My Child Isn’t Keeping Up With Their Friends or Sport, What Should I Do?
It can be hard to watch your child hang back at sport, avoid joining in at school, or come home frustrated because they feel like everyone else is finding it easier.
Maybe they struggle to catch a ball, seem awkward when they run, or trip more often than you’d expect. Sometimes they’re labelled “clumsy”, when really, there’s more going on under the surface.
The good news is this: delays with sport skills and gross motor skills are common, and with the right support, many children can build the strength, coordination and confidence they need to join in more comfortably.
At Brave Bodies, we work with children and families across the South West to understand thewhybehind movement challenges and create practical, playful strategies that actually fit real life.
Why Some Children Struggle With Sport and Gross Motor Skills
When a child isn’t keeping up with their peers, it doesn’t always mean they’re not trying. In many cases, there may be an underlying physical or developmental reason that’s making movement harder.
Some of the common factors we see include:
Hypermobility and low muscle tone
If your child’s joints are more mobile than usual, or they have lower muscle tone, their muscles may need to work harder to keep them stable. That can affect running, jumping, ball skills, balance and endurance.
In simple terms: if the body doesn’t feel steady, sport can feel a whole lot harder.
Reduced body awareness
Body awareness, also called proprioception, helps children know where their body is in space without having to look at every limb like it’s a separate project.
When body awareness is reduced, children may find it harder to:
Judge where to place their feet
Catch or kick accurately
Copy movements
Move smoothly and confidently
Motor planning difficulties
Motor planning is the ability to think of a movement, organise the steps, and carry it out. This matters for everything from climbing Playground equipment to learning how to dribble a soccer ball or time a tennis swing.
If motor planning is tricky, your child may understand what they want to do, but their body may not quite cooperate on the first go.
Strength, balance and coordination challenges
Sometimes the issue comes down to a child needing more support with:
Core strength
Postural control
Balance
Timing
Coordination
Stamina
These foundational skills all play a role in sport, PE, Playground games and everyday movement.
Signs Your Child May Benefit From Extra Support
Every child develops at their own pace, so a slower start doesn’t always mean there’s a problem. But it may be worth seeking an assessment if your child:
Avoids PE, sport or active play
Gets upset when trying new physical skills
Trips, falls or bumps into things more than their peers
Struggles with running, jumping, hopping or climbing
Finds ball skills particularly difficult
Tires more quickly than other children
Seems less confident in their body
Says things like “I’m bad at sport” or “I can’t do it”
Those comments can sting a bit, can’t they? And they often tell us confidence has taken a knock as well.
How Paediatric Physiotherapy Can Help
At Brave Bodies’ paediatric physiotherapy service, we don’t just ask children to “try harder” and hope for the best.
We look at the building blocks behind the skill.
We start with the foundation
If a child needs more strength, stability or balance, that’s where we begin. Building a stronger physical base can make sport skills easier to learn and repeat.
We break the skill down
If catching, kicking or running feels messy, we work out where the breakdown is happening.
It might be:
Balance
Timing
Coordination
Body awareness
Strength
Motor planning
Once we know what’s getting in the way, we can target that specific piece.
We use play with purpose
Children learn best when they’re engaged, not when they feel like they’re being drilled for a grand final they never agreed to.
Brave Bodies uses playful, child-friendly therapy to practise movement in a way that feels achievable and encouraging. That helps children stay motivated while building real skills.
Research also supports the role of goal-oriented play and movement practice in improving motor skills in children, as outlined in this peer-reviewed review article.
We support confidence as well as movement
A big part of therapy is helping children feel more capable in their bodies.
That shift from “I can’t do this” to “I’m still learning this” can make a huge difference, especially for kids who’ve started to avoid physical activity because it feels too hard or too embarrassing.
Why Early Support Matters
When movement feels difficult, children may start opting out of sport, active play or group games. Over time, that can affect confidence, fitness and willingness to try.
Early support can help children:
Build foundational movement skills
Feel more comfortable joining in
Develop better confidence with sport and play
Practise skills in a way that matches their body and learning style
There’s also growing evidence that regular sport and movement practice can positively influence gross motor coordination in children, especially when skills are developed progressively and consistently, as discussed in this Frontiers study on children’s gross motor coordination.
The Brave Bodies Approach
Brave Bodies was built around the idea of partnering with parents and empowering children. Their team provides paediatric-only care that is family-centred, evidence-based and grounded in the realities of life in regional WA.
That means therapy is designed to be:
Practical
Supportive
Engaging
Tailored to your child’s goals
Relevant to everyday life at home, school and sport
Because Brave Bodies works with babies, children, teens and young adults across the South West, the team understands that therapy needs to fit around family life, not take it over.
You can learn more about their approach on the About Brave Bodies page.
Where Brave Bodies Can Support Your Child
Brave Bodies offers flexible support across the South West of WA, including:
Clinic appointments in Busselton, Bunbury, Margaret River and Katanning
Mobile services for eligible families at home, school or in the community
School-based support where appropriate
Services for plan-managed and self-managed families through NDIS & Disabilities
For some children, the best place to work on sport skills is in the clinic. For others, it may be the school oval, the local park, or a space where the challenge is actually happening.
When To Book an Assessment
If your child is struggling to keep up with their friends, avoiding sport, or losing confidence with movement, a paediatric physiotherapy assessment can be a helpful first step.
It can help identify the factors contributing to the difficulty and guide a plan to support your child’s strength, coordination and participation.
If you’d like to get started, you can book an appointment here or contact Brave Bodies to chat about what support might suit your child.
FAQs
Is it normal for my child to be behind in sport?
Children develop at different rates, so it’s not unusual for some to need more time with running, ball skills or coordination. If your child is consistently avoiding sport, becoming upset, or finding everyday movement much harder than their peers, it may be worth having them assessed.
Does being “clumsy” always mean something is wrong?
Not necessarily. Sometimes children simply need more practice or time to develop confidence. In other cases, things like Hypermobility, low muscle tone, reduced body awareness or motor planning difficulties may be contributing. An assessment can help work out what’s going on.
Can paediatric physiotherapy help if my child hasn’t had an injury?
Yes. Paediatric physiotherapy isn’t just for injuries. It can also support children who are finding coordination, balance, strength, endurance or gross motor skills more challenging than expected.
What are gross motor skills?
Gross motor skills involve the larger body movements children use for everyday activities like running, jumping, climbing, balancing, throwing and catching. These skills are important for Playground confidence, PE, sport and general participation.
My child hates sport, should I still get them checked?
If your child avoids sport because it feels difficult, tiring or embarrassing, it can be worth looking into. Sometimes children dislike sport not because they’re lazy or uninterested, but because their body is finding it genuinely hard.
Can Brave Bodies see my child at school or at home?
In some cases, yes. Brave Bodies offers mobile services across parts of the South West and may be able to support children in familiar environments such as home, school or the community. You can read more about this on their NDIS & Disabilities page or get in touch here.
Does my child need a diagnosis before seeing a paediatric physio?
No. You don’t need to have everything figured out before booking. If you’ve noticed your child is struggling with movement, coordination or sport skills, an assessment can help identify what may be contributing and what support could be useful.
