Note to Collegians (and mainly their selfish coaches)Running WJrs - This isn't a free vacation- you are representing USA

How nice of you to leave there names out. Because people can't check on the results page, since you kindly posted their event and their times. Thank you for being so kind to them.

The athletes competing in the WJC EARNED their spot to be there. They qualified and they thus they earn the right to compete there and run however fast or slow they run.

i kinda agree with the guy

if your not going to give a good effort to perform well over there, then why go and take the spot from a kid who actually wants to give his best?

it makes our country look bad...

but then it again like he said its possible they just had a bad race

What is the deal with Natasha Lebaud? Didn't even start, yet the day before said she was going for a PR?

Since they eared the right to compete, maybe they should show up dressed like a squirrel like that one asshat did at Footlocker.

Bad race is one thing, taking a vacation on someone else's nickle and not taking it seriously is another.

your are entitled to your opinion, but here are the facts. Not many are good enough to know as they enter their senior year in HS or freshman year in college that they will be making a World Junior team. Only the top 2 from this talented nation make the team.

So a coach writes training based on what goals? State meets, conference meets, even national meets. Even the latest of those end in early July. this meet is in Mid August. It is awfully tough to extend a year in that fasion unless the WJC was the goal you planned for.

And as a college coach, even if you had a hint that WJC was a possbility, I am sure that you still see conference, regionals and nationals as the bread and butter of the program. USAs and US Juniors is just icing on the cake, and WJCs is a bonus to that.

Now if a college coach tried to extend a training year a full 365 days with big perfomances in say XC, indoor and outdoor then try to somehow do it again in August, well, it just isn't feasable.

So heck yes, it is a bonus. It is a trip and experience of a lifetime. And the US kids are either completely out of gas, or if they have a smart (you say selfish)coach, then they rested after USAs and are now competing off of their pre-general prep training.

So if you don't like it, then find some talent and have the balls to plan your training for a mid August peak and then you can have it your way.

Otherwise, leave the coaching and prioritizing to those who are actaully in the situation as opposed to hypothesizing about it.

to the original poster: whoever said these athletes aren't trying to compete at their best? i like how a bad race is immediately perceived as slacking. can you get any more cynical?

.............................. wrote:

And the US kids are either completely out of gas, or if they have a smart (you say selfish)coach, then they rested after USAs and are now competing off of their pre-general prep training.

So if you don't like it, then find some talent and have the balls to plan your training for a mid August peak and then you can have it your way.

Otherwise, leave the coaching and prioritizing to those who are actaully in the situation as opposed to hypothesizing about it.

I stil don't think you get it. The college coach is being selfish. He's having the kid run juniors so he can brag about it in the media guide or to recruits, yet he doesn't have him ready to go. If you are going to run juniors, you need to be prepared to redshirt the next xc season or don't go.

If you are going to go and run like a douchebag, then why go over there at all. Send the money to me.

But if a coach is being paid by the university to field the best possible track and/or xc team, it isn't in their interest to let the runner go to worlds at all. It's in the best interest of the university for the runner to be getting ready for the upcoming fall season.

So isn't a coach who encourages/allows an athlete to go doing a better service to the athlete and the country than the coaches who don't allow their athletes to even try to qualify? (those situations are common)

How is the coach selfish? He wants his kids ready for XC to help the team he runs for. Sorry but at this point in their careers kids should focus on representing their schools and leave the international stuff for the pros. WJC is a nice reward to a hard season.

To the original poster:

"...they went over their in base phase and embarrassed themselves and our country."

there

there

there

there

The word is there

Now who emabarrassed themselves??

How do you know these athletes won't be redshirting XC?

How do you know what their workouts were in preparation for this?

I happen to know what the 9:51 kid was doing for workouts, so he was as well prepared as possible under the circumstances--which are that he tried to peak for XC trials in February, then had an outdoor season which was already stretched out simply to qualify in June, let alone get to August.

By the way, you might note that another athlete from the same program qualified for the finals in his event, so perhaps the 9:51 guy just didn't have a good day.

If a coach were deliberately screwing USATF just to make himself look good in his media guide, then you might have a valid argument. But please don't reach such a drastic conclusion simply because of one kid's performance.

"you're"

"emAbarrassed"

I wish we would follow the route of poor nations. If don't have a chance at a good placing than you don't go.

Our juniors suck, that isn't news.

You'd think as a coach you'd have a pretty fair idea of the ability of you're athlete. But, of course, with the college system, peaking 3 times a year and training for every college meet is more important than nationals and qualifying for a USA team in good shape. And people ask why the USA is so f@cked as a distance nation and why those athletes never properly develop. There's your answer.

10 lapper, you obviously don't exist in the upper levels of the sport. There aren't 5 kids in the country, or coaches of those kisds, that last August could tell you they were a lock for the World Junior Championships.

In fact, given your statements about peaking 3 times a year and training for every college meet, I doubt you even exist at a moderate level of the sport. Because I don't know a good coach that tries that. Which is exactly the point. No one is trying to peak in Mid August for the World Junior Championships. We exist in a collegiate system, sorry that is the reality. And you can complain about it, but many of the kids from other countries will do everything they can to come over and be in that system.

Every coach has choices to make. So as the saying goes, "if you want it done right, do it yourself."

Or you could come to the message board to opine on a level of existence in coaching that only hope to achieve.

I don't even live in you're country, so I come from a different culture, but I am familiar with your system. It's basically training for anything and everything that comes up involving HS or college. That's why they can't come up when it counts, which is disappointing. I exist in the upper levels of a sport in some other country that puts a bit more of a priortiy on representing their country. Your part about "existing in a college system" explained to me everything as to why you're country is not every good at this distance caper and never will be any good. Until you learn that the only thing that matters for elite athletes is representing your country, and running weel there, and not your college at mere school sport your country will never go anywhere. School sport pales in comparison. Plenty have a glorified idea of your system and come back disappointed and many times injured or stuffed. Your nationals and representing your country in a season should always be your goal. Anyway that's a problem for the Yanks, not us.

Perhpas the athletes themselves wanted to go to the WJC. As a coach don't you think it's fair to let an athlete compete in a high quality world championship if they have qualified and express a desire to go?

Afterall, aren't we in this to give these kids positive running experiences? It's not just about winning, but allowing kids the experiences that running gives them. These kids may never make another US team again but don't you think they will remember this meet the rest of their lives?