Tag Archives: skill development

Developing Teen Running Talent

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Teen runners can present a paradox…
She won districts (!) and considers 10 minute per mile pace “absolutely brutal” when training (?)
Solution? Well paced intervals and walking

How do you fully develop an athlete?

Keep them in sport.

This requires paying attention differently than if you were seeking to improve them.

  1. Fun
  2. Friends
  3. Success

It also requires you to remove things that can knock them out of sport, and make training less fun.

For running, the #1 risk is injury from impact forces.

Learn about, and limit, impact forces – Jason’s Book is a good place to start (figure, below, is available free at the link, scroll down on Jason’s page)

p102/103, May The (Ground Reaction) Force Be With You

Thoughts:

  • The forces by WALKING, not by slowing down
  • Downhill, hard surface running will send the forces through the roof (avoid)
  • Uphill, walking & running, can be used to get intensity up with less impact

Jason’s book, on Ultrarunning, makes a nice complement to the sprinting book (below).

To those titles, you could add a mobility book. Ready To Run was available at our local library, link is to Kelly Starrett’s webpage.

My blog on pain-free running gives you a 10-minute program you could do with the kids and have them repeat on their off-days.

Keep the kids healthy because injury:

  • Is not fun
  • Keeps us away from friends
  • Limits development

Simple adjustment for new runners, “no back-to-back training days“

Do something different – swim, jiujitsu, climbing, sewing, starts, a few excellent sprints, walking, hiking, biking.

Hands Up, Elbows Drive Backwards, Foot strike under the body

Do not worry how fast the kids are running.

Do notice HOW they are running.

Proper running mechanics, and pace selection, feels smooth.

Teach the kids to relax.

Unsure about great technique?

Here’s a thread, and book reference (pic below).

In the back is an appendix showing kids running, frame-by-frame.

Kids love to run fast.
This book will help you make them happy!

Design the program so the kids are looking forward to every session.

Keep in mind… All kids love to run – only few like to train.

The teen runner’s ultimate development will be determined by what THEY choose to do as adults.

Keep them in the game.

How To Build A Summer Training Program for Fit Teens and Athletic Kids

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“Yes, Sweetie, that’s me”

Last month, my daughter was asked:

Do you have a Dad?

In Boulder, that’s a loaded question.

She smiled and said, “Yes, I have a Dad.”

The question has come up before.

I stay invisible around my kids’ sports.

I do this with intention.

I want them…

  • to be INTERNALLY motivated
  • to keep our RELATIONSHIP separate from their athletic success, or otherwise
  • to INTERACT with them – I’m a player, not a spectator

Living in a town that places excessive glory on sport, my actions:

  1. Support Internal Motivation
  2. Lower Athletic Stakes
  3. Focus on Shared Experiences

My daughter put me in a bind when she asked me to coach her.

Top Five Hug, all-time, right there

Remember my advice to place the RELATIONSHIP ahead of performance

In January, we started a simple program – 20 minutes, done every Sunday, I’m not in the room

This went well – she loved it

For the summer, I asked myself…

What do we want to achieve?

  • For next season => get off the wall FAST
  • Over the next 1,000 days => set up capacity to go heavy at 16 yo

I came up with three 20-minute sessions per week:

  1. Continue the dryland program
  2. Street sprints
  3. Gym skill development & personal limiter mobility work

Let’s look at each

DRYLAND => keep what’s working, an all-around program she enjoys => good enough

Uphill is an effective place to coach speedy run form
AND
Bio-mechanically safer than other alternatives

SPRINTS => to get her off the wall FAST => choose an activity with close to max lower body recruitment

Uphill, street sprints – with casual walk downs

This tweet from Gerry explains more – it was a reminder of techniques we used in New Zealand.

Review & consider Gerry’s graphics – Hierarchy of Sports Performance and Motor Unit Recruitment

To set up the street sprints, she’s doing intramural track right now.

What’s your pleasure?
80#, 60# and 15#

SKILLS => with ~8 swims a week, street sprints and dryland… plenty of load.

A 1:1 session gives me a chance to assess her fatigue while teaching:

  • Squat Variations
  • Cleans (I have a 20# “kid” bar)
  • Sandbag Variations (I have a 15# “kid” bag)
  • Hip flexor openings
  • Eccentric rehab techniques

Let’s pull together the key points:

  • KEEP what works
    • maintain the sport-specific schedule from last summer
    • her load is increasing naturally by getting faster
    • she’s enjoying the 20-minute dryland from YouTube
  • Train general SKILLS – often missed at the sport-specific level
  • PICK ONE thing that would make a difference
  • RAMP LOAD GRADUALLY

Be patient – three summers until she’s 16.

As AC/DC remind us, it is a long way to the top (if you wanna to rock ‘n’ roll).

🤟