Thank you to those of you who offered to help answer some questions about being a gifted person who was (or wanted to be) an athlete. Please answer these questions to your best ability and email them to me by cutting and pasting them into the form below (below the questions) or by emailing me at [email protected]. Thank you for your time and your help!
VOLUNTARY SURVEY ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A GIFTED PERSON WHO PLAYED/PARTICIPATED (OR WANTED TO PLAY/PARTICIPATE IN) SPORTS
Name (voluntary):
Age:
1. How were you diagnosed as gifted, or was it self-identification? (any info here is fine- don’t feel like it has to be formal!)
2. When did you realize you were gifted?
3. What sports did you play as a child?
4. What sports do you wish you played as a child? Why did you not?
5. Would you describe yourself as a high performer, an average performer, or a low performer (in general) in school as a child? Explain.
6. What did sports participation do for you as a child? (did it impact the way you looked at the world, the friendships you had, the way you learned to be patient or organized, or any other types of skills?)
7. Did you work harder in school because of your sports participation? (like, did the sport require that you had certain grade point averages, or did you have to be more focused to get things done since your time was limited, etc.?)
8. Was there a time you wanted to play a sport and you ended up not doing it? What sport and why?
9. How did you feel about other kids who were on sports teams? (for example, if you played on a team with them, were they your friends? If you didn’t play with them, did you wish you did or were you glad you didn’t? Did you feel that kids who played together were closer than with others who didn’t? Did they treat other kids well?)
10. How did others treat you when you played your sport? (Did you feel that teachers were supportive throughout your school years, or did some teachers expect more or less from you than from the other kids? Were you treated like a star at times? Did you feel like others treated you different because of the sport you played?)
11. Did you want to get a scholarship for your athletic abilities? Did it happen? What did you do to work toward that goal?
12. Did you play multiple sports or just one? Why?
13. What sport did you go the farthest with and why?
14. What sport do you wish you could have played if you could go back and start again, and why?
15. What makes you good at sports (natural abilities, hard work, lots of practice, enjoying the sport because it is challenging, etc.?)
16. What made sports hard at times? (team/social issues, coaching issues, location, money, didn’t get picked to do the position you wanted, etc.?)
17. What was your worst sports memory?
18. What was your best sports memory?
19. Did you ever have any issues with personality conflicts with coaches or other players? Please explain.
20. Did you ever travel to participate in your sport? Please explain.
21. Did you have a coach or mentor who you really looked up to who helped you become better at your sport? Explain.
22. Was there a particular coaching style you liked best or thought was most successful for working with you? (hard core vs. laid back, someone who really understood you, someone who went out of the way to work with you, etc.?)
23. What tips would you give coaches for best working with other gifted athletes?
24. Dabrowski, a Polish psychologist/researcher once said that many gifted people have “overexcitabilities” (OEs) that means they are more intense and focused on a particular area of life and maybe more sensitive in that area too. There are intellectual OEs (people who love to learn or who want to learn a lot about things they are really interested in… maybe not always great at school but you love to learn…). There are emotional OEs (people who have strong feelings about things- high highs, and low lows… and who are sensitive to what others think at times and pretty hard on themselves…) There are imaginational OEs (those who like to think about things, have vivid dreams, enjoy fantasy and make believe, enjoy drawing and stories, etc…) There are sensual OEs (those who are very sensitive to things like tags in their shirts, bright lights, loud noises, etc. and enjoy things like scenery and music that are pretty and that are colorful, etc.) And there are psychomotor OEs (those who need to move a lot, tend to enjoy exercising, learn best through movement, and sometimes can’t sit still…) If you had to choose one of these as your own OE, which would you choose? (you can say a combination… but try to say what one fits you most…)
25. Have you ever been diagnosed with a learning disability or ADHD or other diagnosis that impacts learning? Explain (this will be confidential- you do not have to answer if you don’t want to. I will list you as anonymous if you want, if I ever use your quote from this question.)
26. What kinds of things do you wish your teachers would have done (or would do) that your coaches are good at doing to motivate you to do your best? (for example, helping you focus on areas to practice, making you feel like you are working hard and doing a good job, helping you to get back up when something is hard, etc.)
27. What resources have you used to learn more about your sport or about sportsmanship or other related issues? (NCAA, specific organization websites, videos, books?)
