She was once a runner

"Coach’s eyes narrowed. “You need to realize that I focus on your performances during practice and at races, and I don’t spend much time thinking about your lives outside of that realm. I’m coaching at a Division 1 level, and it’s my job to produce successful student-athletes that can compete at a Division 1 level."

I ran for a top 30 D1 NCAA and top 20 academically ranked school. I can honestly say I have heard this exact speech from my coach, and reading it on this girls blog was chilling and depressing. I had almost forgotten about all the conversations we had in my coach's office about girls on the team and their problems, what I "need to do to run faster" (lose weight), and how the job of the coach was to produce results. Scary how accurate this blog is.

Today's post reeked of being a completely made-up conversation, made up by someone who had never gotten to know a college football player. The tone and pace of the conversation are very strange.If our suspicions about the author's identity are correct, looks like she was a little bit overconfident about her research into her school:

As an aside, to people who find it hard to believe men are complaining about Title IX, most of the time it has nothing to do with scholarships and everything to do with schools cutting men's track/xc to comply with Title IX. The scholarship limits of 18 and 12.6 are decided by the NCAA, and a <50% difference isn't worth getting that worked up about. What gets men riled up is when the women's roster has 50 girls, and the men's team of 12 can't take deserving walk-ons or needs to cut underperforming members to keep the school in compliance with Title IX. It has everything to do with having the opportunity to pursue your dreams and very little to do with how much your family is paying a school to let you pursue those dreams.

Those who try to shift the blame to football have zero understanding of sports culture in America. Having a good tennis team benefits the members of the tennis team. Having a good track team benefits the members of the track team. Having a good football team benefits the entire student body. Home football games become a major (if not THE major) social focus of the week for students. When the team wins, social stratification disappears during the celebrations and nerds and frat stars and jocks celebrate together. Students carry a bit more swagger when they talk to high school friends who went to other colleges in the conference. I'm sure there are lots of people on this board who were cut from all the major sports teams when they were a kid and will hate football no matter what, but for the average college student, their college experience is enhanced by having a good football team. At some schools it's basketball, at some schools it's hockey, but this is America and on the whole football is king.

I have always proposed removing the top revenue-producing sport for each gender from the participation equality requirement. That way the Ohio State football team, which funds the entire athletic department budget, doesn't force the school to suppress 120 spots in other men's sports to maintain gender equality. But a school who has a terrible football team that doesn't generate revenue faces harsher Title IX restrictions, because they only get to deduct the 20-person basketball team instead of the 120-person football team, and they therefore have an incentive to shift the focus from football to other sports.

zamboomba wrote:

I'm a little turned off by the constant negativity in her story.....

In this way, she reminds me of Sylvia Plath, who also liked to use the "insult everybody" literary technique. And she made some money with her writing so hey, maybe it works for some people.

Sylvia Plath killed herself. The reason for the constant negativity is because the author is also struggling with some form of underlying problem (depression) and it's not just because of the other girls.

TK1451 wrote:

Today's post reeked of being a completely made-up conversation, made up by someone who had never gotten to know a college football player. The tone and pace of the conversation are very strange.

Agreed. I also wonder if she is trying to copy the way that Quentin Cassidy introduced memorable stereotypical characters that didn't ultimately play a role in the outcome of the story.

TK1451 wrote:

Today's post reeked of being a completely made-up conversation, made up by someone who had never gotten to know a college football player. The tone and pace of the conversation are very strange.

I agree 100 percent with the football comments on the blog.

Regarding title IX, a few of you sure need to get off the football player's jocks! They are just a bunch of fat worthless idiots, who use up all the resources of the school. But instead of placing blame firmly where it lays, you choose to somehow make the giant leap of trying to blame women, for what is done by stupid football players and their useless programs.

I agree the blog writing is excellent. This was one of the first things I wanted to see on letsrun today.

telling it like it is wrote:

a few of you sure need to get off the football player's jocks! They are just a bunch of fat worthless idiots, who use up all the resources of the school.

How many collegiate football players do you know personally? I mean actually know, not "there was that one guy in my psych class freshman year...."

The football players I know at my school are some of the most polite, friendly people I've met in college. There's a big group of them who are quite religious that we were refer to as the "God squad" and they're somewhat antisocial, and there are a few who get blackout drunk seemingly every night, but even they are more put-together than water polo or rugby.

Also, just because the "fat" accusation always baffles me, please point out the fat to me in these pictures:

That's offense and defense, skill positions a linebacker, and even a lineman. Guess what? Lineman make up a very small percentage of a football team. Sorry God gave them actual athleticism and they managed to apply it into a sport people actually care about. Get over it.

Anyone who thinks the story is BS has never spent time around a major D1 program. Even in a relatively healthy team environment, there is tons of drama and in-fighting. The higher the stakes, the worse it gets. When a male coach is good at his job, he can manage or direct it into the competitive fire, without tearing apart the team or allowing unhealthy habits to develop among his squad.

