At what age should children start speed training?

Children can start learning to move well very early. That is not the same as putting a nine-year-old on an adult sprint programme.

At ASP, speed work is aged. The quality we are after — being able to accelerate, stop, turn and go again — stays relevant. The methods change.

A simple way to think about it

• Around age 9: foundations. Coordination, movement quality, fun accelerations, good habits.
• Around age 13: development. Mechanics, strength that supports sprinting, change of direction that looks like sport.
• Around age 17: performance. Sharper, more specific, measured against the demands of higher-level competition.

The mistake is copying what an older athlete does and hoping a younger body will adapt. The other mistake is waiting until sixteen and then panicking.

How you know it's time

If your child is already training for a sport, competing, and you can see a gap between their skill and their physical output — speed training, done properly, is relevant. The assessment is how we decide what 'properly' means for that athlete, at that age.