Id be pretty careful about doing too much serious training before 9th grade. I've seen a lot of those age group Junior Olympic stars burn out in high school and college. That being said, I think at 14 it is better to train lower mileage, high intensity for the 800m. As a 9th grader I ran cross country in the fall and ran with the 400m runners in the spring, and had a fairly good high school career, building up mileage through out high school and later moving up to the mile and 2 mile.
premature one wrote:
Wow, the national record for 16 year olds? Who holds it now? Who cares?
Will he still love the sport when he is in college and at an age where he can get the real national record?
There IS no national record for 16yos, goose. It's the under 18 record (known internationally as Youth). And setting it in the younger half of the age group would be pretty decent.
Will he still love running in 2-3 years? I hope so. No one could say for certain (same with anyone else), but he's got as good a chance as anyone. What makes you think he won't? The kid has a training group with a top coach, good friends all around him, and is doing very well. Why wouldn't he keep enjoying it?
He is still being brought along gradually by people who know what they're doing and have his best long term interests in mind, including multiple Olympians. Why are you assuming the worst? This was my point - we limited what he did as a 14yo (and a 12yo for that matter).
The funny part is you talk about College running as if it's a big deal, then you mention "real" national records. Guess what? College running means nothing to most of the world. Why do people care so much about College running? Kids are flogged with volume to handle multiple races twice a week. How can that be in the kid's best interests?
HBE wrote:
I would advise at that age he should focus on speed development, running economy, sprint mechanics.
I would add volume very gradually.
Being efficient means being faster at shorter distances so you're more efficient and smoother at a longer less demanding speed. For instance having 21sec 200m speed will make 45/46 feel pretty smooth and then coming thru 50 in an 800 isn't is a breeze. By then an athlete of this caliber (1:44-46) has a solid volume base behind them.
I would also work on his strength with weights, plyos, core.
Lunges, squats, box jumps, hurdle mobility, bounding drills, etc
Most of this is very good advice. I'd just be careful about weights at 14. They need to be brought in very gradually, and probably not started till 15-16. By weights I mean cleans, dead lifts, squats etc.
At 14 he can certainly be doing circuit work, which might be what you mean. So calf bounces/skipping, hamstring bridges, squat holds (no weights), lunges, hurdles for mobility for sure, core routines etc.
I'd go light on the plyos too. Too much risk of severs, quads tendon, osgoods etc if you do too much of it. Short hills are good at that age too - bun on grass and don't run down them, only up. A bit of light plyos, but again not on hard surfaces, and with good supportive shoes.