So I've been asked to coach kids that are in the 3rd and 4th grade (the old coach quit for personal reasons). I have some experience with coaching high school aged runners. How should I coach young cross country runners? I have access to a track and that's about it. Should I teach them how to push themselves hard with intervals? Or should I start them off easy and make running fun?
Thank you
How long are the races? How many times a week do they practice? What is your goal for the team and the kids individually?
100mpw
The races are either 1 or 1.5 miles. We either practice twice a week then have a race or practice three times a week. I just want the kids to have fun while learning how to race.
Thank you
I think they key is making sure they're having fun running at that age, and don't do anything serious unless they really seem into it. I have a younger brother who got 4th last year at auu xc nationals for 8 and under, last year we mainly did speed work with him (such as 400s or 300s, and a few workouts where he did a few 800 repeats) as he was running 2k or a mile, some longer easy runs about 45 minutes and 3 mile threshold runs for his endurance, in total no more than 27-30 miles a week.
Troll post....waste of time
Play games with them that involve running, capture the flag the most notable. They'll get competitive with one another. You can do other games that involve small teams and races. Don't put them on the track and make them do intervals, you want to encourage participation in the sport, not scare the youth away.
CTF wrote:
Play games with them that involve running, capture the flag the most notable. They'll get competitive with one another. You can do other games that involve small teams and races. Don't put them on the track and make them do intervals, you want to encourage participation in the sport, not scare the youth away.
Good point, I see so many people burning kids out at 7-10 years old, to worried about winning and times, even if the kid likes doing it at that age it's just to much and takes the fun out of it and kills their enjoyment of it
CTF wrote:
Play games with them that involve running, capture the flag the most notable. They'll get competitive with one another. You can do other games that involve small teams and races. Don't put them on the track and make them do intervals, you want to encourage participation in the sport, not scare the youth away.
+1
They should run a mile time trial every other day.
I've coached elementary kids in cross country and track, and we've always made it a point to do something fun as part of each practice. We wanted them to enjoy running and being part of a team. We always talked about improvement instead of performance, so always try to improve on your last race or run longer than you did last practice. Not everybody is fast, but with a little bit of effort, everybody can improve.
Specifically for cross country .... You will likely have a wide range of abilities, and we always set a goal of running (i.e. no walk breaks) the entire race. Some might take until the end of the season, some might never get there. We took the same approach with practice where we tried to get everyone able to cover a mile (short walk breaks allowed) before the first race. That was usually pretty easy, and we typically got up to 2 miles before the first race. By the end of the season, most could cover 3 miles (our longest), but some very slow and some with walk breaks.
We had a similar setup with 2 or 3 practices per week. One was always distance day where we would run roads near the school (close to college campus). We had parents run with us so we could have pace groups of 3-5 kids. Often we would mix in some fun stuff like follow the leader or fun routes or stop to look for turtles in the creek, etc.
Second practice was drills and/or hills. Pairs or teams work well for these and help build camaraderie. Short sprints, form, jumping plyos, tag, capture the flag, race the coach, etc.
Third practice if we didn't race was shorter distance run and a running game of some sort.
At this age, praise and encouragement are key! Criticism doesn't work. We talked about things we can improve, but always in a positive light. Encourage kids to encourage each other. Don't be a hard a$$, have fun with them.
My philosophy is that the slow and awkward kids need you more than the fast, athletic ones do. Give them confidence, help them learn and grow.
The other day, I went to a park. I saw a local HS coach lead a practice with kids of roughly the same age or slightly older than mentioned by OP. The parents were present and happily texting and socializing. Over the course of 90 min, I saw about 30 cheers, some moves that were probably popular wake-up exercises in 1950's in some Soviet republic and a bunch of short runs that amounted to no more than 1K. This is a school-year program that meets 3X per week and focuses on "fun" with the belief that is what will lead kids to running.
My view ...
They were not hurting the kids but certainly not helping them in any way, shape or form. Those kids were probably doing more exercise running around their own neighborhoods. So, what do they get out of going to XC practice?
Kids like to win, they like to get better at something that is cool and they like results. When they race their friends at school, those who go to Running Club practice, may want to say they are faster as a result of going to that practice. When they lose those school-yard challenges, disappointment settles in.
Who is at fault?
Certainly not those coaches who "volunteer their time" ...
... it must be the darn philosophy behind the whole thing ...
