Teaching Kids Speed Through Systema

Young kids love to run. Right after they learn how to walk, the very next thing they do is run. For them, it’s the greatest thing in the world. Half the time they don’t even realize they’re doing it, but there they go, just chugging along, smiling and laughing the whole time. #fastkids

When young kids engage in physical, active play, they consistently do so in ways that we as track and field coaches recognize as speed training. A lot of the movements we teach athletes at an older age—like running, jumping, and landing—are actually movements kids figure out naturally at a young age, but forget how to do because they become sedentary or start to hate physical activity. By the time they’re in high school, we’re not teaching them how to do things for the first time; we’re reteaching them things they learned on their own by playing. #systemakids

As kids get a little older, in addition to running, they begin to love sprinting. In fact, they love all kinds of explosive movements. They don’t realize that, of course. They’re just playing. But if you’ve spent much time around young kids, I can virtually guarantee you’ve seen them run, jump, crawl, leap, climb, and hop all over creation. I’d even bet they’ve asked you to count how many seconds it takes them to get from here to there, or to see how high they can jump, or to watch them jump off of something. This week we will be exploring the concept of 'Speed' and how to develop it. #youthspeed