Is my 10 year old normal?

BenEadir

Hi all,

I do a small bit of jogging to keep fit and recently did the Great Ireland 10k, took me 67 minutes. Had planned 55 minutes but for various reasons (not enough training, no hill training and the heat on the day) I ended up limping around in 67 minutes.

I rang my 10 year old son (who's quite lean/skinny and tall) from work a few weeks beforehand and asked him if he'd like to do the junior 2.8km run. He said he would and asked me how many laps of our local park that would be. I had previously measured the path around the park with mapmyrun and it's exactly .75km so I told him it would be 3 laps of the park. Half an hour later he called me back saying he had done 4 laps. I was impressed but somewhat sceptical. I brought him out with me the following weekend and he did 6 laps/4km of the park with me in about 25 minutes and whilst he was tired he wasn't totally knackered.

He continued to do 4 -6 laps once or twice a week by himself in the run up to the race and did the Junior Great Ireland run without any bother in about 16 minutes. He's not a speed merchant and I had advised him to start real slow and finish fast rather than visa versa. He followed my advice and was pleased when he passed people towards the end who had raced off ahead of him at the start.

Last weekend he asked me how many laps my 10k qould be of the park and I said 13.5. We went for a run and I stopped after 8 laps but he kept going and I stopped him after 10 laps. He was just trotting along at a nice constant pace and smiling each time he passed me. I stopped him at 7.5km becuase I was afraid the step up from 4km (his previous longest run) was too much but I'm certain he could have done another coule of laps and possibly done the full 10km. This evening we went for a run around our local area incorporating a few hills and did 6km in 37 mins. He was certainly tired but could have kept going a bit more.

He seems to really enjoy long runs. He plays football, soccer etc at a reasonable level but doesn't have the physical strength to tackle hard, doesn't have a sprint of any note and certainly isn't one of those guys who runs and runs the entire game. Most observers would say he's wuite lazy on the pitch and happy to let others do all the hard work. If the ball comes his way he'll go for it and get stuck in but he doesn't display any serious desire or competitiveness. He's a solid squad player, no more.

Could running be his thing? Can a lot of 10 year olds do 7.5km in 45 minutes and not be knackered?

Should I think about enrolling him in a athletics club or am I looking at this through rose tinted glasses because he is my son?

Some candid/brutal perspective would be most appreciated!!!

Ben

Seanie_H

Well I know nothing about kids and their running training but I like his mental edge - a lot!

Probably important to keep him playing everything though. From a soccer point of view, running seems to a strength.... Getting covering box to box. Keaneo style.

BenEadir

Hi Seanie,

I know what you mean but he is the polar opposite of Keano on the pitch. He really doesn't do any 'box to box' type activity. He's happy to play in one of the corners and wait for the ball to come to him. When it does he's usually 2nd to it as he has zero sprint/power but he tries hard. He has tried midfield a few times but just doesn't have either the mental drive or physical power to operate there. He's always well behind play and/or shouldered off the ball.

I've no problem with him not being a talented/natural football player. He's by no means the weakest on the team, he enjoys playing and I enjoy watching/supporting him but this running lark has come right out of the blue and I don't know what, if anything, I should do about it!!

Ben

token56

I think the most important thing for any 10 year old is to let them do what they enjoy doing when it comes to sport and dont push anything on them within reason. This certainly doesn't seem to be the case here and your son seems to enjoy running so I'd say let him at it, but if he wants to do other sports too I'd say let him do as much as time permits and is practical I think. He does seem to have a decent aptitude for endurance but I wouldn't worry too much about speed to be honest, and 7.5k in 45 mins wouldn't be very slow anyway. He is only 10 and has a lot of growing to do. I wouldn't have been very fast at all at 10 years of age, probably the opposite but after hitting puberty had fairly decent leg speed. Its very hard to know about speed given his age.

I think if he wants to join a local athletics club let him, it will help with other sports anyway. But I wouldn't force it on him. The alternative is to just let him train away with you at the moment. It might the fact that he is doing this with you that he is enjoying more. It's hard to say.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

token56 wrote: »

I think if he wants to join a local athletics club let him, it will help with other sports anyway. But I wouldn't force it on him. The alternative is to just let him train away with you at the moment. It might the fact that he is doing this with you that he is enjoying more. It's hard to say.

+1 on the above
My eldest lad (8) joined an athletics club a while back as he took a fancy to running after coming out with me a few times and expressed an interest in starting with a club. He loves it and there is a good social aspect to it aswell meeting with other kids his age.

woody1

+1
let him at the running, sounds like it comes naturally to him, and keep him at whatever else he enjoys as long as you have the time to bring him to everything
as for the soccer ,keep him involved , 10 is very young to be judging kids and there are quite large gaps between abilities at that age, ie a driven kid or a kid with a good touch or good ability to read the game is gonna look way better than everyone else at under 10 than in 4 or 5 years or less, ive seen the most average player at 10 turn into a great player by 16 or 17 ,and vice versa,
but thats irrelant to your post ,
and yes dads are bad judges...our kids are always the best at everything..