The above HS XC program absolutely sucks in my view. They have been doing this running club for over 15 years (coaches' CVs) yet the HS never manages to put together a XC team to finish in the top half of a local competition involving more than 8 schools.
Kids have Fun when they win.
You want them to have fun? Help them win. I said that already but it is worth repeating.
At the very least, do the right things so they can win those school-yard challenges. Help them feel special.
Otherwise, they come to see you because you are the best clown.
I have been coaching 5-14 year olds in XC for awhile and it is farking tricky. It is nothing like coaching high school and at times herding cats is easier.
I got started in sort of the same way you were. Got thrown in and I just took the basic knowledge I had and figured out what works and what does not.
Basic schedule is 2 practices a week for about an hour with meets on the weekend. You need to make running fun and you hide workouts in games. As the season gets towards the end, it is less games and more standard drills. You will have kids that want to push themselves and you will have kids that walk faster than they run.
Biggest flaw with most youth XC leagues is the limited amount of time to prep before the first meet. Find out the rules/regs and figure out what their restrictions are.
Talk about proper form. Explain how to run up hills, running down, how to start, how to finish, how to run a steady pace, etc.
Just remember they are kids and they are growing and a bad day at school can mean issues at practice. Sometimes I have drills planned and end up playing sharks and minnows for 30 minutes because I know other things will not work. And it is amazing how a kid can not run, but get them to play a game and they are sprinting like they are Bolt.
What drives me insane is seeing a coach yelling at kids at meets. Just do not do that, encourage, do not belittle. And the kids at the slow end need more attention than the kids on the faster side. I seen coaches just focus on the top runners.
And my last note is make sure you follow any guidelines about child safety. Get an assistant and make sure you are never alone with the kids. You can never be too safe this day in age.
Give them a chance, believe, tell them how good they are now and how they can become. Set the dream, tell them who they are.
My 7 year old daughter and I run together, we usually rum 1.5 to 2 miles. Some days are better than others. She'd be not trying for several days in a row (stopping to look at every rock we ran past. Literally EVERY rock) and I'd be ready to give up and her fising instead and then the next day she'd be running the whole way, looking like an elite. It seemed to be no rhyme or reason. The race we were training for, a 5k with about 200 kids, she ended up placing 3rd for 2nd grade girls and she got a medal. She's hooked now. She's also running much better now that summer is over. I don't think she could run in the heat
Elementary coach wrote:
So I've been asked to coach kids that are in the 3rd and 4th grade (the old coach quit for personal reasons). I have some experience with coaching high school aged runners. How should I coach young cross country runners? I have access to a track and that's about it. Should I teach them how to push themselves hard with intervals? Or should I start them off easy and make running fun?
Thank you
I would ask "coach D " because he has been coaching sub bantams for a long time.
At least they let him cut the orange slices for his club
ArLyd wrote:
100mpw
3rd and 4th graders, in the name of long term development, you should probably play it safe with 85-90mpw. They're just kids.
duckerr wrote:
The other day, I went to a park. I saw a local HS coach lead a practice with kids of roughly the same age or slightly older than mentioned by OP. The parents were present and happily texting and socializing. Over the course of 90 min, I saw about 30 cheers, some moves that were probably popular wake-up exercises in 1950's in some Soviet republic and a bunch of short runs that amounted to no more than 1K. This is a school-year program that meets 3X per week and focuses on "fun" with the belief that is what will lead kids to running.
My view ...
They were not hurting the kids but certainly not helping them in any way, shape or form. Those kids were probably doing more exercise running around their own neighborhoods. So, what do they get out of going to XC practice?
Kids like to win, they like to get better at something that is cool and they like results. When they race their friends at school, those who go to Running Club practice, may want to say they are faster as a result of going to that practice. When they lose those school-yard challenges, disappointment settles in.
Who is at fault?
Certainly not those coaches who "volunteer their time" ...
... it must be the darn philosophy behind the whole thing ...
The above HS XC program absolutely sucks in my view. They have been doing this running club for over 15 years (coaches' CVs) yet the HS never manages to put together a XC team to finish in the top half of a local competition involving more than 8 schools.
Kids have Fun when they win.
You want them to have fun? Help them win. I said that already but it is worth repeating.
At the very least, do the right things so they can win those school-yard challenges. Help them feel special.
Otherwise, they come to see you because you are the best clown.
Is this in NYC?
150 miles per week in singles. See who survives.
ArLyd wrote:
100mpw
doubles