Kids Running

It's fall and a great time to run. The weather has cooled down and kids around the world are lacing up their running shoes. Are you interested in joining a track team? Here is a little information to help you make your decision. And if you have more questions, just send a note and I will forward it to Coach Ed.
- Carol Goodrow, Founding Editor, KidsRunning.Com

TRACK by Coach Ed Poirier

September 22, 2007

What makes Track & Field the ideal kid's sport is the choice of events. There is truly something for every kid in track & field.

Youth track & field running events include 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 (or mile), and 3000 meters. There are 4x100 meter relays and 4x400 meter relays. Indoor track & field usually provides other options such as 50 meters, 300, 600, and 1000 meters. Even hurdles are contested in many organized youth track and field meets. Hurdle heights are adjusted to accommodate the various youth age groups. All kids, all ages, all sizes can run 50 meters. What a great way to introduce the sport to a child.

For kids who are not familiar with sports or who have not had much physical activity a great introduction to sport and a healthy lifestyle is through field events. Shot put, Javelin (*Turbo Jav), and Discus training is an ideal way to get inactive kids away from the TV and video games. In all three events improvement comes fast thereby building confidence and encouraging kids to train even more. Long jump and high jump teaches kids coordination and pride in achievement. What a great feeling of accomplishment there is for the child when they make it over the high jump bar the first time. And what can be more fun for a kid than running as fast as they can and jumping into dirt! Not only are the field events fun they are very unique to most kids. By training and competing in field events kids, who never considered themselves athletes before, get respect as athletes by their peers, parents, and coaches.

Something for every kid, that is youth track & field. Everyone participates, everyone trains, and everyone improves. The ideal sport for every girl and boy!

*Turbo Jav: A safe plastic Javelin used for youth events and for teaching Javelin throwing techniques.

FROM CAROL

KIDS RUNNING
Do you want to hear more from Coach Ed? Visit his page and then in the spring pick up a copy of my new book, KIDS RUNNING: Have Fun, Get Faster, & Go Farther. Coach Ed has contributed to this book.

Many kids and parents write to me about youth distances, records, and clubs. Generally, I refer them to USATF if they are talking competitively. At usatf.org, you can find a complete data base that lets you plug in your zip code. You can then find a list of clubs. If they are designated with a "Y" they have a youth component.

You can find youth records here. Youth Records. To understand these, you will need to know the USATF breakdown for age categories.
USATF Junior Olympic Categories as of Sept. 2007. (From the USATF Web site.)

Age Division	Year of Birth
Bantam	1997+
Midget	1995-1996
Youth	1993-1994
Intermediate	1991-1992
Young Men's & Young Women's	1989-1990*

This is as of Sept. 2007. * Athletes who are still 18 through the final day of the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships are eligible to compete in the Young Men's and Young Women's.

Bantam = 10 years old
Midget = 11 - 12 years
Youth = 13 - 14 years
Intermediate =15-16
Young Men's and Young Women's= 17 - 18

When parents and kids write to me and ask me about good times for running with respect to fitness, I refer them to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Qualifying Standards.

Ed's page can be found here. Ed's Page.
Coach Ed is a Youth Fitness Specialist with the Attleboro YMCA. The Attleboro (Massachusetts) YMCA is the first YMCA in the nation to embark on a healthy youth initiative.

carolgoodrow@verizon.net
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