Need help with my sons footwork.

[elicotton]

Hey guys, I need help/advice for my son. He's 11 y/o, 5'-5" and 140 pounds, already wears a size 12 shoe. He's VERY slow, like paint dries faster than he can run. His footwork is also pretty sad. His coordination is behind his buddies, turnover very slow, etc...

He's becoming very discouraged, but I keep telling him that his speed and footwork will catch up to the rest of him, but he doesn't take much comfort in this.

His hand-eye coordination is exceptional. He's a very accurate shot in basketball, as a pitcher his location is unbelievable. He's also a very heady player in all his sports, but he's finally becoming aware of his lack of speed and agility, and it's all he talks about.

Can anyone offer me some kind of program (even if it's just placebo) to give the boy some hope? Words of encouragement for him?

BTW, before anyone asks, no, I do not pressure him about this. I think he's going to be fine in time. It's just that he is getting to the age where my words don't comfort him, he wants to wake up tomorrow and run a 4.4 forty.

[morfeuss]

what i did at this age to become quick, dynamic, wa soem basic dynamic exercises

some long jump, sprints, rabit jumping, walking like a dog, walking in the squat position, hmmmm, jumping on stairs, hmmmm, someone holding me at the back with rope or towel and trying to run......hmmmm....holding weights and jumping quickly.....repetitive jumping from groung to edge of table. successive long kumps without any running.

well at 9 i was already in the hand of a bulgarian weightlifting coach, i guess that these exercises should be good.

[Flexor]

those are great tips. I have done all of those too. They all help with explosive power, speed and agility.

[Aku]

those are great tips. I have done all of those too. They all help with explosive power, speed and agility.

Tell your son that its all in the mind... which it is.
Tell your son to stand straight with both feet shoulder width apart and just shift his weight side to side...after doing that about 20 times tell him to go low next time....then switch up and tell him to walk in that manner....with feet shoulder with apart he will stand straight and then place both feet together and so on... this will help with his lateral movement...side to side...
for forward movements do forward lunges with no weight.
and when he its running days, tell him to look at the floor (not all the time) and breathe with is steps...pace his run/jog...first every two steps he breathes in and then the next two steps he breathes out....next thing you know he will start to breathe in and take four steps and breathe out after the another four....make sure he tries to count his steps....after awhile he will move faster, without thinking about it.

[enid_sprinter]

get him out on the track and run some laps, dont kill him at first but add a lap every time you go out there. do allot of high knees, butt kickers, foot stomps, one leg jumps ect.. make him stretch allot, you cant be fast if you have tide up muscles.

[elicotton]

Great ideas. Thanks guys.

[elicotton]

BTW, I expressed these concerns to one of the assistant coaches on his football team, and he worked it to where my son can participate with the backs on the team when they do their agility drills, etc. In less than a two week period, I can already see improvement in his coordination, although his turnover hasn't increased.

Thanks again for your input.

[flexem_hard]

he need some quick feet drillsand sprints and plyometrics...a really good book would be Bigger Faster Stronger...and use the dot drill and plyometrics...hope this helps

[frank_frank]

strength shoes

[chris64]

I was the same way when I was that age. All of the sudden, near the end of 7th grade I went from being one of the slower people in my class to being one of the fastest (not sure if it was puberty or what). By 8th grade I was a good 4 sport athlete, and a starting linebacker and fullback on my highschool football team. Tell him not to get discouraged. It's amazing how they change in a year or so at that age.

[dr.shred]

Speed = Strength and vise versa. Your son will get faster as he gets older and develops. Right now he is lacking the power to create fast turnover rate. You also have to consider genetics. Were you or wife fast? If not that most likely he won't be either. Give it time though. When I was his age I wasn't the fastest kid on my football team, but both 10th grade I was not only the fastest kid on my team, but one of the fastest sprinters in my state.

[pappynut]

yeah your son sounds alot like i did back then......I was a basketball player, played all my life and i've tried just about everything to help with speed,agility,vertical....Strenght shoes like mentioned about work wonders with vertical and speed with the fast twitch fibers. Also do the dot drills. There are all kinds of books at librarys about these programs now just read and learn certain exercises work for different people. like i said i've tried everything and it got me through 4 years of college ball. Just tell him to work hard and stay focused good luck.

