How talented is my son?

Obvious troll is obvious

I have a hard time buying that an undeveloped 14/15 year old freshman ran a 50-51 400. If he did, then you should already know the answer to your question.

Also, his 800 and 1,600 times are far behind his 400 time. 2:00 won't even make it to state in most states, however a 50 will win state in most states.

50 would not win states at many states, maybe a 4x400 that averaged 50-51 would win most states.

I don't think anyone is claiming he is "underdeveloped" except for the fact that he is a freshman and all of them are, by no fault of their own or their coaching, are less developed than older runners.

I've known many 50/51 freshman kids and the biggest mistake you can make is making them 400 meter runners.

The guys who are going to run 44-45 later in life are the guys who are running 21 second 200s as high school kids. However, if you can run a 50-sec 400m as a freshman in high school, I would feel very confident that you could be a sub-4:00 or sub-13:45 guy 7 years later as a senior in college. That puts you so far ahead of the curve.

I was a 50.x, 2:01, 4:44 freshman in high school. I ended up having the 800 as my best event and having offers from lots of DI schools. I would really just relax and enjoy the ride (as others have said). No pressure is necessary.

I see him finishing his senior year with a 4:13.6 PR in the 1600.

BEST ADVICE!!!

I have seen this so many times as a coach and it seriously can bring a tear to my eye.

Why pile on the mileage and kill your son's natural speed - Speed is hard to obtain , endurance is easier to get.

Maybe focus on 200s and 400s and short speed. looking at all 3 distances your son appears to be best at the 400m. Why not train as a 200m/400m guy and forget the mileage that will drive his talent into the ground. train for the short stuff and if he improves then great! if not then make the decision to move up and add endurance.

remember - speed hard to obtain - endurance easy to obtain

heyo think of a name wrote:

BEST ADVICE!!!

I have seen this so many times as a coach and it seriously can bring a tear to my eye.

Why pile on the mileage and kill your son's natural speed - Speed is hard to obtain , endurance is easier to get.

Maybe focus on 200s and 400s and short speed. looking at all 3 distances your son appears to be best at the 400m. Why not train as a 200m/400m guy and forget the mileage that will drive his talent into the ground. train for the short stuff and if he improves then great! if not then make the decision to move up and add endurance.

remember - speed hard to obtain - endurance easy to obtain

So when he does get around to training his endurance, then what? its not all taht hard to do strides everyday and some nureomuscular stuff once a week.

my gf has a whooty! wrote:

I have a hard time buying that an undeveloped 14/15 year old freshman ran a 50-51 400. If he did, then you should already know the answer to your question.

Also, his 800 and 1,600 times are far behind his 400 time. 2:00 won't even make it to state in most states, however a 50 will win state in most states.

Maybe it would win for alaska or delaware or something. Last year a 46.x won my state.

And a 2 flat wont make it but a 50 would win? What kinda state is that? My state's SQT is like 50.7 and 1:57.3. if a 50 wins then a 1:57 should win my state's championship right? Or else the 800 is super easy to make even though it has almsot the same amoutn of qualifiers as the 400. PS the winner ran a 1:49.

Your statement should be: A 2:00 won't even make it to state in most states, however a 50 will possibly make it to state in most states.

Times are subject to preference, he is going to try harder in his more favored event than he would in another.

I could run a 47 400 and 1:51 800 but a 10:28 3200.

It really only matters how good he is amongst his peers his junior and senior year as thats what gets him the scholarship

How did you find letsrun?

New to this wrote:

My son is a freshman in high school right now, and he has run 50-51 a few times on the 4x400, 2:00 for the 800, and in the 4:30s for the 1600. His 800 is most impressive I think. He runs around 30-35 miles a week.

What kind of potential does he have, and what kind of times can he hit senior year if he and his coach gradually increase the workload?

Thank you for your replies.

I coach a freshman with time similar to your son. He is currently ranked in the state and is approximately 4 seconds from the state record for 1600m for his grade level. He has run 2:00, but his best 400 is possibly a 55. His talent is of course in XC more than anything else right now.

That said, a freshman going 50-51 in the 400 is...well I don't buy it. His 4:30 mile shows some talent for sure and I'd think that he should at least be able to go 1:57-58 if he's capable of going 51 seconds. In fact, I graduated a boy two years back who posted a 50.3 as a senior and a 1:54. He never dipped below 4:40 in the mile, but he never raced it more than a few times.

Get an accurate time for his 400. If that 50 is legit, work that and you should have a state champ, full ride on your hands come 3 years time.