Update:
Hannah just ran the 200 meters
24.55 (-1.9 headwind) that is slower than her prelim earlier this week, and I’m sure that running the 100 meter earlier today effected her.
She still placed 1st, with the 2nd place runner @ 25.17 a little bit of a headwind there…
Congradulations Hannah, look forward to all the meets next year.
Rick
We’ll see. I understand you’re excited right now since she trains with your daughter, but you gotta take a step back and look at what often happened in history. It is extremely hard to predict performance at the senior level based on what they do in early years. A few examples:
Usain Bolt did it.
Marion Jones did it.
Donovan Bailey’s 18 year old PB was 11.37.
Jenni Hucul (white girl from Canada) ran 11.58 at age 15. She never really got faster, and switched to hurdles, PB of 14.08 at the World Juniors.
J Mee Samuels has a PB of 10.08 from when he was in highschool. He has been sprinting since then, and has NOT lowered his PB.
I have also seen a certain pole vault coach that turns out excellent high school vaulters, and year after year his vaulters get WORSE when they go to university/college.
dont know. I think her parents are messing her up imo. At state she won the 1 2 4 as a freshman. As a 8th grader she won the mid school states in the 1-800 meters. She runs damn near world class times in every event she runs. I think her parents are gonna burn her out.
I would think at that young of an age that the 800 meters could most easily cause her to plateau…
Just running short sprints and not training hard should not hurt her should it?
Rick
Depends on the qualify of the training. If it were up to me, I would keep her away from running anything other than the 100m and 200m for a few years.
You feel the 400 meters is negative for someone that young? My daughter runs the 100/200/400.
She ran the 800 in 6th grade, but I didn’t let her run it this year because of the plateau issue.
The 400 is my daughters most favorite event in the sprints…and she has one more year before High School…
Rick
If the goal is to develop the top speed necessary to compete at the highest international levels in the 100m, then training for the 400m (especially at her age) is likely to have a negative impact. Running 400m now and again at a meet is probably ok, but all of that speed endurance work will reduce her ability to develop the top end of her speed potential.
For your daughter, if she loves the 400m, then by all means have her train for it and run it. But be aware that this will make it unlikely for her to be able to compete in the 100m long term.
Pre-adolescent youths should not be exposed to excessive anaerobic lactic loads due to their immature physiology.
The stress of these types of loads is in excess of their ability to effectively tolerate them.
Possible and irreversible effects of this type of training may induce premature thickening of the left ventricular wall as well as finalizing the imprint on the percentage of muscle fibers that are, during the pre-adolescent stage, still plastic; thereby causing red fiber adaptations.
It is therefore in the interest of all pre-adolescent youths to participate in only anaerobic alactic training and sport game environments as well as low level aerobic environments.
Thus, many disciplines, over a wide range of sports, are contraindicated for youths at this stage (the 400 and 800m in T&F are on the top of that list as well as the cycling, ice, alpine, and Nordic events of equivalent bioenergetic structure)
A simple rule of thumb to follow with the training and sport game participation of pre-adolescents is to adhere to Charlie’s speed training philosophy in so far as minimal time spent in the medium intensity range.
Plenty of time to pursue anaerobic lactic disciplines once the requisite level of biological maturation is in place.
For these reasons, Athletics Canada has modified its distances for Midget (14/15). They do a 300m instead of 400m, 1200m instead of 1500m, 2000m instead of 3000m, and the 1500mSC has no water jump. Also, they do 200mH instead of 300mH or 400mH. They 800m has been left in place, but I sure think one of the girls I coach (15, still developing) who runs it in 2:18 is certainly taxing her anaerobic lactic system.
Hm…she will be very unhappy reading this thread…
How about hurdles? She started practicing 100 meter hurdles at the end of track season and she enjoys that too…
Maybe we could replace the 400 with 100 or 200 meter hurdles?
Rick
Dude, let your daughter run whatever she wants. Running the 400m at early ages doesn’t seem to hurt the Jamaicans.
Train for speed, play other sports, do a few field events and even run the odd 400m in a meet. Don’t specialize too early for Track and Field. Gymnastics and tennis, perhaps, but not track.
When I was competing in track, pretty much 95-99% of all the kids that were dominant prior to being 17 years old, particularly the females, were never heard from again by the time they were finished high school. Rates of development are highly variable and early success is no guarantee of success at full maturity.
I couldnt agree more with xlr8 and James. Granted she is young but still I totally agree that she should do top more speed events (100,200) instead of specializing.
However, running only 100&200 is some kind of specialization too…
I totally agree with NumberTwo. She should compete in wide variety of events to try her out and to develop her full potencial.
For example our national champion and the only “white” 2007 World Champ Finalist Matic Osovnikar was running 400m till he was 21 years old and came to 10,32 (100m) and then switched to 100m. He now holds a PB of 10,13. Running 100/200/400 in his childhood surely did not affect his speed development.
