How old should you start to speed train?

Now that is an interesting question! As an athletic performance coach, I have the opportunity to talk to many parents about this subject. Just yesterday I had a parent say to me that he heard that speed training for a 10 year old is a waste of time.

That couldn't be further from the truth! As a matter of fact, I would say it is very important for a young child to start to work on their speed and here is why:

• at a younger age, they haven't developed as many bad habits as they possibly will when they are 14 or even 17/18 years of age
• at that age, they are like sponges and readily absorb this information
• it is easier for them to learn at that age

Teaching them linear and lateral movement skills early on, will not only help them learn those movement skills easier, but in the long run it will help them in other ways too. They will get faster by learning proper mechanics, they will lessen the likelihood of an injury down the road and most importantly at that age is they will gain confidence in themselves and feel good about themselves as well.

Those benefits are so important for their development. Speed is a skill, so is change of direction. Helping them learn these skills early on is a good thing for them not a bad thing. With regards to many sports, I believe that learning these movement skills at an early age is more important to the development of a player as they get older then it is to learn sport specific skills at a young age.

Thanks and have a great day!

Gary