Talented kid doesn't want to run

Coach and father wrote:

So my sophomore son just joined our high school cross country team last year. He did about 30 miles a week over the summer like everyone else, and with speedwork after he ran 16:33 for 3 miles xc, so i think that he have some decent talent. He made state xc championships later, but we're from a weak state.

Anyway, i managed to persuade him to join track. Now he wants to quit track for whatever reason. What can i do to get him back?

I think your son does have some talent for sure. 30mpw first year yielded a 16:33 in 3 miles is pretty good. Better then what most kids could run. Is he OG material? Probably not, but only time can really tell.

I agree with others saying allowing quitters strengthens the action in other cases. I think you should be up front and just ask about it. Also, maybe he's doing an event he's not suited for in track and feeling down or burnt out causing more distaste for track. You want him to want to do something, but you should also let him know he made a commitment to the coach and team, so I think it's important that he sees it through.

Is he running for your glory or his?

You win "Stupid Father/Coach" of the year.

You are an a-hole of a person you realize that don't you?

You can't force a person to participate in any sport.

You jerk

Don't bread a quitter

Teach him to follow through

Structure your life so he has few options and he will choose his positive alternative where he is successful

some people are just pussies, what you gonna do

No quitting unless father forced him to sign up, which is pretty likely.

Let kids find their own interests and devotion to hobbies like running, music, art, bike riding, or even reasonable game playing. Facilitate those things and a good education.

I meet parents who exclude all other possible pursuits, but sports. How stupid. Square peg get in round hole.

Part of running "talent" is wanting to run.

Sounds like your son doesn't have it.

Maybe try soccer.

One thing to keep in mind is there is no easy equation for talent in running. A BIG part of talent in running is how you respond to high level training and your ability to withstand high level training without injury. he may very well be extremely talented as when he starts training at a high level in his college/post colllegiagte years he may respond to the higher levels of mileage and get much faster than his peers.

Here is an example of two athletes that illustrate my point.

Athlete A: Runs 40 mpw in high school with same quality workouts as athlete B and runs 9:20 for two miles, as a collegiate athlete works mileage up to 60's and only runs slightly faster. (This athlete did not respond well to the increased training even though he ran well with minimal training.

Athlete B. ran 40 mpw with same quality as athlete A and only ran 10:00 for two miles But after getting to college and increasing mileage for a couple years/ adding some intensity he made drastic improvements to a 14:30 guy. off of 60 mpw. Then as a post collegiate puts in a 5-6 solid years and is a 2:16 marathon guy.

My point is much of talent in running is not revealed early. **** That said you should not force your kid to play sports if he doesn't want too. ****

To sum it up the two most important things in talent is how you respond to training and your ability to not get injured NOT how well you run off of minimal training although it still helps!..

sorry for the rant especially because I did not proofread.

But also if he doesn't want to run track don't make him! Maybe his track coach sucks anyway, see if he wants to run a few road races maybe.

The reason I hijacked the thread and went into talent a little bit is because a lot of people assume the most talented athlete is the one who ran the super fast mile in 6th grade P.E off of no training, when that is not necessarily the case. (although it can be)

Some people like road races and XC because you can hide in them. You aren't visible every step of the race as you are in track. We all have heard folks brag that they were 3rd in their age group and there were only 3 runners in their age group. In Cross you can finish high and not be in the top 8 as you do on the track. You can't hide from view on the track!

lkj wrote:

XC and track are different. My son ran xc for four years but would not do track. What is his reason for not wanting to run track? Does he plan on running xc next year? If he is not going to run track try to get him to join the soccer team.

Some people just dont like the monotony of running track. They can't stand running laps and would just rather run from end to end instead, an out and back course.

That's how I've always felt. Track makes me feel like a lab rat.

Yep: dropping mid season is quitting.

I'd have a talk with him; he needs to understand quitting is letting down his team mates and coaches. Make sure he understands that come next fall he risks finding the vibe on the team toward him from his team mates and coaches isn't very welcoming.

