I used to not be a very good runner when I started running... I was on the JV team. I put in a lot of running over off season, read a lot of coaching stuff (on here and other places), and am now a lot faster.
The thing is... the coach basically ignored me when I was on JV, and even when I was a lower varsity runner. Whenever I did his workouts, I would often not improve or get injured. Now I might be the #1 runner on the team after doing my own workouts and running some faster times (a lot faster than before) and the coach has started talking to me...
But the thing is, now I am fast enough that I've actually gotten interviewed by newspapers/running blogs sometimes. One question that is occasionally asked is how the coach has helped (a typical question asked to everyone). I don't want to speak too badly, but how do I get around this question... or when college coaches talk to me, do I just tell them that I "coached myself"?