Friends and acquaintances who know my track background frequently ask me, "How do I get my child started in track & field?" Because track & field programs are not as ubiquitous as soccer or basketball programs, it may not be as easy as going to the nearest recreation center or Boys & Girls club. Yet youth track & field, or age group track & field, as it is called in the sport, is a thriving activity nationwide and most communities have track clubs for kids. It's just a matter of knowing how to find them.
National age group track and field competition starts with the Primary age group (8 and under in AAU-Amateur Athletic Union meets). But, while there are many children that train and compete seriously from this age, track is a very forgiving and flexible sport: Kids who get a later start are not missing out on crucial skill-building years as they are in other sports. A latecomer to some sports has a very difficult time of catching up on sport-specific skills, whereas much of track & field is doing what kids do every day anyway, which is running, jumping and throwing.
My husband played a lot of baseball and basketball as a child and did not join a track team until high school. Several years later he received a full scholarship and eventually went on to the Olympic Games. Thus, parents don't have to rush to sign up their youngster to participate in an organized track & field program. It is accommodating to newcomers of all ages.
While there is no minimum age at which a child can begin, he or she should be old enough to understand basic rules of competition, such as staying in her own lane or not going beyond the take-off board in the long jump. Of course a young child will be limited in the number of events that are appropriate for him. Hurdles, long distance events, and most of the field events would not be recommended for a small child. But a child of almost any age might enjoy the 100 meter dash and the long jump.
A great way to begin the sport is to look for kids' fun runs that are often held in conjunction with local road races. The distance might be as short as a quarter mile and parents can often accompany their child on the course. All-comers meets are also excellent starters. These are relaxed track & field meets which have events for competitors of all ages. Oftentimes, pre-registration is not required and you can sign up when you get there. Check the websites of local running clubs (try www.rrca.org [1], the website for the Road Runners Clubs of America, for a link to your local RRCA club which could be a good resource for kids' fun runs and provides links to other local running and track clubs) and track & field clubs to find out if there are any all-comers meets in your area. They are a great way for a child to find out if they enjoy competing in the sport before deciding whether to make a commitment to join a club.
Many kids who participate in track & field do so as part of a club. Among the benefits to joining a club are to get coaching, be part of a team, and gain the financial support that a club can provide through sponsorship and group fundraising. It also means, however, sacrificing your flexibility in terms of practice time and location. You may also end up relinquishing control over which events in which your child gets to participate.
But although there is team scoring in track & field, fundamentally it is an individual sport. Kids can participate and compete at all levels as unattached athletes, meaning they aren't part of a club or team.
The best place to start is with the USA Track & Field website, www.usatf.org [2]. On the home page there is a "Get Involved!" option that allows you to enter your zip code to generate a listing of the USATF-registered clubs in your USATF Association area. The list will indicate the age groups served by each club.
It would also be wise to ask around, check local phone listings and use online search engines to identify other local clubs.
Once you've narrowed your list down to clubs that are geographically feasible for you, you should visit their practices to get an idea of how the program operates, what the coaches are like, etc.
You can also check the results of regional and national meets to see which clubs have had the most success. Through the USATF and AAU (Amateur Athletic Union, www.aauathletics.org [3]) websites you can find meet results to see which local teams have athletes finishing in the top places. When you navigate to the USATF Junior Olympic section, look for the link on the results page that takes you to the Association and Regional results. These results will give you a more accurate picture of how your local clubs fare than the national results.
Lastly, if you are getting an early start on finding a club, try to go to a local meet or two and observe. See which clubs give you a good feeling based on performances and how you see the coaches interacting with the athletes.
Here are some tips:
Check to see if the young athletes have been taught to do a thorough warm-up that involves jogging, stretching, drills and exercises, and a gradual increase in intensity leading up to the workout.
Is there adequate separation between athletes practicing throws and other athletes?
Coaching is a major variable in the safety equation. For young athletes the training program should err on the side of under-training rather than overtraining. Overuse injuries [4] such as stress fractures are mostly seen in runners when they are training too much and/or doing their training on hard surfaces. Children younger than high school age should not be doing a full workout more than 2-3 times per week, including their weekly competition in season.
Find out the training schedule and get an idea of a typical workout. Including warming up and cooling down (a period of easy jogging and more stretching to end the workout), the total running distance should not be more than a few miles for children younger than their teens. As older children begin to compete in longer distances they may do a bit more mileage but I would be wary of exceeding six miles per day on the longest days.
Many people believe that the bones and joints of young children have not adequately developed and strengthened to handle distance training and competition.
A child just beginning the sport should also have the opportunity to try several different events to see which she most enjoys and suits her natural abilities best. Make sure the coach is treating the kids like kids and not miniature professional athletes.
There are many opportunities for a child to experience the sport of track & field without going straight in to an organized club program. Once the decision to join a club is made, USA Track & Field and AAU are terrific resources for finding clubs local to your area. Observe the clubs and talk with the coaches to ascertain their training schedule and philosophy.
Links:
[1] http://www.rrca.org/
[2] http://www.usatf.org
[3] http://www.aauathletics.org
[4] https://www.momsteam.com/node/796