I am the coach and I have an hour and a half to fill twice per week. What would you do?
Please don't say play tag.
I am the coach and I have an hour and a half to fill twice per week. What would you do?
Please don't say play tag.
Workouts? Games? Anyone?
capture the flag
soccer
I have worked with elementary track and field a few times, and as long as it is attainable and fun, you will be fine. I found any type of relay gets them running. Indian fartlek runs of maybe 10-15 minutes are good. If you want a pseudo-interval workout, use a big dice (or make your own with desired numbers on it) and multiply the # rolled times 100 for the distance. If they can throw, ultimate frisbee is also a good game. As long as you can keep it relatively fun they will be fine.
Have them run 1/2 mile to two miles depending on age and ability. Then reward with relays, frisbee, and yes even TAG. This is about them having fun not you running them into the ground. The don't want to be the next Webb or have even heard of him.
Here's what my son's team does in that age group:
Group warm up
Stretch
Do strides (they like to race each other)
Send the kids out in groups, slow kids first. The fastest kids last. Have them try to catch each other. Make the distance short enough so most can finish without stopping.
Do the above again or do shorter relay races. Boys vs. girls.
Stretch again.
Mix in a couple of water breaks and you'll fill up the time.
Try justrun.org and look in the advice for leaders column. A great website for kid's activities. Not necessarily for competitive training but to keep the kids interest and get them running and active. Lots of great ideas from group leaders in here. Try the drills and relays as well - look at the download forms section and you can download the drills/activities.
Indian runs are great. Relays are another good workout that allow them to run hard but have fun.
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