How do I improve my 5 year olds running speed?

Question

I'm wondering if anyone knows how I can help my son run faster?

He's 5 years old and he plays soccer, but he runs slower......about a jogging pace compared to the rest of the kids. He actually looks exactly like he's jogging. Sometimes it looks a bit awkward maybe...more straight legged/shuffling.

He never runs full out like the rest of the kids. It's not just when he's at soccer, it's all the time, so it's not just a lack of interest in the current activity or whatever it may be.

I've tried to get him to run faster by telling him I'd time him with my stop watch and see if he could beat his time. I don't know what else to do to help him learn how to fun full out with total abandonment.

Is this a physical thing he'll grow out of with time? Or should I try exercises etc to help him?

Oh and he's an active kid....he bikes (no training wheels) ALL the time and he's not overweight at all, but he is a very solid kid.

Answer 1

He is 5.  Who cares about his speed this point?  All children develop at  different rates.  Just focus on the fun he is having, keep his confidence and good sportsmanship up and thank God you have a child that can run and have a great time doing it!  Be a great mom.

Answer 2

He is just young.  Don't worry about it too much.  Trying to work your son will most likely only hurt him.  I've been running since 1st grade.  It was just fun.  If my parents tried to correct me, I'd probably be annoyed and feel like all the fun was being sucked out.

Answer 3

Well, 5 years old is a bit young to be worrying about his running form/technique. First let me tell you the disadvantages of seriously working with a child that age when it comes to working out. If you workout a child that young to hard it could actually damage their growth plates and cause problems as they get older especially in their knees and hips. Also when working with kids that young they tend to think a lot about what people think about them. It is a very critical time in their social development so if you bring up the fact that he is not running right to much or if he feels like you are bringing it up it could make him very self concious and on top of this if you push him to much he will eventually not enjoy running anymore. With those things said it is best to just let them run around when they feel like running around because they will naturally stop before they hurt themselves. But if you want to help them try making running faster fun for him. If he is running like he is jogging than he should be picking his knees up more when he runs so try doing high knees with him you could make this fun by saying ( I'm sorry I don't know his name so I will say Timmy) Hey Timmy I bet I could run and pick up my knees higher than you. Butt kicks are also cool. You could say the same thing: Hey Timmy I bet I could run and kick my butt better than you. He will want to try it because it is a challenge. Or you could try racing him. Pick out his favorite thing or make his favorite food and say I bet I could get back to the *insert his favorite* faster than you. You could do that a lot and always run right  next to his side just an inch or 2 in front of him. That will make him want to keep up with you and eventually you could just keep picking up the speed. Best of luck with everything and remember, don't workout to much and keep everything fun.