Son has no speed, how to improve

You can work on letting him be. Especially if he's happy with his current skills level.

He can work on accepting his strained relationship with his father, who doesn't accept him for who he is and what he is capable of. You said you "want him to further enjoy competitive running." That's great. What does he want?

Also, even though your post scores high on the troll index and you were successful at getting what you wanted (I hope at least...glad to be of service), here is a relevant clip from the movie "Role Models," which I recommend to anyone who likes raunchy comedy:

(Edit: NSFW...many f-bombs)

Go to the track together weekly as the one workout you do together. Do a bunch of plyos and bounding followed by short acceleration and flying 20s. If he finds it fun figure out some handicap races for the two of you (around 40 yards) such that he can barely win if he tries hard. He'll probably progress quickly.

He should be working on pure athleticism if he's not already. Puberty might result in strength and speed.

What does he currently do for training?

If not already incorporating strides into training on easier days then that is the best start. They're fun if done right, no reason that encouraging your kid to do some 100s at mile pace makes you a control freak.

Once you've got into a rhythm with doing strides regularly, it may be appropriate to work on top end speed once every 2 weeks or so. Emphasis should be on full recoveries (at least 3 minutes, preferably 5). Stuff like 40-60m fly at top speed; starting off with 3-4, building to 5-6. These can also be done uphill if you have access to one. These require focus but aren't hard or painful so I don't see any ethical issues with getting your kid to do them. The next step is phase in some 5-6 x 100/120m sub-maximal sprints at around 400m pace, maybe you can alternate between these and the top end speed work. The key is make sure they're not quite all-out, but still "sprints" and not "strides".

Obviously the #1 priority HAS to be keeping your kid happy and engaged and enjoying the sport. Doing strides and sneaking in a bit of sprint work every 2 weeks should hopefully not make him miserable.

Try the Starting Strength linear progression for novice weightlifters. It has done wonders for my 12-year-old baseball player, who was really just looking for some power on his swing. As an unintended consequence, he got fast. It had the same effect on my 14-year-old baseball player.

You misspelled "son". It's sun.

100%. He should be learning to squat and lunge on a regular basis, simple things like goblet squats or zombie squats with medium weight. Building mobility with deep lunges and cossack squats. Pullups, pushups, and planks are all simple to learn. He can learn to clean and snatch later. Then do some form of plyometric exercise once a week at first. Doesn't always have to be super running specific at that age too. Box and hurdle jumps. There's all kinds of fun little football-type drills you can do like "get up and go"s.

Do strides after most easy runs. Add more drills and plyos as he matures, but not tooany. Less is more. Instead focus mostly on increasing the quality/intensity of those explosive exercises.

I wonder if very short work is the right way to go for kids who are very painfully slow. When I watch these kids on our shortest speed work (flying 20s, 30s, all out 40s, 50s and 60s, they look like they are running with cinder blocks attached to their feet. But sometimes, running a distance like 150 all out, they look much more respectable, because they can basically hold that pedestrian 40 yard speed for the entire 150.

When this is the case, are they better off doing the longer speed endurance stuff?

Or maybe even if they are staying with the very short stuff, should they be capable of doing several more reps than kids who are using a lot of power?

Will he run faster than 2:56/6:01 this year? & then he still has another year to improve before HS. 6:01 is worth a 5k somewhere around 20mins. Maybe it's a little too early to know if he got your genes (hint: he did). He'll get stronger/faster as he ages. He's going to run faster with more consistent training. Would expect him to be running 17-18min 5ks freshman year. Can certainly progress to college running from there*.

*If that's what he wants.

I know exactly what you're talking about. Some people are just destined to be turtles due to genetics, so it goes. But, I believe the best bet for these kids is to keep working the shorter stuff. If you want to get fast, you HAVE to train to exert maximal effort for a very short time. Some kids will be limited by coordination, some limited by strength, etc. You can supplement the running with other explosive exercises that build strength and coordination, like jumps and bounds and stuff. This doesn't mean it's impossible to make gains with longer reps, it obviously is. But that overall athleticism needs to be built to take running to the next level.

Recipe for disaster.

You're not trying not to be a "stage" HELICOPTER parent either. Try that. If fact, don't try, do.

A 6th grader who runs 6:01 is showing some talent. My son could not have run 6:01 in the 6th grade and managed only 5:28 in the 8th grade, and he became a 3200 state champion in a very competitive state and HS All American. Ran D1, made CC Nationals.

You should have hands off. His inspiration will ultimately come from teammates and coaches, not you or your wife.

You should do nothing to try to develop the speed, the endurance, the love of the sport, for a 6th grader. Don't live vicariously through your children. You may be disappointed, and your kid will know. Stop this behavior now.

You will never be as good of a bad dad as gjert, just give up

this makes sense, and i've wanted to get a jumping and bounding routine going for a long time, but don't really have a feel for when and how much to incorporate within a 1 to 2 week training block.

I would say he can work on turning 16, and you can work on lightening up a little.

Start with this with a week. For distance guys, jog a mile or two first. Do your usual dynamic stretching drills and heel/toe walks and all that. Some of your kids may not be ready for all the drills, and that's fine. You don't need to even time the flys, but it will encourage them to get faster if they can see the number go down. Jog a mile or two for a cooldown. Lift weights after.

This is a great start, Boo Schexnayder is another great source.