Should I Coach Middle School XC?

I was in the same situation when my daughter was in the 7th grade and I was 42. I did run when I was in high school but I had never coached on any level.

I used Jack Daniel's book as my workout guide. We played a lot of games and did lots of fun stuff. The kids were happy as were the parents and the admin.

I enjoyed the coaching so much that I moved into coaching full time. I have been coaching at the high school level for 11 years now.

Of course you should coach. Middle school is a great time to get kids into distance running. I started in middle school and loved it. My coach was an art teacher who just happened to have run Div I All American with a 16:30 5k PR (woman). You would think that we would have had some elaborate training program with periodization and elaborate workouts. But we didn't. We just ran after school, did hills now and then and some 400s when we could use the track. I now realize that our coach understood that we were very young and just needed to stay healthy and happy in order to do well in middle school XC. So, sign up for coaching duties and do not worry about your skill level. Just keep it simple and fun.

Do it. It sounds like you want to and at the middle school level teach them the basics. Don't overtrain them and burn them out. Keep them healthy and develop their love for running. Go for it! It will help your child and a lot of other kids

You should do it! I coached cross country for the first time last fall for the city parks/rec department. I had all ages from 1st through 8th grade.

Don't let the fact that you weren't the state champ on your HS cross country team deter you in the least. My HS cross country coach led us to 4 undefeated seasons, and he never ran once in his life. He was just a good coach, we respected him, etc.

I would suggest you get a female assistant coach. I think it's good to have an adult female there with you in a leadership/coaching role...or just simply present during practices/meets.

OP, I did the exact same thing two years ago. Here are my thoughts:

Most of the kids do not care about XC and some might not even want to be there. So any pipe dreams of having a team of hardworking kids ready to tackle workouts and races should be disregarded.

If it is a co-ed team, they will be more interested in each other than running.

I coach two afternoons a week and I like the kids, but I had to drastically lower my expectations.

Just an FYI.

Yes, do it. I know there is a need for coaches exactly like you. Your greatest assets are that you are passionate, and that you know you don't know everything. Daniels is good, but this might be even better for your situation: The Youth and Teen Running Encyclopedia by Mick Grant and John Molvar. It does not have the science of Daniels or Magness books, but it is very practical.

I wish you would come to my kids' HS and coach- you would be amazed at how poor the distance coaching is at many schools.

for me it would depend if there are any hot chicks on the team

Middle Schooler wrote:

OP, I did the exact same thing two years ago. Here are my thoughts:

Most of the kids do not care about XC and some might not even want to be there. So any pipe dreams of having a team of hardworking kids ready to tackle workouts and races should be disregarded.

If it is a co-ed team, they will be more interested in each other than running.

I coach two afternoons a week and I like the kids, but I had to drastically lower my expectations.

Just an FYI.

This is true.

You will however have some parents who think their kid is talented and will question your methods and a dad or two who is mad his 5' 1" 100 pound son isn't playing football.