runjesse wrote:
As a junior high track coach I was wondering what people would consider a good time for a 7th grade boy in the 1600? Also, if you ran some quick times as a 7th/8th grade boy in the 1600 what did you go on to run in high school and college if you ran there? I have a kid on my team who has ran fairly decent in his first two meets and was just wondering how he might stack up against what people think or have ran.
like previous posters have said, 7th grade mile times aren't a good indicator for future success. For example I knew a guy who ran 6:07 in seventh grade and never broke 5:30, whereas I ran 6:45 in seventh grade and went 4:35 as a senior.
But that wasn't even the question you were asking, so to answer your question, here is my list. These are all assuming that the kid doesn't train seriously and is running at most 20 miles a week(not many kids do that, I didn't run outside of PE class in seventh grade). Kids who run 20+ miles a week at that age are being pushed too hard in my opinion, and they are performing at a level that is not natural for a 12-13 year old.
7:00- The kid is at least somewhat physically competent. Probably not fat.
6:30-The kid has a bit of talent and could develop into a good runner if coached correctly.
6:15- This is pretty good for a 7th grader. It shows that they have some talent, and also a willingness to push themselves to a point where they are starting to hurt.
6:00- These are the kids that could end up being really good. If you have a 7th grader who is going 6:00 or faster for the mile then you have something special.
Of course if you were asking about what an in competition time qualifies as "good" for a seventh grade boy, then the answer is 5:15. There is nothing special about getting a 13 year old to run 5:15 for the mile, it's only impressive if the end up being able to go 4:20 or faster later in their high school career. I know countless kids who were pushed to their max in middle school, ran like 5:10, 5:15 and now as sophomores, juniors and seniors, they have trouble breaking 4:50.