BenEadir

Thanks lads, ye're all bang on. I'm very concious to let him off and enjoy his sport without being the phsyco Dad on the sideline or whatever. I try very hard to remain poistive at all times rather than saying "you should have done this or that", it's not always easy but I do know it's the right thing and a coaching course I took a few years ago gave me a great tip which was if you want to draw a kids attention to something they are doing wrong or need to improve on first of all praise two things they did right in the game then suggest that they could be even better if they improved X or whatever.

I think I'll just let him keep running with me for a few more weeks to just see if it's a bit of a fad which he drifts out of or not but if he sticks at it and wants to join a club is there a a club in South Dublin which has a good junior section anyone would recommend?

Ben

PaulieC

TBH I would just let him train with you for the moment and not push too much (on joining a club or making him run). If he has a natural talent and love for it, he is young enough to develop it on his own for a couple of years before getting into the club way of doing things.
While there are great aspects to being part of a club, in my experience this is more due to the social aspect and competition between clubmates rather than anything to do with the organisation and running of the club, which can often get bogged down in petty politics and squabbles between officials (while this is over 20 years ago I remember it vividly, it might be different now, but after a conversation a couple of days ago with someone who knows, I don't think much has changed) .

Let him run for the love of running and see where that goes

edit...like you just said above :-)

robinph

The going along to a club idea is a good one, but in a couple of months time will start to become less of a good idea for a while as there will likely be less kids turning up each week once the holidays start. Don't know what the clubs in Dublin are likely to do, but my club just lets people turn up for a few weeks to see if they like it or not before they ask you to join.

Bella mamma

We have a 13 yr old, lean also, 6'1", retired from gaelic, hurling, and now soccer once the season is over.

Expressed an interest in running couple of months ago and did the St. Patrick's Day Festival 5k in a great time having never run any distance off the pitch before (Yes, tried to explain but he's 13 and knows EVERYTHING already!).

Very like your description of your son's soccer tactics also.

Neither of us are sporty and he's asking and asking the last month about another run. Gonna start in a club.

PVincent

Firstly , he is far better off in a club , where he will get coaching, advice , and a chance to develop his talent. If he does have a talent he will want to be involved in races and you need to be in a club to take part ( unless you take part in schools races)
There is a reason the Great Irl run is only the distance it is...its because that the safe distance for kids that age . 10k is far too much for a 10yr old ,whether he can do it or not . So be very careful and protective of what he does, as it is easy to do damage to young groing bodies. Injuries will happen and that will put them off. Kids at that age should be eased into athletics to get a broad range of the discplines. Ignore some of the comments that clubs are involved in petty squabbles etc ...rubbish in this day and age .

Bring your kid to Bros Pearse AC...Tues/Thurs ( and Sunday if he wants) in Cherryfield Pk at 7pm...ask for Paula Whyte ...we are opposite Ballyboden St Endas GAA club

BenEadir

Thanks PV, solid advice. I am a bit concerned about the distance for the very reason you state.

I'll probably keep him jogging with me during the summer to see if he really does enjoy it or whether it's a flash in the pan. If he sticks at it and really wants to do it I'll look for an AC club and the one you recommend is convenient enough but the training times Tues/Thurs evening and Sunday morning clash directly with two other sports he does which he is long term committed to. His existing Tues/Thurs/Sun training has been in place for a few years and won't be changing so it's going to be a question of finding an AC club that trains Mon/Wed/Fri evenings and/or Sat afternoons or dropping one of his other sports which is not going to be an easy thing to do as he is very committed to them but that's life I guess

Ben

Bella mamma

PVincent wrote: »

Firstly , he is far better off in a club , where he will get coaching, advice , and a chance to develop his talent. If he does have a talent he will want to be involved in races and you need to be in a club to take part ( unless you take part in schools races)
There is a reason the Great Irl run is only the distance it is...its because that the safe distance for kids that age . 10k is far too much for a 10yr old ,whether he can do it or not . So be very careful and protective of what he does, as it is easy to do damage to young groing bodies. Injuries will happen and that will put them off. Kids at that age should be eased into athletics to get a broad range of the discplines. Ignore some of the comments that clubs are involved in petty squabbles etc ...rubbish in this day and age .

Bring your kid to Bros Pearse AC...Tues/Thurs ( and Sunday if he wants) in Cherryfield Pk at 7pm...ask for Paula Whyte ...we are opposite Ballyboden St Endas GAA club

Thanks. This is why we had him pick a club. And for the social aspect too. I greatly admire people who give of their free time to run sports clubs etc., and to members who support other members. When I contacted the club, they were very welcoming.

Ben, our child has had scouts for years on Thurs eves. Any club I looked into had training Tues/Thurs eve and Sat or Sun am. Would be fine to miss one. Best of luck.