I don’t think there are any absolutes when dealing with individuals who can vary so greatly in motivation, adaptation, training methodology and opportunity.
But I tend to agree with James and with Number Two. Err on the side of caution with youngsters. Broaden their technical base by getting them involved in other events such as sprint hurdles, long jump, high jump etc and encourage them to play other sports, especially team sports like basketball or soccer where acceleration and a broad aerobic (joggin) capacity is required between accelerations. Basketball court is only 28 metres long! It is important to socialise kids too, get them to understand the value of being a team player. Even if they should someday reach the pinnacle of athletics and specialise in a solitary sprint event, getting to the very top in this sport still requires the building and maintenance of a team of specialists for technical, medical, paramedical and admiistrative support. And central to the organisation is the star athlete and by then s/he better know how to treat those team members with courtesy and consideration otherwise they will quickly jump ship. Look at Australia’s Jana Pittman who has worn out her welcome nationally it seems in part because she’s such a prima donna (spell?).
As for kids “burning out” or plateauing, much of that depends on inspiration, motivation because without that there is no imperative to train hard and make the social sacrifices required to progress. Impatience is another issue of attitude. It may be difficult for early maturers to cope with the fact that for most of them the improvement rate will slow down dramatically in their adult years even if they have the best advice on training in the world.
In Australia a gierl named Debbie Wells was just 14 in 1976 when she clocked the 100m in 11.1sec and 22.9sec hand timed. At that same age she actually defeated Denis Boyd over 200m and Boy was an Olympic 200m finalist twice (1976 and 1980) and Commonwealth gold medallist in 1978. Debbie went to Montreal, Moscow and LA Olympics. But she finished with career best times of 11.39sec FAT and 22.98. She was a flawed personality in my opinion and took for granted what others would have killed for - an outrageous level of talent. But talent just entitles you to take a lane. When you ultimately do with it depends on your attitude, more than your aptitude.
There was another girl from Australia, Rosemary Hayward who was maybe 15 or 16 when she won bronze in the 400m at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Sydney. I’m pretty sure she clocked something like 52.9sec. But she took her talent for granted, followed her father/coach’s orderslike a dutiful daughter and when she retired after a long career, her 400m PB was still in the 52sec range. What a waste of talent.
So being brilliant at a young age isn’t a guarantee of success in later years. It can be quite a burden. But not such a burden as a mind that is closed.
Totally agree.
Up to high school track should be fun and simple for both physical and psychological reasons that James, No2, KK et. al have touched on.
I had my daughter read all your posts and we talked about it. She wants to switch the 400 with 100/200 meter hurdles and try the long jump too. So, that takes the worry from the issues brought up here.
This also gives me more reason to keep bothering Derek until I get a handle on the training in all the materials I bought from here…and appropriate application… which I will gain from many exchanges here.
In a couple years she can decide on doing longer distance if she wants to.
Besides, we have fun with this regardless of the events…
Even with her last Regional meet, which she was depleted and lethargic from swimming/hot tubbing the night before (I didn’t know not to) and performed poorly in all 3 of her events, she didn’t let it get her down, and we had a great time…and especially after finding out what caused her weakness…we had a good laugh about it.
Rick
Rick, excellent decision making.
I’m going to strongly disagree with your statement regarding her poor performance; however.
Please convey to her the fantastic job she did (in reference to the video link you provided) in maintaining her form throughout the finish line despite the error made coming out of the blocks as well as dealing with the residual effects of the previous night’s events.
Form and relaxation are two of the most vital skills a sprinter must acquire and, while your daughter will only improve in that area as time moves forward, for a youngster of her age to hold that together, between what I mentioned in addition to being so far behind the winner, demonstrates an excellent degree of composure.
I would be very proud of her for that reason.
She’ll have to beat Jodie Williams from the UK
100M: 11.24
200m: 22.79
Not comparing Apples to Apples…
Yes, Jodie Williams looks like she will be sure Olympic runner, but she will also be 17 years old next month.
To fairly compair her to Hannah, you will have to match their performance with the age level, which would take you back to her performance in 2007, the year she turned 14:
http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=26161
In 2007: Jodie willams best 100 meter dash: 12.01/11.85w best 200 meter dash: 24.77/24.57w
In 2010: Hannah Cuniliffe 100 meters: 11.71 (USATF Nat. prelim) 200 meter dash: 23.91 (USATF Nat. prelim)
So, if you compare performance at the same age, looks like Jodie Williams has some competion approaching…as Hannah is significantly faster at the same age.
Anything can happen…who knows…but to compare a 14 year old sprinter to one who will turn 17 next month, is not a fair comparisonl.
Rick