Over the winter my daughter has developed into a powerfull looking young women although she only just turned thirteen in April.She has a 100m.time of 13.9 and a 200m.time of 28.5 from late last summer.
Unfortunately with this development has come a loss in her speed.We understand this is common in teenage girls as they develop.I just wondered what would be the best way to proceed with her training while her age catches up with body.
Her times at the moment are 100m.mid 14’s and 200m.30secs.
She is 5’ 8" tall and weighs 144lb.That is her in my avater,when she was 12yrs 6 mths old.
Any advice would be welcome to help her through this period.
I am going through the same thing with one of my athletes. She has a weak mid section and that is what we are focusing on. She is currently doing around 300-500 reps of ab work per session (up to 4 times per week). Lots of med ball plyos, and lots of short speed stuff until her mid section strength catches up to the rest of her body. The trouble is getting them to be patient and to stick with the sport.
What was her weight when she PR’d? She’s going from a little girl into a women so times may plateau for a while until the puberty cycle starts to take a downward turn.
Thanks Herb,thats something we will definitely follow[the core strength/stability excercises].
Thomas she was probably 6lbs or so lighter when she PR’d.
She’s very level headed and understands what’s happening to her and although a little disappointed sometimes,she is determined to come through the other side.
I want to make sure we are doing the best for her at this moment in time,and that she does’nt overtrain to try and compensate.
personally coaching club and college women/girls, I have found it important to develope general fitness and coordination. As the body changes there seems to be a period of readjustment. I also appreciate all the “hurdle type” almost dance routine warm-ups that so many are doing just for coordination and body awareness.
Kidscoach,
I would agree with your observations. Also Herb has made a good point with core work out. I will point out from my experience what I believe is important to monitor;
- during their growth spurt pay attention to their balance. I have noticed that certain parts of their bodies grow first [feet, arms, hands] and then other parts “catch up”. [Readjustment as you said]
- weight
- general fitness - focusing more on abdominal [1000-15000 sit ups a week] and also back areas [ lower back]
- Jumps are important [plyos, LJ] even if they are only involved in shorter distance running. I have tried with a number of teenage athletes to drop plyos [joints, ankles concerns] and that particular year they would generally be much slower.
- Agility
And the most important thing for teenagers [as you said] is - patience!
MAX strength!
push the weights!
Guys please remember she is 13. This may sound ignorant, but who cares what she runs now? (I know, I know, SHE does).
I would advise to be patient with her (just like everyone else says) and not push her too hard. I would stick to more general exercises (tempo and basic strengthening exercises) but try to keep some variety in there to keep her interested. It’s hard enough training a sprinter but it’s even harder when their bodies are going through a big change.
Again, she still has about 5 YEARS left through high school. Help her to understand that the goal is not to run 12.0 now, it is to run 12.0 when it counts!
I would be incline to say that her co-ordination has been hit by a growth spurt. Until her body adjusts to its new engine her running economy will probably be affected which may account for the loss in speed.
I’d just take it easy and keep working on strength with a med ball while keeping an eye on her technique. Be careful because I have seen some athletes get serious injuries during major growth spurts. In the long run you will do better with consistant and patient training rather than trying to force things.
I personally think that staying injury free is the single most important factor in achieving your ultimate goal in the long run.
My daughter recently went through a big growth spurt. Talked to many different people in
the field. We did alot of medicine ball work and agility work. The reason to work on coordination and technique was to allow the body to adapt to the growth. Seems to be working. Concentrated on form when running.
Any idea where she is slower? Upon acceleration? At top speed? My guess would be that her weight gain has caused a decline in her acceleration capabilities (i.e power/weight ratio). Does she lift weights? If so, has she seen a corresponding increase in strength with her weight gain?
s-merrills, my advice is don’t beat her over the head with her times. Let her have fun and introduce more competitiveness when its appropriate for her maturity. Youngsters love to keep setting PB’s, but when they don’t get one all the time, its the parents/coaches that break their stones and put pressure on them to perform which leads to burnout or low desire to compete. As long as she is running hard and giving her best efforts, if you don’t sweat it she won’t either.