How fast should a 15 year old run? There isn't one number that makes a 15 year old "fast enough". The number that matters is the gap between where he is now and the elite standard for his age, and the level he's trying to get into. Being quick for his team tells you very little. Being quick enough for where he wants to go tells you everything.
Watch: the video this post comes from
George is the best example I've got of why.
George: 17 to 35 km/h
George started with us at 11. His top speed was 17 to 19 km/h.
He now runs 35 km/h.
Same athlete, same timing gates, every session measured along the way. If you'd judged him at 11 against the kids in his team, you'd never have guessed where he'd end up. That's exactly the problem with asking "how fast should he be?" at one age.
What 35 km/h actually means
Speed is stride length times how many strides you take a second. That's the whole equation.
35 km/h is about 9.7 metres every second. That works out to strides of roughly 2.1 metres, at around 4.6 strides a second. When you break a target down like that, it stops being a dream number and becomes something you can work towards: longer strides from more force into the ground, quicker strides from a body that comes off the ground faster.
That's how we set targets. You tell us the level, and we work backwards from it. See how different that is from asking "is my son quick for 15"?
How fast should a 15 year old run? Ask a better question
Here's why one number doesn't work.
A lot of parents and coaches compare a kid to general averages. "He's about normal for his age." But if you're going to be great, you can't measure yourself against general statistics. Greatness is rare. It isn't general. If he's on a high-level pathway, the average is not the target.
So at every assessment we set each number against two standards: the elite standard for his age, and the world's best, because that's where he's trying to go. The gap is written down as a number. Then you know exactly how far there is to go, and in what.
To give you some real reference points from our own athletes:
- ✓Xavi was running 31.2 km/h and won the U14 Golden Boot with 31 goals.
- ✓Dylan went from 28 km/h to 34 or 35 km/h and plays NPL first team.
- ✓George is at 35 km/h.
- ✓Our head coach Hais runs 38 km/h. I've run 40 km/h on my own and 43 km/h with overspeed.
Those aren't "normal" numbers. They're targets. That's the point.
Top speed isn't the only number
At 15, top speed is only one part of the picture. Speed has well over 100 smaller parts. Your first 5 m, your 0 to 10 m, your ground contact time (how long your foot stays on the ground each stride), your shin angle off the line, how you change direction.
Two 15 year olds can run the same 20 m time and need completely different fixes. One can't start. The other starts well and fades at the top end. A single time won't show you which one your child is.
The quick ones get stuck too
Here's something I see a lot. A kid has always been one of the quick ones. Quick for his team, quick at school. But there's a level in him he's never reached, and more training on his own won't get him there.
Not knowing exactly what's holding him back keeps him exactly where he is.
A free speed test tells you where you are. That's useful. Ours is built to tell you why. Every run is filmed at 240 frames a second, the thing costing the most is named on his own footage, and the priorities are set in order with a target on each. Right?
What to do at 15
- ✓Get a real number. Electronic timing, not a stopwatch, split from 0 to 5 m, 0 to 10 m and through to top speed.
- ✓Compare it to the right standard. The elite standard for his age and the level above, not his teammates.
- ✓Find what's costing the most. Fix it, measure it again, then move to the next one.
George didn't get from 17 to 35 km/h by being told he was normal for his age. He got there by chasing the next number. If you're wondering whether that kind of jump is possible at all, read can you get faster or is speed genetic, or see Maksim's story in how to get faster as a teenager.
If you want to know where your 15 year old really stands, the assessment is how we find out.