When a coach is like the one portrayed on this blog, the women on his team get screwed up for life. As if women don't have enough insecurities as it is, some douchebag feeds them the idea that they will be better runners if they turn a blind eye to an eating disorder. The only place that gets you in the long run, is injured or ill going into the biggest race of your life.

There is such a thing as being too skinny to train effectively. It's sick that some coaches encourage this by either ignoring or lauding it. And for the record, I am a male that would love to go into coaching someday...that's probably why this irks me so much.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

Sylvia Plath killed herself. The reason for the constant negativity is because the author is also struggling with some form of underlying problem (depression) and it's not just because of the other girls.

I only discovered the blog and this discussion today; just finished skimming all the posts, actually. txRUNNERgirl, I believe your reference to depression is the first - hard to believe the discussion went ten pages without it being mentioned! I think you're absolutely correct.

One of several clues:

"A lone lifeguard sat perched on her stand, nodding off, as I went through the monotonous exercise of “jogging” laps around the deep end. I thought of how easily I could slip under the water, while the lifeguard slept off last night’s party."

Intentionally or not, the author effectively conveys that kind of gray, disconnected shadow world that depressives know all too well.

Nice writeup, Tyler. also, Football is great for revenue, unlike Track.

You still running?

I thought it was obvious, but that's come from someone who has been through it and around it. There are different levels of depression and how people handle it. I think that's why it's not obvious (even to the individual) until someone does something extreme.

baller wrote:

"Coach’s eyes narrowed. “You need to realize that I focus on your performances during practice and at races, and I don’t spend much time thinking about your lives outside of that realm. I’m coaching at a Division 1 level, and it’s my job to produce successful student-athletes that can compete at a Division 1 level."

I ran for a top 30 D1 NCAA and top 20 academically ranked school. I can honestly say I have heard this exact speech from my coach, and reading it on this girls blog was chilling and depressing. I had almost forgotten about all the conversations we had in my coach's office about girls on the team and their problems, what I "need to do to run faster" (lose weight), and how the job of the coach was to produce results. Scary how accurate this blog is.

When are you guys going to realize your track coach is the same as/similar to your employer (particularly if you are on scholarship)....he is not your therapist.

Consider losing weight to be a condition of employment. If you are running up to your capabilities I doubt any coach is going to require you to lose weight...just for the sake of losing weight.

Randy Thomas is doing these girls a huge favor by exposing them to the "real world" they will be facing once outside college. DO mens college coaches have to deal with this stuff?

Your employer is going to place demands on you to perform...remember you are also competing against men in the workforce also. Your employer may well yell at you on occasion.

Why are eating disorders a uniquely upper middle class American white girl issue?????

And yes, I probably don't understand, TRG.

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

Why are eating disorders a uniquely upper middle class American white girl issue?????

And yes, I probably don't understand, TRG.

You don't think obesity is an eating disorder? Like I said, people cope differently.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

Why are eating disorders a uniquely upper middle class American white girl issue?????

And yes, I probably don't understand, TRG.

You don't think obesity is an eating disorder? Like I said, people cope differently.

TRG, completely different. Anorexia is starving (body image issues). Obesity is related to comfort foods to cope with stresses of life.

How is starving yourself coping with anything?

I can understand obesity better than I understand anorexia. Most anorexia girls have so much going for them (no significant/external problems other than what they place on themselves...ie, smart, successful, supportive families, etc.).

My vent was with Coach Thomas being held accountable.

Silly Old Fossil, starving one's self is very much a coping mechanism for many people. The type-A, overachiever, upper-middle-class white teenage girl is just the stereotypical picture of an anoretic but by no means does it represent anyone. For one girl I know, the death of a very close family member triggered her ED (she's also a runner). I think I remember reading that the singer Fiona Apple's anorexia was a response to being sexually abused. If anyone's read the Marya Hornbacher book Wasted, her undiagnosed bipolar disorder had a lot to do with the development of her anorexia and bulimia.

And obesity in and of itself is not an eating disorder, but compulsive overeating or binge eating disorder certainly is.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:I thought it was obvious, but that's come from someone who has been through it and around it. There are different levels of depression and how people handle it. I think that's why it's not obvious (even to the individual) until someone does something extreme.

It was obvious to me for the same reason. Good point about different levels of and reaction to depression. Obviously it doesn't always lead to extreme behavior.

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

When are you guys going to realize your track coach is the same as/similar to your employer (particularly if you are on scholarship)....he is not your therapist.

They are not the same. A coach should serve as a mentor, therefore a coach works for the athlete just as much as the athlete "works" for him/her. No, they aren't a therapist, but they should notice when there is a problem, and especially when they are told there is a problem, and find someone who can help. If an athlete broke their leg, you'd find them a doctor, right?

She is so going to hook up with the dumb injured football player.