Concerned About Son's XC Coach

Definitely go to the AD or principal, but not until you have plenty of ammo.

This coach definitely seems wacko, but you can't get the guy canned just because he looks like Costanza's dad. Research Zatopek, tropical oils, etc. Make sure the backwards running claim is true (not to call your kid a liar, but teens have been known to exaggerate). Most coaches do have their athletes do running drills, and running backwards is a common one. However, these would only be 30-50 yards long or so. Any other kids getting hurt from the backwards running?

Look into the guy's won-loss record/history. Is he a teacher on campus? If not, he will be more easily fired (especially if there is an assistant who can take over if they decide he is wacko.)

If this is in California, find out if he has passed the mandatory coaches' ed course.

If you approach the AD/principal with some background knowledge, they will listen to you.

This is pretty good. 8.5/10.

daddykins, please get off the comp, ur embarrasing me

but the coach does sound kind of odd, what state are you in?

Not a bad scenario. I'll give it a 6/10.

coach is a cross dresser. So the entire mens team dresses in long dresses. No bull, swear to you. At the state meet.

Incredible.

Wow, what a whiny bitch. I would hate to coach your son.

So here is the latest. I did some more background checking, and the guy is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. I did some internet searching, and it turns out tha this group centers around celebrating culture from midevil times. I thought that this was another oddity and what is further strange is that he carries this over into practice. He has the boys run in outfits that simulate what British peasants wore in the 1500s. He has them wear leather shorts/skirts. He also has them chant in Latin. He says that this is to create brotherhood and toughness.

My wife and I remain very concerned. He is clearly strange, the question is whether he is dangerous.

Initially 7/10. Last post wrecked it entirely. If you read your last post, and you're smart, you'll recognize where you screwed up.

The previous message was not from me. I have just registered my screen name to prevent future fake posts.

Thanks, hscoach, for your serious and helpful response. I'll try to find out more about the coach before going to see the AD. My wife and I are also going to try to contact the parents of some of the other runners on the team. (We just moved here last year, and we don't know many people.)

We do not live in California, and I don't know what requirements our state has (if any) for high school coaches.

I am tired of all of your macho headgames.

Ok, here's the latest: Varsity runners are now required to brand themselves with a V on their chests and wear those masks from V for Vendetta! They are also required to drink hot sauce before workouts and worship Satan!

Ok, here's the latest: Varsity runners are now required to brand themselves with a V on their chests and wear those masks from V for Vendetta! They are also required to drink hot sauce before workouts and worship Satan!

OMG I LOVE THIS SITE!

Quit all this fake posting. The only real post is the fourth one and this one. The first post is an offensive fake. After I sue the coach, the AD and my wife, I'm coming after you, Mr. Fake Poster.

when it is late at night

and all others are asleep

the mind turns inward

the OP begins to troll himself

as things spiral further and further out of control

madness is the inescapable conclusion

Wow, I finally found a coach worse than Debra Moore!

Cross-Country Dad wrote:

e. The coach apparently railed against the dangers of tropical oils. He claimed that tropical oils caused cancer, gout, obesity, and a bunch of other problems. He told the team that anyone seen eating at a local Thai restaurant would not be able to participate in races for one week. My wife thought that the coach seemed disturbed.

Is it Marshall Bert? Does he also lecture about teeth cleaning and strengthening your eyes?

there may be something to this, i have never seen a thai runner qualify for any olympic distance event

are your son's times improving?

sometimes coaches purposely do strange stuff like this on teams at the beginning of the year just to see who will listen and follow directions, and to instill camraderie in the team against the coomon enemy / loon

most schools you can't be the drill sergeant anymore but you can be a little goofy

your son's coach is brilliant, stay with him and your son will be the next adam goucher

The team is only in the second week of training, and there haven't been any races yet. The first meet is this Saturday.

This is my son's first season of cross-country. He ran track in 8th grade and showed some potential. (He ran a 5:06 mile off of not much training.) It's hard to tell at this point if he is improving or not.

Anyway, thanks for the perspective on the coach. I know that coaches--and running coaches in particular--can be eccentric. My high school xc/track coach was both weird and a good coach. And I really do appreciate those adults who take the time to coach kids. I don't want to second-guess everything the coach does. Still, this guy seems very strange, even by running coach standards.

I'll give it another few days and see what happens.