SUPERIOR COACH JS wrote:
Maybe you have to change to a private coach to solve his running problems and that way continue improvement.
+ 1
SUPERIOR COACH JS wrote:
Maybe you have to change to a private coach to solve his running problems and that way continue improvement.
+ 1
From my own experience growing up and training myself as well as training my kids - there are times when getting older means getting temporarily slower. That is the time to learn patience and re-evaluate priorities - for the parents as well as the kids. I have used those times to teach my kids that the main reason to run is not to prove that you are better than some else, but rather to make the best of what God gave you. Competing with others can be a tool to help that best become better, but you should not lose hope if you are getting beat time and again by the people that you used to beat easily. This period of time can be a blessing in disguise - it can be used to help the child develop a higher level of resilience.
As far as the physical aspects are concerned, I think your son should focus on the following:
- Continue to train consistently, but not overtrain. If a certain level of stress produces slower times, see what happens if you reduced the training volume by 20%, for example. My feeling, though, is that unless the training has been truly extreme, the problem is somewhere else. At the age of 13 the external factors can be powerful, that they can obscure and even almost completely wipe out anything that training would have achieved. Even if that is happening, though, I think properly structured training still has some benefits - prevents the child from becoming obese, improves healthy appetite, maintains healthy cardio function, and teaches discipline.
- Maintain a healthy diet. Which foods exactly fit into that varies from individual to individual, but the general principle is that if you know a certain food makes you slower you should be eating a better food instead. It is more about being disciplined and consistent than about any particular set of foods.
- Get good sleep - again be consistent.
- Minimize external stress as much as possible.
I hope your son can recover from this temporary setback and continue to improve.
cotton shirt wrote:
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.
I've seen this perspective often in the tweets of Nick Willis (re not specializing in running as a young teenager). It just makes no sense to me -- was it Canova who said that the East African athletes have such an advantage because by their late teens they have an entire foundation of aerobic base, the house is already built, whereas Western athletes are just building that. Granted I am not anyone who coached teenage runners, but I would think a lot of aerobic running, year round would be a good thing, of course as modified by individual personalities/goals/challenges. Of course we live in the West, and the kid is not likely to be a pro runner so no reason to run if it's at the expense of being healthy and successful in a Western context, but I would think that if a 13 yo wants to run 6 miles a day, then that's great for their running development.
It happens when training picks up!! Get blood work done. Iron, ferritin, vitamin D and RBC. I will bet money on this.
deerny wrote:
My son just finished up his 8th grade cross country season. In 6th and 7th grade he was significantly faster than his classmates. Some have started going through puberty, but my son is not even close. His classmates all got much faster this year while my son got significantly slower. He had never run regularly in the summer before a season, but decided to this summer. This fall he has ran his slowest 5k ever and finished significantly behind his peers that he runs with in practice week after week. I watched him struggle all season and am worried about him going to high school and continuing to struggle. Any ideas as to what could cause this? He enjoys cross country so much and I would hate to see him to get discouraged and quit.
I did not read pages 2 and 3 of this thread but you did not mention race strategy.
His may be wrong.
Obvious answer is that he may have discovered and is starting to have interaction with that strange species known as "teenage girls". If so, you may need to have that dreaded father to son talk known as "the birds and bees".
With the internet everything about growing up is much more complicated.
Possibility he is over-tapping, messing with his not yet normal T-levels.
M.A.G.A.
To join the cross country team with the intention of being a dedicated athlete means your son
is already a winner. If his coach is competent and he enjoys the training and racing it is time for you to step back
and relax and be thankful he has found a sport that many of us would agree is a great sport..... fitness, compettion, friendships
that often last a lifetime........all good. Now, hoping he is a champion runner is natural for a parent but an unknown destiny. Let him train hard, let him test his limits, and let him know that running be a ong term, even lifetlong, pursuit. Some guys don't excel at the running but love the sport and stay in it and make wonderful coaches......it's all going to work out fine it you let him be himself to enjoy the sport.....only pressure should be from within himself if and only if he desires to be a good runner......it's not for everybody but at least he has had the guts to try it out.......
Also, most important for any runner.........run to compete to the best of your ability but do not chase times...they will come eventually if they are meant to be....
Trump2020OP-the real one... wrote:
Obvious answer is that he may have discovered and is starting to have interaction with that strange species known as "teenage girls". If so, you may need to have that dreaded father to son talk known as "the birds and bees".
With the internet everything about growing up is much more complicated.
Possibility he is over-tapping, messing with his not yet normal T-levels.
Hey gramps: in this day and age, if you wait to talk to your kid about sex until they're in 8th grade, it's far too late.
Trump2020OP-the real one... wrote:
Obvious answer is that he may have discovered and is starting to have interaction with that strange species known as "teenage girls". If so, you may need to have that dreaded father to son talk known as "the birds and bees".
With the internet everything about growing up is much more complicated.
Possibility he is over-tapping, messing with his not yet normal T-levels.
M.A.G.A.
As a fellow Trump supporter, it is my right to tell you that M.AG.A. has been coopted by the libs and turned into a SJW rally cry. We now say MUSAGA (Make United States of America Great Again). It is more respectful to the flag.
Best,
MUSAGA
Possible Eating Disorder? Many try to clean up their diets which ends up hurting them. I've seen this happen to a lot of runners who go vegan.
deerny wrote:
No, his times are getting worse. In the same age group this year he placed much worse in meets.
Way too much pressure from an overbearing dad.
BACK OFF!
oy vey wrote:
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.
This.
The goal should be fitness, fun, no injury, technique, race strategy, enjoyment.
High school kids generally get better each year just by maturing. Many coaches think it was them. I suspect they'd claim the kid growing from 5'5 to 6 ' if they could.
Many coaches are also just focused on that stipend