HS boy starting track (sprinting) with no previous experience? Any tips?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I am going to answer this as a sprint coach who has coached a few all-American athletes and had a few of them going on to run in college. If he is a freshman, let him try out-- even if he is not the fastest. If he will be a freshman in the fall it's even better, a national coach told me once the kids will get better by just running. If the coach knows how to coach then they would do strength and form work in the fall which does not include sprinting but will make him strong... REMEMBER THE 400 IS A SPRINT TOO... I had a freshman who came to the school running 57, he ran 52 his freshman year by doing strength and form running in the fall. He went on to run 46.xx his senior year. Was not eligible for college because of grades, but was an excellent athlete. Another thing sprints include 100, 200, 400, 800 (depending on the coach), 110 hurdles (speed does not matter but needs to be quick), and 400 hurdles. Also if he is slender he can be good in the high jump, triple jump, and pole vault all include some form of speed. As PP mentioned, DO NOT sprint often, a shin splint is a b*&ch... Multiple talented athletes had to give up the sport because they were double training and got injured.

Listen to this person!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I am going to answer this as a sprint coach who has coached a few all-American athletes and had a few of them going on to run in college. If he is a freshman, let him try out-- even if he is not the fastest. If he will be a freshman in the fall it's even better, a national coach told me once the kids will get better by just running. If the coach knows how to coach then they would do strength and form work in the fall which does not include sprinting but will make him strong... REMEMBER THE 400 IS A SPRINT TOO... I had a freshman who came to the school running 57, he ran 52 his freshman year by doing strength and form running in the fall. He went on to run 46.xx his senior year. Was not eligible for college because of grades, but was an excellent athlete. Another thing sprints include 100, 200, 400, 800 (depending on the coach), 110 hurdles (speed does not matter but needs to be quick), and 400 hurdles. Also if he is slender he can be good in the high jump, triple jump, and pole vault all include some form of speed. As PP mentioned, DO NOT sprint often, a shin splint is a b*&ch... Multiple talented athletes had to give up the sport because they were double training and got injured.

Listen to this person!

Agreed. My DD is an athlete, who plays a fall sport at a very competitive level. Decided she hated lacrosse her senior year and had loved winter track so much she gave spring track a try. Between those two seasons, she took almost 10 seconds off her 400 time and qualified for her school's state tournament. She is a D1 athlete in her other sport, but seriously contemplated talking to the track coach, as her 400 time was very close. Yes, she was athletic and fast already, but it really just took a great coach to get her pretty far pretty quickly. Here's another thing I hear about sprinters: skinny ankles. If the PP track coach is still on, is this true? My DD does have really small ankles.

[Anonymous]

Watching this thread closely because my kid who is primarily a swimmer but has recently taken up road biking and running decided he wants to do track this spring. He hasn’t told me exactly what he has in mind for it. Hopefully he won’t be disappointed.

[Anonymous]

From the track and cross country kids I have seen- the soccer players and swimmers have success in running.

There is a freshman boy and freshman girl right now who are first timers and are top at their schools indoor track. It is fun to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I am going to answer this as a sprint coach who has coached a few all-American athletes and had a few of them going on to run in college. If he is a freshman, let him try out-- even if he is not the fastest. If he will be a freshman in the fall it's even better, a national coach told me once the kids will get better by just running. If the coach knows how to coach then they would do strength and form work in the fall which does not include sprinting but will make him strong... REMEMBER THE 400 IS A SPRINT TOO... I had a freshman who came to the school running 57, he ran 52 his freshman year by doing strength and form running in the fall. He went on to run 46.xx his senior year. Was not eligible for college because of grades, but was an excellent athlete. Another thing sprints include 100, 200, 400, 800 (depending on the coach), 110 hurdles (speed does not matter but needs to be quick), and 400 hurdles. Also if he is slender he can be good in the high jump, triple jump, and pole vault all include some form of speed. As PP mentioned, DO NOT sprint often, a shin splint is a b*&ch... Multiple talented athletes had to give up the sport because they were double training and got injured.

Listen to this person!

Agreed. My DD is an athlete, who plays a fall sport at a very competitive level. Decided she hated lacrosse her senior year and had loved winter track so much she gave spring track a try. Between those two seasons, she took almost 10 seconds off her 400 time and qualified for her school's state tournament. She is a D1 athlete in her other sport, but seriously contemplated talking to the track coach, as her 400 time was very close. Yes, she was athletic and fast already, but it really just took a great coach to get her pretty far pretty quickly. Here's another thing I hear about sprinters: skinny ankles. If the PP track coach is still on, is this true? My DD does have really small ankles.

Sorry it took me so long, I have never heard that before. I even had to consult with my brother who is currently a track and field coach at college. I stopped coaching 4 years ago because HS coaches did not make money and I did not want to be a teacher anymore. He never heard of that either but after looking at sprinters like Veronica Campbell, Shelly-Ann Frazier, Muna Lee, and others I tend to agree with this somewhat-- not concrete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the track and cross country kids I have seen- the soccer players and swimmers have success in running.

There is a freshman boy and freshman girl right now who are first timers and are top at their schools indoor track. It is fun to watch.

The majority of soccer and swimmers are long sprinters, mid-distance, or distance runners. Hardly any of them become short sprinters-- there are always the exceptions, but I think because they have bigger lung capacity. A great example is Ahmed Bile, he started running in 10th grade converted from soccer, and became an All-American in HS and I think college. When I saw him run way back in the days I was in aah.

[Anonymous]

Oh my god

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god

What is the problem?