OK State men finish 29/31 at NCAAs

I have known Dave Smith for 15+ years. I have been around Dave and his team. There is no question that the team respects him a tremendous amount. Just because a few failures are posting on letsrun to get back at him certainly shows nothing. Any decent coach that holds his/her athletes to a higher standard will have that especially in 2017. If you suck, why not blame the coach. It's easy. Just get on letsrun and blast away.

Here is the reality kid, no one believes Dave is on here posting. Your little trick of trying to call out any supporter of Dave as actually being him is sad. Furthermore, if a recruit is actually on here getting their information from the bottom of the barrel scum then it is likely they will not be good at any program so keep bashing.

Personally, I think Dave needs to hire new people around him. Hopefully he figures that out and turns it around. He is definitely a quality person and well respected by his peers.

I know Dave and he's definitely not posting here. He's a really quality person, and the problems come from everyone else but not him. They're the fault of the guys on the team, the recruits, the alumni, or the people around him, and all those stupid people on the internet.

Speaks for itself.

I do agree that some of the blame rests on the athletes or people around Smith, but come one - how is Smith completely blameless? He is the boss, he needs to take some of the blame.

I certainly think part of the blame needs to fall on Dave. I would bet he is looking in the mirror and trying to figure out the next move. That move may take a few years to turn the team around by getting rid of some on staff and turning over athletes. It will not be a quick fix. I have confidence that he will fix it though.

Let's look at all options wrote:

Another D1 coach wrote:

I certainly think part of the blame needs to fall on Dave. I would bet he is looking in the mirror and trying to figure out the next move. That move may take a few years to turn the team around by getting rid of some on staff and turning over athletes. It will not be a quick fix. I have confidence that he will fix it though.

A good fix would be Dave Smith resigning.

So, would actively discouraging an official visit opportunity extended from OSU be prudent?

Dave Smith is a very good guy and obviously a very good coach. Sorry but you do not win multiple national titles in xc if you are not good. He has problems within his program that he will fix. Simple as that. I recruit against Dave. Any recruit that decides to not visit because of letsrun isn't worth anything. I doubt Dave is losing sleep because of what is written here. This is not a place where any reasonable person goes to make an important decision. As a coach, I did not understand that 10 years ago but I do now.

Who are the JC kids who have signed this year? How often are JC transfers productive members of the team? Is there a network between schools like OK State and these JC schools who get kenyans to run for them and pass them along to a d1 school? Just some questions. Thanks

Just Say No? wrote:

So, would actively discouraging an official visit opportunity extended from OSU be prudent?

How his "friend" (Hi Dave) is berating people who speak up on here says it all about him and his program.

No I would not go there, not even to visit, and would go somewhere else.

What needs to be done in your opinion to fix the issues going on with the team?

I would say NO wrote:

Just Say No? wrote:

So, would actively discouraging an official visit opportunity extended from OSU be prudent?

How his "friend" (Hi Dave) is berating people who speak up on here says it all about him and his program.

No I would not go there, not even to visit, and would go somewhere else.

Hi Clay Mayes, III! How's that Twitter ban treating you? Guys, the negativity here stems from 1 bitter person (2 max). I ran for 4 years under Dave with phenomenal success. Great coach. Though Stillwater is a bit in the middle of nowhere (my biggest transition coming from a large metro area), I'd encourage anyone to go there.

It’s not that i don’t believe you, but if that is true, why not post your real name.

Best way to clear this up would be to come out from behind the curtain of annoyminity.

To add to that- isn’t it usually the case where 1-2 angry people start and continue a thread like this? I don’t know much about Clay Mayes, but i do know he’s butthurt (about multiple topics) to carry a thread like this.

From an outsider's perspective, I find it hard believe that this thread is only the work of 1 frustrated individual. In my opinion, in appears like many former ok state athletes have resentment towards Smith for a variety of reasons.

So four years ago they were a great team, and now they are just OK.

Sour grapes- the people who didn't have success at OSU and hate Dave because of their own failures.

Dave has his faults, as does anyone. But at his core he is a good guy who is loyal to his athletes and takes care of them. He is also a brilliant coach.

Since Dave has been the director:

3x NCAA titles

1x 2nd place

1x 3rd place

9 mens XC Big 12 Titles

1 womens Big 12 xc title

2x Indoor Big 12 titles

Many, many All-Americans

Countless individual Big 12 titles

9:26 DMR (#3 NCAA all-time) in 2016

5 NCAA titles (German Fernandez 1500m, Chad Noelle 1500m, Kaela Edwards 1500m, Natalija Pulijsna 1500m, Nick Miller Hammer Throw)

Shadrack Kipchirchir- 27:30/ 2nd at NCAAs behind Cheserek

Kirubel Erassa- 13:25/ 2nd at NCAAs behind Cheserek

John Teeters- 2nd at NCAAs and 10.00 100m

15+ sub 4 minute milers

Just a few of the highlights.

Kaela Edwards- Mile

**

You don't know Clay Mayes then...

guy is a sociopath

Sour Grapes wrote:

Sour grapes- the people who didn't have success at OSU and hate Dave because of their own failures.

This is correct. All the problems are everyone else's fault except Smith's!

And that's why they hate him.