28. What else would you like to tell me about being a gifted person who also is an athlete (or wanted to be an athlete)?
VOLUNTARY SURVEY ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A GIFTED PERSON WHO PLAYED/PARTICIPATED (OR WANTED TO PLAY/PARTICIPATE IN) SPORTS
Name (voluntary):
Age:
1. How were you diagnosed as gifted, or was it self-identification? (any info here is fine- don’t feel like it has to be formal!)
2. When did you realize you were gifted?
3. What sports did you play as a child?
4. What sports do you wish you played as a child? Why did you not?
5. Would you describe yourself as a high performer, an average performer, or a low performer (in general) in school as a child? Explain.
6. What did sports participation do for you as a child? (did it impact the way you looked at the world, the friendships you had, the way you learned to be patient or organized, or any other types of skills?)
7. Did you work harder in school because of your sports participation? (like, did the sport require that you had certain grade point averages, or did you have to be more focused to get things done since your time was limited, etc.?)
8. Was there a time you wanted to play a sport and you ended up not doing it? What sport and why?
9. How did you feel about other kids who were on sports teams? (for example, if you played on a team with them, were they your friends? If you didn’t play with them, did you wish you did or were you glad you didn’t? Did you feel that kids who played together were closer than with others who didn’t? Did they treat other kids well?)
10. How did others treat you when you played your sport? (Did you feel that teachers were supportive throughout your school years, or did some teachers expect more or less from you than from the other kids? Were you treated like a star at times? Did you feel like others treated you different because of the sport you played?)
11. Did you want to get a scholarship for your athletic abilities? Did it happen? What did you do to work toward that goal?
12. Did you play multiple sports or just one? Why?
13. What sport did you go the farthest with and why?
14. What sport do you wish you could have played if you could go back and start again, and why?
15. What makes you good at sports (natural abilities, hard work, lots of practice, enjoying the sport because it is challenging, etc.?)
16. What made sports hard at times? (team/social issues, coaching issues, location, money, didn’t get picked to do the position you wanted, etc.?)
17. What was your worst sports memory?
18. What was your best sports memory?
19. Did you ever have any issues with personality conflicts with coaches or other players? Please explain.
20. Did you ever travel to participate in your sport? Please explain.
21. Did you have a coach or mentor who you really looked up to who helped you become better at your sport? Explain.
22. Was there a particular coaching style you liked best or thought was most successful for working with you? (hard core vs. laid back, someone who really understood you, someone who went out of the way to work with you, etc.?)
23. What tips would you give coaches for best working with other gifted athletes?
24. Dabrowski, a Polish psychologist/researcher once said that many gifted people have “overexcitabilities” (OEs) that means they are more intense and focused on a particular area of life and maybe more sensitive in that area too. There are intellectual OEs (people who love to learn or who want to learn a lot about things they are really interested in… maybe not always great at school but you love to learn…). There are emotional OEs (people who have strong feelings about things- high highs, and low lows… and who are sensitive to what others think at times and pretty hard on themselves…) There are imaginational OEs (those who like to think about things, have vivid dreams, enjoy fantasy and make believe, enjoy drawing and stories, etc…) There are sensual OEs (those who are very sensitive to things like tags in their shirts, bright lights, loud noises, etc. and enjoy things like scenery and music that are pretty and that are colorful, etc.) And there are psychomotor OEs (those who need to move a lot, tend to enjoy exercising, learn best through movement, and sometimes can’t sit still…) If you had to choose one of these as your own OE, which would you choose? (you can say a combination… but try to say what one fits you most…)
25. Have you ever been diagnosed with a learning disability or ADHD or other diagnosis that impacts learning? Explain (this will be confidential- you do not have to answer if you don’t want to. I will list you as anonymous if you want, if I ever use your quote from this question.)
26. What kinds of things do you wish your teachers would have done (or would do) that your coaches are good at doing to motivate you to do your best? (for example, helping you focus on areas to practice, making you feel like you are working hard and doing a good job, helping you to get back up when something is hard, etc.)
27. What resources have you used to learn more about your sport or about sportsmanship or other related issues? (NCAA, specific organization websites, videos, books?)
28. What else would you like to tell me about being a gifted person who also is an athlete (or wanted to be an athlete)?