You can not force anything, but you can influence and guide him. A challenge never hurts either: a promised reward for a sub 4:30 1600 or something.

I agree with those who are saying that you shouldn't let him quit mid-season. I am not at all the type to force a kid into an activity, but once they've committed, they need to at least finish what they've committed to.

The outdoor season is ridiculously short. Our kids' attention spans are under assault by a lot of different things these days. No need to further this by teaching the kid that he can't be expected to do a sport that isn't his favorite for all of two and a half months.

Everyone occasionally gets involved in something that ends up not being as enjoyable as expected. We've probably all signed up for a sport we didn't end up liking. Some of us will go to colleges that turn out to be poor fits, or start careers that end up not being for us. Life is easier if you learn to suck it up and push through. The guy who says "this job isn't what I expected, so I'm going to keep working hard until an appropriate time to switch tracks comes along" is going to end up in a way better place than the guy who says "this job sucks so I quit." Your son has the opportunity to learn to stick it out early in life in a low stakes environment.

Take a page out of the Soviet/Eastern Bloc training methods and beat him up whenever he gets out of line. It will only make him stronger and more focused to become a better runner. Teenagers need discipline.

Flipit wrote:

Don't bread a quitter

Teach him to follow through

Structure your life so he has few options and he will choose his positive alternative where he is successful

So he has few options? Man I feel sorry for your kids if you have any, or ever do have any.

"Then as a post collegiate puts in a 5-6 solid years and is a 2:16 marathon guy."

So he wasted 5-6 years of his life becoming a top notch hobby jogger? Poor guy. Hopefully he can make up for lost time.

I'd suggest that you give him to space to just run cross country. Lots of reasons why he might want to do that - more friends, more social atmosphere, more fun, whatever. After cross country season, ask him what the other cross country guys do in the off-season. Running together? Track? Other sports? Maybe he'll get into cycling and have some alone time hammering out there. A gentle reminder that other guys are keeping their cardio up might get him to stay fit.

I spent my childhood under pressure from my dad to play various sports and it sucked. Never did a word he said inspire to me to join a sport or to train more. I didn't work my ass off in the off season to make the soccer team for him - I did it because all the girls liked hanging around the soccer guys. My dad coached my little league team, and he promised me that he would treat me like all the other players. About halfway through the season, I reminded him of that promise, and then asked why I was the only kid on the team he called 'a**hole'.

Last thing - take him to a college cross country meet and show him what might await if he gets a scholarship to run in college with all those co-eds. And then tell him that with the money you save, grandma can finally get her operation. But no pressure.

Alright, classic Letsrun

The average kid can't just knock off a 17:17--in almost any state, that will get you on varsity for your team if not close. For only having trained one summer, likely mediocre training considering he's not experienced, that's damn good.

I personally PR'd at 17:21 freshman year and was able to drop over a minute from that the next year, it's really a matter of training.

That said, encourage him to finish it out. Personally, I would not let my kid drop an obligation--he wanted to join or at least agreed to joining the team in the first place, make him finish what he started. The results will unlikely be negative.

But seriously, how is a 17:17 off of 30 miles/w not impressive?

Tell him how many girls he will get as a D1 athlete.

Best thing to do is to not pressure him. Forcing him to run will make him lose interest fast. It is impossible to be great if your heart is not completely in the sport. He is still relatively young so it can't hurt for him to quit and try a different sport. You can always subtlety try to get him to run again next year after some time off. You can gently tell him that he has talent and can be very good someday. If being good in the future does not interest him, he likely does not have the drive and desire to reach that level so it would be a waste for him to continue. It is important that kids at his age do what they enjoy. If that happens to be running, great! If not, that is OK and I wouldn't pressure him but I would rather encourage him to find another activity or sport to get involved in that he enjoys.

The best,

Cranjis