Why is my son getting slower?

A couple possibilities to consider:

1) overtrained mentally or physically. 13 is pretty young to be training in the off season

2) about to go through a growth spurt

3) stressed with school

4) major anxiety over performance

Is he tired? Worn down? Are his times improving? You only mention how he is doing relative to others.

maybe his legs/feet hurt all the time from running and he needs more cushioning.. im trying to find a good cushioned shoe but no one will respond to my thread.

Bad genes

I have been coaching 14/15-year-old boys for 30 years, and my perspective on this is as follows:

1. do not specialise too soon - 13 is way too young to be doing event specific training, and is a little early for "training" in the off season. have them doing games of various sorts, going for runs if they enjoy that, and having practice meets and friendly races against their peers but they should be encouraged to try a wide range of events and should be doing at least one event from each event group (sprints, middle distance, hurdles, jumps, throws). so that even if the guy is absolutely convinced he wants to be a pole vaulter, at 13 he should be doing some hurdles practice, throwing something, doing sprints, and going on 2 - 3 mile runs with the middle distance guys.

Jessica Ennis went along to a group run along these lines because her friend wanted to do the long jump but didn't want to go alone. so Jessica ended up trying all the events and ended up being Olympic heptathlon champion. Bruce Jenner went along to a similar group and ended up being a woman, so I'm making no promises, but there is no evidence that throwing the discus makes you gay.

2. progress is not linear - not even superstar athletes improve every year. just because he has shown no real improvement this year does not mean his training has not been beneficial. 13 - 16 is a really stressful period and they have to accommodate changes not only in their biology, physiology and chemistry but also in their real life, they are struggling with their identity and where they fit into the big scheme of things, they have to figure out what to do with their lives and to resist a lot of temptations being thrown their way; things like drugs, girls, alcohol, girls, smoking, girls. their body is, essentially, a war zone, and adapting to any of this in ways that improve running performance is not a priority and is highly unlikely.

concentrate on enjoying play, being healthy, sleeping well, eating varied and nutritious foods. get through puberty without tearing your achilles or hamstring and you're set for eight years of gradually increasing serious training.

a 13-year-old boy who even knows what his 5000m pr is, is taking it way too seriously.

3. boys respond to puberty differently - some boys, their voice breaks and they sprout facial hair, others you wouldn't notice unless you really know them. they also start at different times, proceed at different rates and, from many years of experience, some never quite finish; they're still kids in their 30s. try not to judge your son against his peers, and, in particular, do not compare him to your memory of yourself at that age. he ain't you. he is a unique individual and stuff will happen in its own sweet time. just be there for him and everything will, mostly, work out fine.

cheers.

The emphasis on performance at the high school level is ridiculous. Let's face it, very few kids will ever be elite athletes. If you care about your kid, take this time to equip him with a healthy mentality. Stop projecting your needs and wants on to him.

your son is soft, so set about toughening him up

Nice. Thanks so much for your insightful response.

No, his times are getting worse. In the same age group this year he placed much worse in meets.

Actually these aren’t my wants and needs. He enjoys running and the peers that he runs with. He is practically in tears after meets and I would hate to see him quit doing something he loves out of frustration. Just looking for advice to help my son. Not looking to make him an Olympian. But thanks so much for your wonderful input.

Performance anxiety is definitely a possibility. Any suggestions?

deerny wrote:

Performance anxiety is definitely a possibility. Any suggestions?

Stop stressing him out about it? If you're coming in Letsrun to talk about your 13 year old son's cross country performance, you may be putting to much pressure on him.

Maybe female identifying as male?

Maybe because you are an overbearing helicopter parent and it is time for you to do some introspection?

You know his stats from 6th grade ... c'mon.

Maybe he doesn't enjoy cross country and only says that he does to please you.

Maybe he isn't cut out for XC.

I remember a talk radio conversation between an NFL player and a NBA player. Both spent their summers riding their bikes and playing baseball on a vacant lot with their friends and never did any sport specific training until later in high school. Both were trashing summer sport camps, clinics, tee ball World Series, etc.

Oh my word! That’s it. Thanks so much. ?

Because I’m trying to help my son who is struggling? He’s competitive and knows his stats. Unfortunately he’s competitive at everything including board games. I’m am definitely not. I just love my son. So sorry.

Get him to get a hobby that doesn't include running or physical exercise like music, video games (in moderation), etc. Just get him to get his mind off training when he is not training. No one be 100% focused on running, like professional athletes not even in running use other hobbies to recover that when they just had a long season or hard training session.

No that is not the fix for every thing. You could be the toughest person in race but could lose because another racer has been training smarter than you.

Has he grown a couple inches this past year? Sometimes that happens and it takes a little while for the kid to regain their coordination.

If that's not the case, then this sounds like a mental problem. Boys that age really shouldn't be getting slower as they get older. It sounds like he really cares how he does compared to his teammates. Is it possible he's going out too fast in races trying to hang with better runners, and dying at the end?

5k is also pretty far for a middle school runner. Maybe try getting him in some shorter races if he's not already.