How do you actually get your runners to do stuff oer the summer?

Are you allowed to have an alumni or parent organize runs? That might work.

You could make it mandatory that the report in to you at the end of each week. They could keep online running logs.

Perhaps some incentives- rewards for certain mileage barriers.

The key is building a culture of winning. You need to get buy-in from your athletes and their families. Identify kids with both talent and character, and figure out a way to convince them that running isn't just a post-Labor Day thing, but a way of life. Programs that succeed don't have kids running in the summer because a coach makes them run - they succeed because the kids want to run and understand what it takes to be successful.

Easier said than done, sure. But every successful program I've seen starts with leadership from quality kids who demonstrate to younger teammates what it takes to win. Since it's a magnet school, presumably you have kids who want to achieve at something in life, so it doesn't seem impossible.

The coach at the high school that my kids run/ran for organizes "morning runs" 3-4 days a week during the summer. They're ungodly early, 6:30 AM, but that time allows them to beat the heat and have their run done without interfering with the rest of their day, which for my youngest son often meant going back to bed until noon.

The runs aren't at all mandatory or particularly structured. They're sort of social in nature. The upperclassmen pretty much buy into the whole thing which is good because they run at a local park and the underclassmen often need rides.

I do whatever da fvck I wanna do like a boss. Fvuk a training plan.

I tell them that they have to work over the summer or they'll lose. We already have a tradition of winning so most of them don't want to be known as the ones who lost.

I also make summer training enjoyable by telling them that it's not training at all- just go out for a run every day.

Good response

Takes time wrote:

The key is building a culture of winning. You need to get buy-in from your athletes and their families. Identify kids with both talent and character, and figure out a way to convince them that running isn't just a post-Labor Day thing, but a way of life. Programs that succeed don't have kids running in the summer because a coach makes them run - they succeed because the kids want to run and understand what it takes to be successful.

Easier said than done, sure. But every successful program I've seen starts with leadership from quality kids who demonstrate to younger teammates what it takes to win. Since it's a magnet school, presumably you have kids who want to achieve at something in life, so it doesn't seem impossible.

If you cannot hold mandatory practices, you need a different combo of carrot and stick. The carrot can be t-shirts for logging various mileage totals. A stick could be a first day of the season time trial--required to hit a certain time to make the team, but waived if you logged X miles. The trial doesn't have to be 5k--could be shorter or longer, depending upon what you want to measure. Set the threshold different for newbies and veterans. If you're talented enough to show up untrained and do the work, great. If not, either log the miles to skip the test, or do whatever it takes for you to hit that mark. If you have 40 kids, the ones you lose will not hurt that badly, they may even come back later.

It does help to set up a regular group run time and place. If you can get a couple of captains to run it, great. If you are a runner yourself, even if you cannot run with them, you can arrange your own runs to cross their path occasionally.

Mandatory volunteer practices, like the football team probably has.

Or, you could set a time for group runs 5 days a week, and kids are bound to show up because of the structure.

Good attitude, knowledge, and structure, help to build an environment where they want to improve.

Or you could bribe them with an end of summer 5k run and pay them $5 dollars for every second they beat last season's PR pace. (a 1 minute PR for 5k is about 19 seconds per mile so you would owe the kid $95)

Good attitude, knowledge, and structure, help to build an environment where they want to improve.

Or you could bribe them with an end of summer 5k run and pay them $5 dollars for every second they beat last season's PR pace. (a 1 minute PR for 5k is about 19 seconds per mile so you would owe the kid $95)

Start a running club and have them join it over the summer. Also a good "recruiting" tool if you tell local Jr. High coaches that you have a running club over the summer and want to keep kids in shape. You could start a summer track club as well. I was introduced to the sport through summer track back when I was in elementary school! Loved it.