How to Coach Youth Cross Country

Cross country running is reminiscent of messengers running through all types of terrain to deliver messages hundreds of year ago. In recent years, cross country track has gained popularity in junior high and high school track teams. Typically, youth involved in cross country running will run for two to five miles every day. Read on to learn how to coach youth cross country.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Prepare Youth for Cross Country Running

1. Help your youth team pick the proper shoes. Shoes should be the lightest pair possible with hard rubber soles that can have removable or permanent spikes for competitions.

2. Teach proper breathing to your runners. Deep breathes with air coming in through the nose and out through the mouth will deliver the needed oxygen for runners.

3. Provide running tips. Cross country runners should run with their knees rising less than sprinters. Arms should be near the body and used to propel the body forward at a steady pace.

4. Determine whether or not you will allow co-ed cross country running. Young men usually need to practice for longer races and need a faster pace than young women.

5. Set up the path the youth team will need to run for practices and training. Try to use a local park as part of the route so runners can run on a variety of surfaces.

Daily Training for Youth Cross Country

1. Start with dynamic stretches before any training. Use joint rotations, neck mobility, shoulder circles, arm swings, side bends and lunges.

2. Warm up by walking for a few minutes to prepare the body for the run.

3. Provide the team with the path they should run. Starting the season, run shorter distances for the first week or two and then run slightly longer distances than the scheduled races.

4. Keep track of the times of each runner.

5. Cool down the youth team with static stretches such as chest, calf, hamstring and side bends.

6. Compare running times and help each runner set up goals to achieve.

Tips & Warnings

• During a competition, the coach should encourage and cheer on runners. The coach should also keep track of the pace of various runners.

• The coach needs to make sure the team takes in plenty of fluids and eats properly before each event.