words with a grain of salt.
I have played golf my entire life and played at the collegiate level as well. My average for 18 holes was in the mid 80s when I was at the top of my game (and was undiagnosed and unmediated at the time). I loved the individual aspect and walking carrying my 30lb bag on my shoulders. I loved being outside and weathering the elements. I loved the quiet. I did best in situations where I had to land the ball in a specific spot or was in a tight lie. I wasn't friends with my team in high school at all and mostly kept to myself. In college at a big university it was the same, but when I transferred to a small liberal nerdy school, I was a lot more in my element and made great friends.
I also played a lot of team sports growing up and I did best in the ones that were fast paced with short bursts, like basketball. I was and am still very good at team sports and have experienced "flow" or hyperfocus, but I also got injured a lot. After a couple of sprained ankles and broken fingers, I decided to focus on non contact sports instead.
I think it's 100% possible for someone on the spectrum to excel at a team sport, especially if it's one you genuinely love and have a lot of experience in. When I played basketball I found myself looking harder for body cues and using strategy logic to predict what people were going to do, which makes sense and is something I think that someone on the spectrum can be good at especially with training. Idk maybe I'm way off the mark but I think it's possible. I think it's great that you got the diagnosis you needed and are playing sports! Represent!

I was a very good boxer and wrestler and I still compete in boxing matches from time to time when I feel I have become too fat.

I was a state champion in track and field as well (400m dash).

I turned to boxing after being bullied and was quite good at it. I became fascinated with how you can identify what a man does well and does not do well and use that to pick him apart and do as much damage to him as possible. I pulled back from it when I became a little too fascinated with that all.

Hang gliding has been my savior for happiness on this planet.