[BigRandy]

have him run the ladders

[dr.shred]

Strength shoes don't do s**t. Don't waste your money.

[elicotton]

Speed = Strength and vise versa. Your son will get faster as he gets older and develops. Right now he is lacking the power to create fast turnover rate. You also have to consider genetics. Were you or wife fast? If not that most likely he won't be either. Give it time though. When I was his age I wasn't the fastest kid on my football team, but both 10th grade I was not only the fastest kid on my team, but one of the fastest sprinters in my state.

I have a similar story, although I wasn't one of the fastest in the state. I was always big for my age, and was slow until 8th grade. The summer between 7th and 8th grade, I began to squat (very deep) every third day, and always came to a complete stop at the bottom before exploding upward. I went from 4 sets of 10 with 90 pounds to 4x10 with 245 pounds. My thighs went from 19" to 26". My 40 went from 5.4 seconds down to 4.8 with no other explanation other than increased leg strength.

One difference between my son and me is that I always had very quick reaction times and footwork, even though I was very overweight until 6th grade or so. My son is much thinner, but seems to have poor agility compared to other kids


Thanks for the input everybody..

[biggie_mo]

agility ladder is probably one of the best workout to increase quickness and footwork..

biggie

[Shortyrock13]

Give him a jump rope. He's 11, alot will improve as he matures... coming from someone who was involved in very competitive sports since a young age... you risk burning him out with any sort of heavy training regime... trust me... all the speed work in the world isn't going to help him overcome basic physical awkwardness that is common at his age. If he's still getting crossed up by 6th graders in three years then he might want to consider more intense training... but just jumping rope will work wonders. Id hold off on recomending anything serious to him and concentrate on what he does well.... shoots the 3, and pitching.

[MrMondodondo]

Jumping rope IS awesome for kids.
Quick sprints (up hill even better) just 15 yards
Shuffle drills 5-10 yards.

Make it easy at first and fun DO NOT kill him....
I coach Baseball, and Softball and Football at the High School level. My daughter is 14 and son is 13. They are both blessed with speed. They still do this work-out and the other slower kids use it and generally all increase their agility and speed.

[phwSSJ]

Jumping rope IS awesome for kids.
Quick sprints (up hill even better) just 15 yards
Shuffle drills 5-10 yards.

Make it easy at first and fun DO NOT kill him....
I coach Baseball, and Softball and Football at the High School level. My daughter is 14 and son is 13. They are both blessed with speed. They still do this work-out and the other slower kids use it and generally all increase their agility and speed.

I was gona say exactly that, I dont know why everyone else is trying to get him strong he is only eleven for cryin out loud. The man asked how could he help his kid get better foot coordination and speed.
Jump rope is very very good for coordination. There isnt a pro fighter out there that doesnt train with jump ropes.

I think that should be the best for your son as far as foot work, just make him watch Rocky first, then play some eye of the tiger while he is jumping.
But kicks are good too, I used to do those when I was younger cuz I had trouble with my running technique.
Dancing is also pretty good for footwork. Thats if he is into that stuff yet, does he go to school dances and parties? Dancing is fun, maybe you could get him some lessons, also if he could dance good that would definitly boost his popularity and self confidence!!!!
Foot work coordination applies everywhere, so if he gets good footwork by learning to dance he can apply that to sports as well.

[boywonder10101]

Hamstring stretch and Hip-flexor stretches are great for speed.

[furiousburn]

Have him jump rope and hit the dot drills everyday - you can paint them on the cellar or garage floor or they even sell rubber mats with the pattern on them, but if not on a good surface these can slip. Give him a portable cd player and tell him to work for three songs (about fifteen minutes). Music will help him set a cadence. Tell him you want him to sing along because if he can sing he's training aerobically.

I agree, strength shoes are not worth the money, especially for a kid. I have a friend whose son blew his ankle out using them. For vertical leap I love depth jumps - not a move for beginners though.