Is your kid really competing at a high enough level for it to matter? For most kids doing cross country to stay in shape is going to be better than not doing a sport at all that season.

Most HS athletes aren't so developed that fine tuning between speed and endurance matters. XC in the off season will build a stronger cardio base. If they're really worried about raw speed, some speed work is a good idea too. But for that age it's not a zero sum game. Do both.

Anonymous wrote:It’s good but shouldn’t be done simultaneously with another sport

Why is that?

It’s good but shouldn’t be done simultaneously with another sport

XC is one of the absolute best sports to participate in for a big overall bump in fitness. it is great cardiovascular training and most people do not know if they are good at endurance sports unless they participate/train some.

*Sigh,* always so much bad information on running threads. High school XC races 5Ks.

OP, what other sports does your kid play?

At our school, we have a few crossovers from XC to lacrosse. Those kids show up IN SHAPE for lacrosse! I've never heard of any of them complaining about losing speed. I've never known a basketball player to try XC, but I think it would be great for them. Constant cardiovascular work on soft surfaces without the sideways movements that get so many kids injured.

Sure, you'll lose a little bit in the season, when your body is focusing more on endurance. But a fast kid remains a fast kid. They'll sharpen their speed back up in the preseason. (Or if they wanted to do winter track, they could do shorter distances.)

If they are in different seasons, no issue.

Long distances are not a bad thing for short distances. They train your aerobic capacity.

I see it as an advantage, so does Quincy Hall who won a gold medal this summer "I have a pretty big engine, I used to run cross country," Hall told reporters. "I put a lot of mileage in, a lot of stuff like that."

https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/usc/2024/08/07/quincy-hall-south-carolina-gold-medal-400-2024-paris-olympics/74709604007/

How long are XC hs meets? Talk to coaches about total mileage for training. I think that’s a big deciding factor. Also whether other sport is in winter or spring and how competitive are we talking here for XC team?

10k and up, yes, xc? not a problem.

A lot of track kids are technically in XC but are mostly training sprints. Could your child do that? Get the social stuff of the fall sport but train more on the sprint side?

Depends on ither sport timing. Fall XC is not good prep for basketball but you could add in sprint work over the winter for a spring sport.

Anonymous wrote:DC looking at possibly running XC in high school but we’ve heard that that type of training might not be the best for sports that require explosive speed/sprinting skills (which they currently play). I’ve always subscribed to the cross training model and want DC to play more than one sport in HS but trying to figure out how training seriously for XC will impact other sports training.

Yeah it’s not great unless shorter workouts han 800 Meyer

DC looking at possibly running XC in high school but we’ve heard that that type of training might not be the best for sports that require explosive speed/sprinting skills (which they currently play). I’ve always subscribed to the cross training model and want DC to play more than one sport in HS but trying to figure out how training seriously for XC will impact other sports training.