On and Off the Court by Roser Aguirre Molins
There is a lot going on at the same time when playing basketball: if my teammate has the ball and is dribbling, should I go for a screen? Should I ask for the ball? Can I trick this defender and make myself available closer to the basket? If I have the ball, I need to check where I am, where my defender is, where my other four teammates are, and what they are likely to do next. Do I have a chance to fake out my defender? If the ball is mid-air, does it look like it might go in? If not, will it go right or left? I need to get ready for the rebound, or actually—I should box out my opponent. If I’m defending and my opponent is close to the basket with the ball and stops dribbling, I will look at their position, but also their face—are they looking at the basket? If yes, I need to get ready to jump at the perfect time to block that shot; if they’re looking at their teammates instead, I will follow the ball and try to stop that pass. But of course, they might trick me too, and I need to be ready to adapt as soon as they make a move.
One of the main characteristics of an ADHD brain is the overwhelming and constant presence of racing thoughts, making it difficult to finish tasks, stay focused on one thing, or pay attention. However, most people with ADHD also experience hyperfocus, the complete opposite: a prolonged period of time where you can stay absolutely focused on one thing, unaware of anything else, even forgetting to eat or drink water. It can even distract from physical and emotional pain. I occasionally hyperfocus on something that interests me, such as specific projects/tasks at work or working on something creative, like writing. But playing basketball is the only one thing that manages to keep my constant undivided attention and make me forget all the noise, every single time.
There are several things I do to try to keep fit: I run, I lift weights, I go to HIIT classes and do yoga. But I don’t count basketball as one of them because, for me, it's more about play than exercise. The fact that it also contributes to my fitness and overall physical health is just an added bonus.
Playing basketball teaches valuable life lessons that can be applied off the court. For example, if you miss a shot or make a bad pass, you learn to keep moving (resilience). The game is not over, and there is no point in dwelling on mistakes. Instead, you should be the first to get back into the game. It's about learning from those errors without letting them define you as a player—this ability to learn and grow from mistakes is essential for improvement.
Then, of course, there is the social aspect. My teammates have become friends, and I could not feel prouder of being part of this small community. We spend most of our Sundays together, from early afternoon till the evening—first playing on the court, then talking for hours at the pub. Inevitably, the usual ADHD symptoms resurface in full force: distractibility, rejection sensitive dysphoria, restlessness, and difficulties in following conversations, among others. But what is usually a challenging situation becomes enjoyable thanks to the endorphins and, of course, the company.
I used to struggle with Sunday blues. Every Sunday evening, I would dread the inevitable return to work on Monday morning, despite actually liking my job. That dread, however, has long been forgotten thanks to basketball practice; now I look forward to Sunday evenings. There’s nowhere else where I’d rather be.
More About Roser: I started playing basketball at a young age, and while I was already into sports in general, basketball soon became (and has remained) my favorite. I struggled to find a women's basketball team when I moved to London in 2011, partly due to netball being more popular in the UK, and I quickly gave up and accepted that I wouldn't play again. But in 2022, I finally decided to join a mixed league and remembered how much I liked playing. I then heard about Cruisers, an LGBTQ+ team that, besides a primary team playing in a city league, had recently started training sessions for beginners and intermediate players. I decided to try it out, as I hadn't played for more than a decade and the mixed league had been a bit challenging, and straight away I felt like I had arrived. Since then, I have played with the team in a few tournaments, have become part of a new community, made many friends, helped with recruiting new players, and almost reached my high school level of playing basketball. I also enjoy hiking, running, cycling, yoga, and playing other sports (even those I am terrible at!), but I have learned my lesson: no matter where I go next, I will make sure I find a basketball team straight away.
