Training for 8 year old for 400 meters

The people on here advocating moderation are the correct ones. Like has been said, is no different than playing other sports that millions of kids in that age range do, or activities they practice like music, etc.

It's not just a "test," in the way the other poster describes it, if they tell the kids what the time is and that it's however many weeks away. It's a test if they walk in to class one day and tell the kids they're doing it without warning.

So in effect, they've told kids what they have to do to earn something in advance. If the girl wants to do what it takes to earn it, then there's nothing wrong with dad helping her achieve it. If she does it, she'll gain a lot more self-esteem than being told to "go out and play," and then she doesn't get it.

fooolz wrote:

Memo to idiot: 8-year-olds don't play "t-ball." That's like 3-5 year-olds. 8-year-olds can do a hell of a lot more than swing at the ball without falling down.

No shit genius. Miss the point much?

I see you chose an appropriate username for yourself. Except you might want to try the singular unless you have multiple personality disorder.

be a good parent wrote:

Slacker wrote:

So you don't let your 8 year old to play sports? Wouldn't that qualify as your "bad parenting" because they have to train/practice and run more then a little?

If she wants to play T-ball she has my blessing. But then again, I have yet to see a T-ball coach working on the VO2 max of one of his "athletes". They're usually trying to teach them to be able to swing at the ball without falling down

Proof you don't have and never have had kids around the age of 8. What you have a newborn and you think that qualifies you to answer the question?

I didn't miss your point - it was that 8-year-olds should be doing nothing more than playing t-ball. Get of the message boards before you poop all over yourself. Foolz is who I'm speaking to, which accurately describes you. You make my blood boil. Jerk.

be a good parent wrote:

fooolz wrote:

Memo to idiot: 8-year-olds don't play "t-ball." That's like 3-5 year-olds. 8-year-olds can do a hell of a lot more than swing at the ball without falling down.

No shit genius. Miss the point much?

I see you chose an appropriate username for yourself. Except you might want to try the singular unless you have multiple personality disorder.

Slacker wrote:

Proof you don't have and never have had kids around the age of 8. What you have a newborn and you think that qualifies you to answer the question?

Proof you don't know how to read. I never claimed I had kids around the age of 8. I claimed I had kids. And I do. Only they're both long, long past the age of 8.

That's what qualifies me.

Proof you don't know crap. Get out.

be a good parent wrote:

Proof you don't know how to read. I never claimed I had kids around the age of 8. I claimed I had kids. And I do. Only they're both long, long past the age of 8.

That's what qualifies me.

Sunday - 3 miles (long run)

Monday - off

Tues - 2 x 800, 2 minute recovery

Wed - off

Thu - 4 x 200, 4 x 100

Fri - 2 miles easy

Sat - off

fooolz wrote:

Proof you don't know crap. Get out.

Proof that you're still in Junior High. Grow up.

You grow up. Have you seen anyone else on here who gets your twisted logic? No. Newsflash- that's the sign to get off this thread. How dare you tell me to grow up. You make me sick to my stomach.

be a good parent wrote:

fooolz wrote:

I didn't miss your point - it was that 8-year-olds should be doing nothing more than playing t-ball.

Sigh. No, little one. It was exaggerate for effect. If an 8 year old can be "training" why not a 4 year old?

Seriously do you think kids of 4 or 5 or 8 are playing these sports to work on their VO2 Max? Their endurance? No, they are doing it to PLAY. To have fun. That's the only reason they SHOULD be doing it. And by and large these sports are good and safe because the only bit of running they're going to be doing is sprinting around after their friends. Not to beat a clock. To catch Bobby-Sue, or whoever

Can't we at least wait until they hit double digits before we start to "train" them?

You make my blood boil. Jerk.

Aw, gee whiz.

Grow up.

fooolz wrote:

How dare you tell me to grow up. You make me sick to my stomach.

I suggest Pepto Bismol. It works wonders on an upset stomach

Well you give me heartburn, nausea, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea. What do you recommend for that?

