Can athletics be a special interest?

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I have often wondered, can a person who is lets say a football or basketball player have Aspergers, their special interest being the sport that they play and are good at? Also, can these peoples athletic prowless make up for their lack of social skills? I know that it is stereotypical, but when people think of AS, they think of the computer geek, the professor, the person who is obsessed with the wierd whatever. The last person that someone would think of is an athlete.

I was thinking about a handful of friends and acquaintances whom I have had over the years that were heavily involved in sports and athletics. People admired them for their athletic abilities, but the same athlete had a hard time with social skills when the conversation and activity turned away from sports.

I know an aspie guy who's special interest is soccer. He knows everything about his favorite team and all the statistic and he goes to a lot a games. He doesn't play though, he's not really the athletic type. I know another aspie guy who's really good at tennis, but i don't think it's his special interest.

Oh, definitely. Many Aspies are clumsy, but it's not necessary to be good at something to be fascinated with it.

Autistic people in general can have special interests in any area, including sports.

An example:
The Runman

The blog is by a guy who loves running, and is autistic.

Why not?

I'd have to say I do a lot of sports. I bike at least 500 miles every week. I dedicate at least a quarter of my year to crew. and I have kayaked and skied since i was a kid.

Sure, why not? Martial arts is my special interest. I exercise a lot, I'm reading a lot about stuff like gaining strength etc. and I'm planning to get myself in perfect shape (without being "too muscular"). Right now, I'm in a great shape, but I still need more strength training.

My coordination still sucks, though. I'll improve it once I find a way.

I've mentioned in other topics the obsessive interest I've had in golf since childhood, despite my utter lack of interest in other sports. And guess what? I've never swung a golf club in my life. However, I've recently initiated an attempt to change that and finally start playing for real. Unfortunately, right now it's limited to loading up on information from instructional videos. I'm unemployed and don't have a lot of money (not that you need to be rich to play, but you need some money), and I've been in therapy for years for my crippling social problems, which make the very idea of going to a golf course with, ugh, people, unbearable.

I don't see why not. Many people with AS don't like sports/aren't good at them, but that's not everyone.

It can even be a team sport.

Absolutely!

I don't see why not.

I personally couldn't function in a team sport, as I'd be mis-reading the other players' body language, and besides that, I'm not very competitive natured. When I was in school, and there would be things like softball games for phys ed., I'd be the LAST one picked for the team, and the other team would tease the team leader who got saddled with me.

With that said, there are plenty of sports and athletics where an Aspie can excel. I'm a bodybuilder & weightlifter, and could compete if I wanted to (I did a 400-lb deadlift at age 15, which is absolutely a winning lift, if I had done it in a competition in my weight class). I also am very decent on a dirt bike, and could race in the amateurs if I wanted. But I don't find any reward from competing in anything. I just like to do it.

Charles