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I know at 6 you can not really say its something that is going to last, however Jnr FD is exceptionally quick for his age and is quicker than kids 2 years above him.
He has done park run and finishes mid field, but will sprint at the end !
When the Olympics was on all he wanted to watch was sprinting.
He is really keen to go to a club to do sprinting, but not long distance.
All the local running clubs appear to be distance orientated, although I will contact Bingley Harriers to see if they can at least point in a direction.
I was just wondering if anyone can offer advice, maybe I shouldn't be googling sprint training? Is it more athletics?
Ta
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Is too much sprinting at that age going to risk long lasting damage though?
For what it's worth, my two girls like sprinting and middle distance (represented their school at a regional final in 'Quad Athletics' where they get to do jumping and throwing too) but I am not pushing them to do more than the occasional competition.
Go to your local athletics club which is based at a track (note, not running club) and they'll sort him out.
I joined Birchfield Harriers in Brum when I was a similar age and sprinted with them until I was 15 ish. Good times back in the day.
John - I have no idea if it is too much.
We are not being pushy parents, far from it, it is something he keeps saying to us he wants to do.
There is a running track in Keighley attached to the council leisure facility. I could give them a call
Most athletics club will cover all bases when it comes to track events.
I used to run for Thames Valley Harriers and the sprint training at the track was just as busy as the middle/long distance stuff.
I can't remember what age it all started from. I think the youngest age group that would train (the colts) were around 9 or so, upwards.
You could always look up sprint drills and get him doing stuff down the park; I'd try to think of ways to keep it fun, as that kind of thing will quickly get boring & you don't want him to do long lasting damage.
Running between cones, getting his 'start' position sorted etc. doing relays with him (passing the baton is deceptively difficult) etc.
A packet of Haribo and a 100m long stick?
A packet of Haribo
Bit early to start him on the PEDs.
John - I have no idea if it is too much.
I am meaning metaphysically, not from you being 'pushy' - and I may be very wrong. I was just remembering 'advice' I heard some time ago.
Get him playing rugby. Rugby likes sprinters and if he changes shape, there'll still be a place for him 🙂 (speaking from experience with my lad here - Got pics of him at 6 with all the rosettes from winning everything at sportsday, now he's a prop!)
John - I know what you mean.
He has been selected for a national talent scheme looking at general gymnastic and athletic ability for diving, and they start at age 7, and they have said he is just at the OK age. He is just not that bothered about that...
Local athletic club as above. Try and expose him to everything. Sounds like the diving club is being a bit more aggressive at "talent spotting" but if he is not interested then don't make him go. He is still very young.
My lad has played football at academy level for last 4 years and they encourage him to play all sports and the more variety the better as this develops his body overall and reduces potential injuries further down the line.
His club prefer him not to play football from May through till July and for the slower lads in the team they suggested sprint training at a local club during the summer but for my lad they said he didn't need that and to do what he liked, so that meant just being a normal lad playing with his mates and out on his bike with me at a weekend.
No real help other than to maybe suggesting specialising at a young age is not the way to go...
Sprinting sounds good for youngsters, aiui people are much more worried about longer distances being bad. The kids do very short runs at the fell races locally - nothing as far as a parkrun. But yeah, good to do a range of sports too, a decent (not too level) sprinter might turn out to be a world class footballer or tennis player or just about anything really.
Yep. Athletics club is what you want. Talk to them - they may not recommend it at that age, they might have a load of other kids.
Agree with all the comments above about keeping him open to all sports.
Its just something he asked expressed a direct interest in wanting to do, and something that is proving harder to find somewhere where he can take part (for fun).
The school has a XC running club, and there is a local schools league, but not for track !
Our club have a fantastic juniors section, they need to be 8 but cover most bases and we've had top Juniors go onto the top in a wide range of sports from Orienteering, to Decathlon.
http://www.junior.ilkleyharriers.org.uk/
Dont think we are far away from you
djglover - thanks for that, it looks ideal, I have dropped an email across to them.
We are just over the hill in Baildon.
Get him involved in lots of things. Fun runs, school sports days, highland games, etc. Local clubs will have a couple of good coaches who make athletics fun for kids of that age, though the chances are that they're fully booked already.
You can turn up at tracks and just do a bit of running on them, maybe pay a couple of quid for a session. It'll give him a chance to see some more experienced athletes do their thing, maybe try and keep up with them from an outside lane for a few yards and so on. You'll also potentially make contacts this way.