how to train 6 year old for 400m

Venus and Serena are atypical not only because they made it but because their father did not have them compete in all the usta tournaments. He refused to go along with the typical tennis protocol -He did not have them compete often, he picked and chose their tournaments. He didn't care if not playing would hurt their ranking the way too many other parents did and still do. Hence their longevity.

coach wrote:

No don't train him with running. Cottonshirt is correct. Let him play tag, keep him active in as many physical activities as possible. Hard 250s and 300s will prepare him for his races but perhaps burn him out promote overuse injuries and muscle imbalances and hurt his long term development as an athlete. Have him swim, do gymnastics, dance or martial arts, and play soccer and other sports that involve running.

A six year old should not do much but it doesn't take much. Lets compare:

Swim: One of my kids is a swimmer. 3-4 workouts a week, slightly older than the OPs kid. Some kids do 6(!) workouts a week. At least 1hr of almost nonstop swimming per workout. But sure 3-4 400s twice a week will be fatal....right.

Gymnastics: Those kids have high injury rates and also workout 3-5d/wk. Serious kids are at the gym 3h a day. But right 30 minutes 2x/wk at the track is no good.

I ran pretty hard as a kid, though not at 6 to be fair... My talent level was unimpressive but it did me no harm. I still run to this day.

There is a national championship for this age group so I am assuming that experts would think this is ok. I have read a few things were people say their kids have so much fun. Would there be a better event for him to run in other than 400m?

Partake in all these sports for multi lateral development not train intensely. Most young people that train seriously in any sport burn out or get hurt. I wouldn't call a 30 minute jog with mom or dad twice a week and a few reps around the track serious training, unless the kid doesn't want to do it. I've seen coaches and parents at an armory practice admonish their young children after not hitting a specific time or wanting more rest. Not healthy. Keep it fun.

The greatest thing about junior athletics is that all the kids have fun. Nothing wrong at all with a 400m championship for 5-6 year olds. Pretty sure it is common in all other countries and if not maybe it should be after all the success the USA has had!

Have him run a 400 to see how far it is. Maybe do a 400 every now and then to practice pacing, but those who say a 6 year old shouldn't "train" are pretty much right. For skill sports, starting at 6 may have some advantages, but for sprinting, anything he does before puberty won't make any difference for the future. Except that he might like the meets and you might have some fun, which is a worthwhile thing on its own.

My son was a D1 All American and he first tried track in 9th grade and didn't really "train" until college. The best 400m runner on his high school team his senior year never did organized sports but he was playing frisbee with some friends and they said "you're fast, you should run track" and he went out for track his senior year, ran under 50 seconds, and qualified for the state meet. Similar story for their top 200m runner that year.

I had some acquaintances who trained their kids hard for track when they were 8-10 and went to national meets and stuff. There's not many kids doing that, so it's almost a sure thing they'll succeed if they train. But they got burned out and discouraged and quit when puberty hit and the kids with natural talent started getting into the sport.

So have fun with it. His legs won't fall off if he runs 400m. Maybe doing meets will be a fun thing. But resist the temptation to reserve your Olympic tickets and up the training if your kid is relatively good at age 7. And don't thing it's a waste of time if your kid turns out to be not that good. You can still have fun and who knows what will happen in the future.

I was an active kid but a below average athlete and real slow until puberty hit and I suddenly had long muscular legs that could propel me high into the air. I ended up being a D1 high- and triple-jumper and had decent speed. I'm glad I wasn't fat and sedentary when puberty hit or I may have never known that I had some latent talent.

Cottonshirt wrote:

6-year-olds should not do training.

ever.

for anything.

just let him run around and play, and do active things he enjoys doing.

if he wants to run in races, then let him. but if he decides to sit down half way round and contemplate his navel for 5 minutes, let him do that too. and don't be in the least bit surprised if he finds 400m an awful long way. I coach 14-year-olds who find 400m a long way.

please, do not coach your 6-year-old son.

cheers.

Agree.

My 3 year old can do a crouch start though! That's the extent of anything I'll do though & just for a laugh on Nursery sports day. I'm not going to have him do parkrun aged 7 like some idiots. Playing and having fun is natural training.

I'm the old-fashioned type who thinks that words have meanings.

play means, participate in a sporting event, a game or race of some kind. kids as young as six can play ball games, have running and swimming races, and they can compete against kids their own age. this is fine.

train means to practice specific skills and develop specific physical characteristics in order to be able to play sport better. it literally means to induce physiological changes that make the person better suited to some specific activity.

the first law of training is the law of specificity. it says that training induces physiological changes in the body that are specific to the training you do. we read this both ways. it means, you become the training you do, and it means that you choose the training that makes you what you want to become.

training, is then not a process but a journey. it takes you from where you are (physically and physiologically) to where you want to be. since your boy is just 6-years-old, you have no idea where you are (physically and physiologically speaking), and you will not know until he is much closer to puberty.

I have been an athletics coach for thirty years, and I have coached pretty much exclusively 14-16 year-old boys for twenty of those years, and it is my considered opinion that no child should commence training until they have been through puberty. the boys I coach do not do event-specific work until their body is ready to commence adjusting to the rigours of their chosen event. it varies from boy to boy, but generally, by the time they are 15, they are ready to START. if you start a boy training at 6-years old, you are essentially trying to mould him before you even know what material you have to work with.

play games, by all means. participate in competitive sports against kids his own age, by all means. just don't do any training for this. make it play, an adventure, a generally fun thing he can do with his dad. but avoid coaching or training or any kind of deliberate attempt to make him better at it until he is a lot older. another eight to ten years older.

they have fun playing games. they have fun participating in fun sports. they have fun winning and learning how to lose gracefully. they have fun being with lots of other kids their own age outdoors with the sun on their face and the wind in their hair. they have fun watching worms wrestle. you don't need to go training to have fun.

everything I know about kids I have learned from the ones I coach. and the two things I know for certain are this:

1. they are the best judge of what events they want to do.

2. they are the best judge of when they have had enough.

let him try a few and let him decide what he wants to do.

3. they also change their mind a lot.

cheers.

+1 on Cottonshirt's post.

Words have meanings, so, differentiating is paramount.

My experience: At that age, I let my sons explore things. If they wanted to run a lap or just 100m, they did. If they wanted to jump in the long jump pit, they did. I gave them tips on how to do a couple things, but never did I say to do x-amount this, and y-amount that.

They participated in a variety of sports throughout junior high and high school, and are healthy adults. Letting them choose was key.

The only time one of my sons asked about specific training was when he was a HS senior, interested in taking down the school record for the mile. Unfortunately, he broke his ankle before track season started, so the record-quest never happened.

Mr. Cottonshirt, thank you for a good, sound post.

I bet everyone here can remember a kid that was Grade School Gym Class hero... then everyone hit puberty and he was left behind, didn't even participate in sports by the time he was in HS.

Can make for a bitter, sad, teenager.

Excellent post.

fuk yur 6-year old