So how do the coaches pick the kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^speed can be coached and it is.

My son plays lacrosse and wanted to move from midi to attack. Coach told him he had to increase his speed before the next season started.

He used a 50M timed base as his baseline and worked to improve that.

He ran sprints uphill
He ran weighted sprints
Ran suicides
Ladder drills
High knees...ect

He is now a starter attack.

and he was in the growing stages. every kid is going to get faster, not every kid is going to be fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^speed can be coached and it is.

My son plays lacrosse and wanted to move from midi to attack. Coach told him he had to increase his speed before the next season started.

He used a 50M timed base as his baseline and worked to improve that.

He ran sprints uphill
He ran weighted sprints
Ran suicides
Ladder drills
High knees...ect

He is now a starter attack.

and he was in the growing stages. every kid is going to get faster, not every kid is going to be fast.

I think that genetics matter less than most people think for younger kids. I find that training, coaching and a willingness to be slightly uncomfortable matter more. Certainly for elementary kids, it is often much more about whether the kid has actually TRIED to run full out (a surprising number of athletic kids have never _really_ tried to run full out, and when they get out of breath they think they need to slow down). That and their running form.

One year I coached some 5th and 6th grade runners. A mix fairly in-shape distance types who were slow sprinters and several travel soccer players who were in shape and much faster sprinters. All of them did a mile time trail at between 6:10 and 7:00 at the start of the season. We did conditioning for a couple of weeks, then started doing strides after our runs, then started doing hill sprints. After a couple of weeks of strides and some hills, suddenly many of the "slow" kids were keeping up with the travel soccer kids. Strides (starting slow, accelerating to a sprint then decelerating --- all in about 100 M) in particular helped them relax into running fast and realize that it was fun. The kids LOVED those and wanted to do them after every workout --- even after 5 mile runs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^speed can be coached and it is.

My son plays lacrosse and wanted to move from midi to attack. Coach told him he had to increase his speed before the next season started.

He used a 50M timed base as his baseline and worked to improve that.

He ran sprints uphill
He ran weighted sprints
Ran suicides
Ladder drills
High knees...ect

He is now a starter attack.

and he was in the growing stages. every kid is going to get faster, not every kid is going to be fast.

I think that genetics matter less than most people think for younger kids. I find that training, coaching and a willingness to be slightly uncomfortable matter more. Certainly for elementary kids, it is often much more about whether the kid has actually TRIED to run full out (a surprising number of athletic kids have never _really_ tried to run full out, and when they get out of breath they think they need to slow down). That and their running form.

One year I coached some 5th and 6th grade runners. A mix fairly in-shape distance types who were slow sprinters and several travel soccer players who were in shape and much faster sprinters. All of them did a mile time trail at between 6:10 and 7:00 at the start of the season. We did conditioning for a couple of weeks, then started doing strides after our runs, then started doing hill sprints. After a couple of weeks of strides and some hills, suddenly many of the "slow" kids were keeping up with the travel soccer kids. Strides (starting slow, accelerating to a sprint then decelerating --- all in about 100 M) in particular helped them relax into running fast and realize that it was fun. The kids LOVED those and wanted to do them after every workout --- even after 5 mile runs.

To the running coach: what do you recommend for a fifth grader who is fairly athletic, plays travel soccer, but (I can tell) doesn't have good running form. Are there programs to help him??

[Anonymous]

To me, the thing to be careful of are people or programs who tell your kid "you must run like this." Sure, once kids are in middle or high school, sprint form matters for competition (things like not having lateral movement in your arm swing), but beware people who tell you "your kid needs to run on his toes" or "your kid needs to run on his midfoot." I hear coaches spout that stuff all the time based on NO evidence whatsoever except what some coach told them 30 years ago. This stuff has been studied, and the answers is almost always that suddenly forcing a particular stride on a kid does way more harm than good. As they gain strength and flexiblity, ther stride improves. DS had a basketball coach who worked really hard to get the whole team to run on their toes and have really long strides, and they (other than my track kids who I told NOT to do that) all looked like rabbits when they ran hopping down the court. And they got injured.

I would also look at shoes. For running shoes, you should have them go to a store that will video their form and recommend shoes. Some kids (especially tall kids) way over-pronate (i.e. one or both ankles roll in) when they run, and this can throw everything off. Also, you can run behind them and see if there is anything dramatically weird going on, and if so maybe make a PT appointment with a sports PT practice. DS used to swing one foot around rather than bringing it straight forward, and it was very inefficient and set him up for injury. To fix it (based on his PT's recommendation), I'd run behind him and prompt him to bring it straight through. They also had him run on a treadmill with video monitors and watch/fix his form.

