Four Benefits of Sending Your Teen Track Athlete to Summer Running Camp
If your son or daughter loves running track and cross-country, you may be thinking of sending them to a running camp over the summer. Doing so offers many benefits beyond simply giving them a place to train. Here are four distinct benefits of sending your teen track athlete to a summer running camp.
Exposure to New Training Tactics
Success in running is all about choosing and following the right training plan. Each coach or instructor brings his or her own unique experience to the table when it comes to training plans. So when your teen is running on the school team, they will only have exposure to the training plans offered by their own coach. At running camp, they can gain exposure to the preferred plans and expertise of many different coaches and running professionals, which may result in them finding a different training plan that works better for them and brings them more success.
Ability to Try Different Events
At running camp, your child will be able to experiment with different events that they may not have had the opportunity to try at school. For instance, they might get to run the 800 or try the hurdles, when previously they've only run the 3200 because that's where the school's team had a spot. This experimentation could uncover a hidden talent that they may want to pursue in college or later on.
Camaraderie
Runners will come from all over to the running camp. They won't all be people who your teen will be competing against, so there won't be that same sort of rivalry there is at school functions. This may enable your teen to form more running-related friendships with others who share their interests. Over the coming years, they can bounce training ideas off these friends and turn to them for support when times get hard — as they often do when runners suffer injuries and setbacks.
Eating Advice
Diet and exercise are so closely tied together, especially for runners. There's a lot of misinformation — sometimes dangerous misinformation — floating around about nutrition for athletes. At a running camp, your child will get the chance to work with qualified, knowledgeable dietitians who can make sure the diet they are eating actually supports their running and overall health.
If your teen wants to go to a summer performance camp for running this year, think seriously about sending them. The experience could be a great start for their running career. Contact a company like Get The Edge Academies to learn more.