Why is the form of most high school runners atrocious?

It’s possible you saw runners of different ages in HS too; the older kids were shirtless and the younger lads still don shirts until they become runner “studs”. Form often develops and changes as HS kids develop core strength naturally, especially after their growth spurt. Boys especially get less lanky and all over the place after they’ve reached their height and start filling out a little. Watch a freshman boy evolve until senior year and you’ll see a natural progression to good running form.

Since girls often mature at an earlier age and more progressively, their form may or may not have such a drastic change.

These are my observations at least.

gloria wrote:

Exception to the rule is Emil Zátopek, as an adult.

And, Paula Radcliffe.

Most high school XC runners aren’t in the top7 and they do not feel inspired to be good, they are just using it for college applications and/or to get in shape for basketball or another sport, so they do not run year round and usually take off the summers, winters, etc from all training. They get their running shoes from Footlocker and usually it’s a CrossFit or a basketball shoe until someone teaches them where the local specialty running store is, or where to order shoes online, where maybe they’ll purchase their first pair of XC spikes/waffle flats in order to break 22-26min for the JV race XC 5k for the first time.

Cross country ain’t me wrote:

Most high school XC runners aren’t in the top7 and they do not feel inspired to be good, they are just using it for college applications and/or to get in shape for basketball or another sport, so they do not run year round and usually take off the summers, winters, etc from all training. They get their running shoes from Footlocker and usually it’s a CrossFit or a basketball shoe until someone teaches them where the local specialty running store is, or where to order shoes online, where maybe they’ll purchase their first pair of XC spikes/waffle flats in order to break 22-26min for the JV race XC 5k for the first time.

And by Indoor track season those waffle flats, having been used in a total of 5 XC dual meets, will stay in their bedroom closets never to be used again

I think the massive growth spurts kids are hitting 16 has something to do with it. Kids seem to hit a growth spurt and forget how to control their limbs for awhile.

We don’t give a ton of form cues but all of our kids have pretty good form by the time they graduate thanks to a combination of very targeted strength work and feedback on strides. Our new runners are very easy to pick out - they tend to be hunched over with too much rotation and collapse a lot at the knee when they land.

30 year HS coach perspective:

HS kids are arriving more out of shape than when I started - weak muscles, weak connective tissue and weak aerobically. They don't play outside, ride bikes, or climb trees like they did in the past. Kids today largely grow up indoors. Many of these play activities taught them how to control their bodies and develop a basic aerobic system.

They tend to be all over because they can't control themselves due to fatigue and weakness.

As they get stronger the form tends to work itself out and they "look" more like a runner.

There are always some who still carry some inefficient habits and we try to work those out.

If the form isn't causing injury or is just grossly inefficient I don't try to remold what naturally works for them.

As an older, slower runner I'm still way more efficient than my incoming runners. I also have years of experience running so even as an old slow jogger I "look" more like a runner. They'll get there if they're serious. It just takes time.

Let's not forget that Mary Cain ran a lot better before Mr. Salazar tinkered with her form. If it ain't broke....

gq65 wrote:

Let's not forget that Mary Cain ran a lot better before Mr. Salazar tinkered with her form. If it ain't broke....

That's the very point that it seems most are trying to make; "it is broke." Most form is inefficient leading to injury, the inability to add much mileage, or progression of times/racing.

On a related note, if you think a change of form is the only reason for MC's drop in performances then you are not paying attention or do not know the sport all that well.

I feel that many/most coaches don't want bothered with trying to correct form or don't know how so they rationalize that it doesn't matter and it is more important to just run more.

wejo wrote:

This morning I ran earlier than usual and saw a lot more people out trying to escape the Texas heat.

When I first hit the trail, these two dudes came by with their shirts off, they looked legit. They looked effortless and efficient. I started to run behind them and it was probably 7 minute pace. Looked like they were out for a stroll.

Then coming the other way was one or two high school teams. The longer shorts and baggy shirts probably don't help their look, but they're form

OK, I stopped reading here. I refuse to read any further.

Highschool was pretty much spot on, although I'm another high schooler (albeit a slightly older one). I'm also currently in PT to fix my form because, while efficient, it makes me more likely to be injured (so I've been hearing a lot about this).

First, he is definitely right about the running easy runs too fast and not running relaxed stuff, as I fell victim to that early before realizing that easy runs were supposed to be easy. When that happened, some of my injury issues disappeared and I felt a lot better when racing.

Second, I think most college coaches consciously or subconsciously attempt to recruit runners with great form because that tends to reduce the risk of them being injury-prone (if any college coaches want to correct me, please do, this is just what I've heard and construed from friends and on here about the recruiting process).

While I'm probably too young to have an opinion (although I believe it's an informed one) I don't agree with a lot of LetsRun in the sense that I think professionally or medically supervised form correction is a good thing. However, I also think that form correction is often unnecessary because of the lack of strength and flexibility training at the high school level. Many (most?) high schools I've seen either neglect additional strength work or have it conducted by the football or basketball coach, who isn't well versed in running-specific strength training. I think the importance of additional strength and flexibility training is severely undervalued, as it's helped many of my teammates and me avoid or fix injuries, and I'd even go as far to say as the additional time spent maintaining your body can be the different between the many good high school programs and the few great ones.

Anyways, just my two cents.

Put your kids in Judo or wrestling if you want them to move athletically.

For some high school kids it might be the issue of growth spurts. Their bodies grow at fast rate and the nervous system just has not caught up.

When I was in middle school I played basketball with a guy. He was athletic, moved well. His family moved away for a year and then came back. We were freshmen and playing JV when I next saw him. He had shot up 6 inches, but it was like his hands were disconnected from his brain.

The next year, he had regained that athleticism was a REALLY good player. He had to adapt to this bigger body where his hands were farther from his brain that they had been before.

Yes

Are you insane?

Calling people insane is unkind and insensitive. He is just expressing a valid concern.

I know this thread is old, but the reason is selection bias. The high school runners with painful looking form almost never make it to the next level of running in college. By college the really bad runners have all been weeded out. It isn’t that the form of high school runners improves that much, it is just that they are not running anymore.

One more add on possible reasons for inefficient form. For those runners coming from playing a lot of ball sports, i.e. soccer, basketball, football, they are used to running up and down the field or court using their arms and upper bodies to control/protect their space, not exclusively to run as efficiently as possible. They have to unlearn those habits for good distance running form.