I would have your kid do form drills -- warm up a bit with some jogging, then high knees and butt kicks (i.e. 30M slow jogging raising knees to waist level or above, then jog back the other way kicking their butt with each backswing). Kids (and adults) hate these and don't like to do them seriously, but they are a huge help. I would also have your 5th grader warm up with some jogging and then do strides --- start slow, accelerate, then decelerate, maybe 60-100 meters in all. Note that I'd do this on smooth level grass rather than pavement b/c it is easier on their joints. Then you could work up to what coach Jack Daniels calls R-pace intervals. This is short, intense but not sprinting running for 200-300 meters, like 5 reps with 2 min jog or rest between (for adults IIRC the program is more like 10x400 with 1:30 jog, but you should probably tone it way down for kids). I think people improve their form by running fast while not exhausted, and these are a great, not too taxing way to do that.

A good form cue is to run tall and quiet (i.e. don't slouch, and don't pound your feel down super hard). Also, you can prompt kids over time to think about their knees coming up when running fast. But don't overdo any of these cues. If kids learn to run relaxed and fast, the form will come.

After doing this stuff for a few weeks, short hill sprints or jogging up a longer hill can be great for leg strength, but be careful doing too much of that during a period when your kid also has soccer practice and games.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me, the thing to be careful of are people or programs who tell your kid "you must run like this." Sure, once kids are in middle or high school, sprint form matters for competition (things like not having lateral movement in your arm swing), but beware people who tell you "your kid needs to run on his toes" or "your kid needs to run on his midfoot." I hear coaches spout that stuff all the time based on NO evidence whatsoever except what some coach told them 30 years ago. This stuff has been studied, and the answers is almost always that suddenly forcing a particular stride on a kid does way more harm than good. As they gain strength and flexiblity, ther stride improves. DS had a basketball coach who worked really hard to get the whole team to run on their toes and have really long strides, and they (other than my track kids who I told NOT to do that) all looked like rabbits when they ran hopping down the court. And they got injured.

I would also look at shoes. For running shoes, you should have them go to a store that will video their form and recommend shoes. Some kids (especially tall kids) way over-pronate (i.e. one or both ankles roll in) when they run, and this can throw everything off. Also, you can run behind them and see if there is anything dramatically weird going on, and if so maybe make a PT appointment with a sports PT practice. DS used to swing one foot around rather than bringing it straight forward, and it was very inefficient and set him up for injury. To fix it (based on his PT's recommendation), I'd run behind him and prompt him to bring it straight through. They also had him run on a treadmill with video monitors and watch/fix his form.

I would have your kid do form drills -- warm up a bit with some jogging, then high knees and butt kicks (i.e. 30M slow jogging raising knees to waist level or above, then jog back the other way kicking their butt with each backswing). Kids (and adults) hate these and don't like to do them seriously, but they are a huge help. I would also have your 5th grader warm up with some jogging and then do strides --- start slow, accelerate, then decelerate, maybe 60-100 meters in all. Note that I'd do this on smooth level grass rather than pavement b/c it is easier on their joints. Then you could work up to what coach Jack Daniels calls R-pace intervals. This is short, intense but not sprinting running for 200-300 meters, like 5 reps with 2 min jog or rest between (for adults IIRC the program is more like 10x400 with 1:30 jog, but you should probably tone it way down for kids). I think people improve their form by running fast while not exhausted, and these are a great, not too taxing way to do that.

A good form cue is to run tall and quiet (i.e. don't slouch, and don't pound your feel down super hard). Also, you can prompt kids over time to think about their knees coming up when running fast. But don't overdo any of these cues. If kids learn to run relaxed and fast, the form will come.

After doing this stuff for a few weeks, short hill sprints or jogging up a longer hill can be great for leg strength, but be careful doing too much of that during a period when your kid also has soccer practice and games.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for this excellent info! What I meant about his poor running form is that he sometimes looks awkward when he runs. I took him to a PT a couple of years ago who said that he pronates but, when reminded not to, didn't. And indeed, once he is in an all-out sprint, he looks normal, but when he is accelerating, there is something very awkward and slow about his manner. I think you are right about taking him to a sports-oriented PT. Can you recommend any in VA?