Counseling

be a good parent wrote:

Seriously do you think kids of 4 or 5 or 8 are playing these sports to work on their VO2 Max? Their endurance? No, they are doing it to PLAY. To have fun. That's the only reason they SHOULD be doing it. And by and large these sports are good and safe because the only bit of running they're going to be doing is sprinting around after their friends. Not to beat a clock. To catch Bobby-Sue, or whoever

So this means at basketball practice there should be no dribbling, passing or shooting drills? Just have the team play in your driveway! Same at baseball practice. I guess I should tell my city's 8 year old travel baseball team to cancel all the practices, forget the instruction and just have them play wiffleball. You seem to have no idea how much time some kids put into sports these days. And don't get me started on girl's dance classes.

I cannot express the rage you've made me feel. I haven't been this angry in six years.okay... I can't back that up. I don't agree with you, but I don't really hate you, "be a good parent." I was trying to be a combative roid-raged letsrun poster. I only lasted about half an hour. Damn. Ok, I'm out.

be a good parent wrote:

fooolz wrote:

How dare you tell me to grow up. You make me sick to my stomach.

I suggest Pepto Bismol. It works wonders on an upset stomach

I loved t-ball. FYI...my son was 8 when he played t-ball. It is just a blast to watch. What sports are all about. A great coach whose priority was to teach them all to spit...and then taught them the fine sport of baseball. What this topic is really about is parents getting too serious about their children's sports at too early of an age. Let them be kids...you start training a kid at 8 and there is a very real possibility they will hang up their spikes at the age of 13.

a good parent wrote:

So this means at basketball practice there should be no dribbling, passing or shooting drills? Just have the team play in your driveway! Same at baseball practice. I guess I should tell my city's 8 year old travel baseball team to cancel all the practices, forget the instruction and just have them play wiffleball. You seem to have no idea how much time some kids put into sports these days. And don't get me started on girl's dance classes.

I have plenty of idea how much time PARENTS put into their kids activities. Over scheduling them to death. Making them "athletes" at a young age. An 8 year old who does some non-stressful drills is still playing a game most of the time she is at practice? If my daughter had played organized basketball at 8 I'd have no problem with that. If the coach had made them do things like suicides for most of the practice, I'd have pulled her from it immedately.

Jeez. Some other threads have been having pretty reasonable discussions. Maybe getting kids involved pushes the wrong buttons for a lot of people.

Anyway. I'll break with precedent here, OP, and take your post at face value. Sure, a healthy eight-year-old's getting under 1:50 is certainly doable for most, without any kind of hardcore "training." If she can get 2-3 days per week of running, she'll be fine.

A 5-10min "run around the block"--assuming she can complete it, which she will almost immediately, if she can't already--is fine. One of those a week works. (NOTE: If she's building up to this, it's much better that she alternate a run with walking, rather than shifting to a "survival shuffle.")

The thing she should get from that run is that she can run a pretty long way, so she doesn't have to worry about *lasting out* a 400--as long as she doesn't start the 400 like a sprint! She probably just has to work on getting the feel for a speed between a jog (her round-the-block pace) and a sprint (which is probably what she does in soccer).

If a track is readily available, just do a few 100's with her at that "medium" speed--around 24-27 seconds. Get a nice walk between reps, or do other stuff (throw a ball, play leapfrog, whatever) between. She's mostly building a skill here, so she should be pretty fresh for each 100. (If you have 100m available elsewhere, e.g. a soccer field, that'll work, too. Or, if *you* have a good feel for the proper speed, just run with her for 25-30sec at a time.)

She'll probably be able to handle 4-6 100's with no problem. Next time, you can extend the distance a bit, but subtract a rep. Example:

6 x 100, then 5 x 150, then 4 x 200, then 3 x 250, then 2 x 300. [If she can handle 2 x 300 (as much rest as she wants) at the right pace, she'll be fine on Test Day.] Just have her occasionally do a rep by herself. This will show her that she can pick the right pace all on her own.

Then, for the test, she just needs to pick that pace again. If the other kids want to start at a sprint, let 'em--she'll pass some before the finish.

fooolz wrote:

okay... I can't back that up. I don't agree with you, but I don't really hate you, "be a good parent." I was trying to be a combative roid-raged letsrun poster. I only lasted about half an hour.

You were doing OK until you started talking about blood boiling. That was a little over the top and a dead giveaway. If you watch some of the long-time trolls on here you'll see they're like fishermen. They don't pull on the line too hard too soon.

This is really quite simple...

EPO

HGH

Steroids

Anorexia

All out sets of 400's.

Follow this and you got yourself a champ!