Youth Running Seminar
Monta Vista High School
Monta Vista High School Auditorium
21840 McClellan Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014
Phone (408)366-7600
Monday, November 7 2011, 6pm-8pm
mvrunning.com
Cost: Free!
Flyer: http://www.mvrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Youth-Running-Flyer.pdf
Featuring:
Dr. Russell Pate
Professor, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina. Director, Children’s Physical Activity Research Group. Author, Training for Young Distance Runners.
Erica Ashley McClain
2008 USA Olympic Team Member, USATF Champion
Texas State Track Champion & National Merit Scholar
Graduate, Stanford University
Edrick Floreal
The Franklin P Johnson Director of Track and Field and Cross-Country
Stanford University
For information contact:
Kirk Flatow, Head Coach, Monta Vista Cross Country/Track & Field
coachflatow@gmail.com/408.893.7021
Our Goals for the Evening:
More knowledge of how to train young athletes, why endurance sports are great for kids’ health and their brains, and developing excitement for our young runners!
Some Topics That Will Be Covered:
- Appropriate endurance training for growing athletes.
- Guidelines for appropriate training for children at different stages of development.
- The correlation between physical health and activity and academic performance.
- Long term health implications for health based upon the what people do—or don’t do—when they are young.
Who Should Attend:
- Parents of kids aged 8 to 18 with interest in running and endurance sports of any kind.
- Coaches from elementary through high school with interest in learning more about training young athletes.
- Administrators thinking about what sports programs should look like for different age groups.
- Athletes interested in knowing more about what their coaches are talking about.
Discussion:
The current generation of Americans could be the first generation with a lower life expectancy than their parents. The continued improvements in medical science, increases in personal wealth, decreases in the cost of food, and better availability of health care have been offset by decreased physical activity and an ever-worsening diet.
Monta Vista is a highly academic school in an affluent area. This seems like a community that should have incredible support for athletics—and it does. However, one of the obstacles to participation in sports is a perception that students have to choose between prioritizing academics OR athletics. Many kids say they don’t participate in sports because their parents want them to focus on school.
Most dedicated runners feel that running HELPS them achieve more in school, all the way from high school through college and graduate school. Running helps people throughout their lives, by increasing mental focus and keeping people healthy despite demanding schedules and busy lives. Running helps teach the value of patience, goal setting, sustained effort over the long-term, and incremental improvements. High school coaches preach these lessons all the time. But, who listens to a high school coach? Hardly anyone!
Here are some experts to talk about both how to train young runners, and what how running can benefit our kids’ lives, both today and as they grow up. Dr. Russell Pate literally wrote the book on how to train young distance runners (his book Training for Young Distance Runners, is widely used as a reference tool). Dr. Pate has participated in many panels and studies on youth health, the long-term impact of childhood obesity, and is generally passionate about promoting health through youth sports. Erica McLain is the quintessential student-athlete, demonstrating that being a top athlete and an over-achieving academic are not only compatible but are also correlated. While overseeing the track & field and cross-country programs at Stanford University, Edrick Floreal has seen hundreds of over-achievers succeed in athletics at the highest level while graduating from the university faster and with better grades than the non-athlete student population.
Don’t choose between academics and athletics—do both. Dr. Pate, Erica McClain, and Coach Floreal will inspire us to go for it all.
Speakers:
- Keynote: Erica Ashley McLain. “I’m an athlete and a nerd.’ 2008 USA Olympic Track & Field Team. High School: State track champion & national merit scholar. College: Stanford graduate while qualifying for the 2008 USA Olympic Team.
- Featured Speaker: Dr. Russell Pate. Dr Pate will provide advice to coaches, parents and young distance runners on training as well as talk about the short and long term benefits of running in particular and fitness in general. Professor, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina. Director, Children’s Physical Activity Research Group. Author, Training Young Distance Runners. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association, and several private foundations and corporations. He coordinated the effort that lead to the development of the recommendation on Physical Activity and Public Health of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine (1995). He served on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (2003-04), the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee (2007-08), and an Institute of Medicine panel that developed guidelines on prevention of childhood obesity. He currently chairs the coordinating committee for the National Physical Activity Plan. A lifelong distance runner, Pate competed in three U.S. Olympic Trials marathons and twice placed among the top ten finishers in the Boston Marathon. He has a B.S. from Springfield College and masters and PhD degrees from the University of Oregon.
- Concluding Remarks: Edrick Floreal. “Track & Field together with Academic Achievement in College.” Coach Floreal is the the Franklin P Johnson Director of Track and Field at Stanford University, responsible for more than 100 athletes in the men and women’s programs for cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. Coach Floreal has been at Stanford for 14 years. He is a two-time Olympian (1988 and 1992). Graduate, University of Arkansas.
- We will allow plenty of time for Q&A with all the speakers!