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Q

My son runs flat-footed most of the time and I would like to know if there are any drills or things we can do to prevent this. I have seen him bunt and run hard to first but most of the time it's flat footed. He is 12 y/o 169 and 5'8" and has Osgood-Schlatter of the knees because he has grown so much.

A

The condition (Osgood-Schlatter) is typical in kids who have gone through growth spurts. (It affects the legs - usual sign: soreness below the knee cap - actually ligament connections in the tibia from the patella.) The usual treatment is RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) which is to say what we usually suggest for all strains and pains. The rest may need to be for several days - no baseball! After that, quad-stretching exercises, hip extensions, hamstring stretching - basically take extra time in warm-ups. If the pain gets severe, you may need more invasive medical treatment but not usually, like the growth spurts that precede it, it comes and goes. There are by the way other reasons for flat footed running. I have seen guys who get better just by changing their style of cleats from stiff to hinged. Or else add cushioning (you know those "gelling" ads) might relieve some of the force on the area below the knee cap. Above all it is an overuse condition, and these days it may be showing up more because we push our kids to hard and play sports too competitively all-year.