Outrageous Philosophy from High School Coach - Bonneville High School (Idaho Falls, ID)

I mean, it’s fine as long as Idaho produces the top distance runners in our country...

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not winning?????? wrote:

wantingarealcoach wrote:

Seconded. I wish I had a coach/team like this.

Um, this is not some really good team.

They’re really not.

Sand Dunes wrote:

Huh... wrote:

Between this thread and the "coach yelled at me!!!!" thread, I'm beginning to think the snowflake stereotype has some truth to it.

If you kiddos had gone to my high school, you wouldn't have lasted a day; you'd have run home in tears. "Fat" would have been one of the nicer things my coach called us. He regularly called us words that start with P and F. He'd question our sexuality, our commitment, our intelligence.

We didn't give it a second thought. I suppose he'd be fired today.

Reminds of stories my dad told me of his high school football coach.

They were great teachers too I bet. Can't communicate what you mean to say? Throw a pvssy or f@ggot in there and the kids will know it's important, better take it to heart.

Main problem I have with this post is the “Fat people are slow” comment. Go watch McFarland, USA and tell if you think Danny Diaz is slow after they run the race at CIF. Yeah, thought not. Diaz 4 lyf

I don't think its fair to judge by height to weight ratio. There are several more muscled athletes that perform well in T&F.

Peter Snell and John Walker were a lot heavier than average but it didn't stop them from breaking records.

Spoke too soon wrote:

Main problem I have with this post is the “Fat people are slow” comment. Go watch McFarland, USA and tell if you think Danny Diaz is slow after they run the race at CIF. Yeah, thought not. Diaz 4 lyf

Steve Way, who finished 3rd at Comrades this year, entered his first marathon back in 2006 as a 16-stone, overweight smoker. He ran 3hr07 off three weeks of training.

Certainly Way wasn't hitting his potential as a fattie but if this coach had discouraged him from ever trying he wouldn't have got to where he is.

Guy must be real insecure about his training and ability to make kids fast.......

Bob Schul Country wrote:

Guy must be real insecure about his training and ability to make kids fast.......

He doesn't make kids fast, the program is pretty bad. This guy is demeaning, not demanding. He should be coaching freshman football.

I coached XC for seven years and when my kids are older hope to get back to it.

I took all-comers, even if they weren't 100% focused on running fast. I have no issue with people using the sport to lose weight or get in shape, as long as they come to practice and do the workouts and follow the rules. They're improving themselves.

Honestly, I probably could have improved our team standings a little if I was a complete hard-ass and threw people off the team if I suspected they could work harder than they did. Or ever slacked, or ever screwed around. It's not a trade-off I wanted to make because I think the sport still helped them be better people -- healthier, better students, more sociable.

And I'm 100% confident that those who were all-in on running fast got all the attention they needed. We had a lot of those runners win championships, up to state, and set a lot of county records, and came close on some state ones. They can do that without discouraging less-focused people from the sport.

Every now and then, too, I'd have someone who slacked for two years who for some reason decided to try hard. It's good I didn't throw them off.

I don't think this coach should be fired, but his writing reminds me of the sort of chest-thumping coach who I always found annoying, and very seldom with very good results.

During my time in HS (1956 – 1960) and subsequent years through the 1970’s we had dual meets with other schools. Our coach had a dual meet record of 127 wins and 3 losses. He did this by respecting each athlete no matter how they performed. Being a NCAA Champion himself he knew what it took to perform at a high level but it certainly didn’t include yelling or belittling his athletes.

I ran 22.4, 49.5, 1:52, 3:04 (1320), 4:12 on really crappy dirt tracks and he always called me “champ” and never told me he was disappointed. But then he also told the guy who ran 5:20 for the mile the same thing. And some of those 5:20 guys came back and did pretty well in following years.

Our coach helped us love ourselves and our teammates and our school. But the glue behind it all was his love for us.

In life, we are shaped by people. Our character is shaped by our parents. But when it came to competing in life it really started in school for most of us. High school track was the place and our coach was the man. He showed us how to compete in the world.

When they dedicated the new track to him, over 400 former athletes came to the dedication to honor him. He was the best HS coach there ever was. He’s now 87 and I still go see him every chance I get.

What Real Old Guy said.

Jack Daniels: "You're a human being first, a student second, and an athlete third."

For those people who cite Gerry Lindgren as someone who benefited from pressure, Gerry is not exactly a role model for life after running. How did that pressure thing work out for this gal?

https://www.amazon.com/What-Made-Maddy-Run-All-American/dp/0316356549

"The farther you are from fat..." could very easily help a young man or woman develop an eating disorder.

I guess Deke doesn't do too well with this coach due to his height/weight ratio. Add Solinsky, Paul McMullen, I'm sure there are others.

I think this is hilarious because Bonneville is easily the worst team in the city. We always make jokes about how our jjv (junior junior varsity) could beat their varsity. One time we were running along the river shirtless and one of their coaches took a video of us. They’re a weird school. They had a runner last year get 17th at NXN as a sophomore, but he was coached independently. Anyways, I think it’s fine for a coach to say it how it is. Fat people are slower. It might hurt people’s feelings but that’s the way it is. And if it does hurt their feeling, how about they make a change instead of crying about it. Start eating healthier, exercise, whatever it takes. But yeah Bonneville is super bad haha

This is what happens when toxic cultures are allowed to fester.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-death-20180811-story.html

Idaho Falls runner wrote:

I think this is hilarious because Bonneville is easily the worst team in the city. We always make jokes about how our jjv (junior junior varsity) could beat their varsity. One time we were running along the river shirtless and one of their coaches took a video of us. They’re a weird school. They had a runner last year get 17th at NXN as a sophomore, but he was coached independently. Anyways, I think it’s fine for a coach to say it how it is. Fat people are slower. It might hurt people’s feelings but that’s the way it is. And if it does hurt their feeling, how about they make a change instead of crying about it. Start eating healthier, exercise, whatever it takes. But yeah Bonneville is super bad haha

Sounds like the coach is trying to turn a bunch of dough boys into an actual cross country team.

Toxic Cults wrote:

This is what happens when toxic cultures are allowed to fester.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-death-20180811-story.html

So because some coach somewhere was bad, you think the Bonneville coach must be the same way? You think a few things written on a private blog prove this? You've got a pretty low bar of evidence before you're ready to condemning someone.

I hope you never sit on a jury.

What Real Old Guy said.

Jack Daniels: "You're a human being first, a student second, and an athlete third."

Yes, all hyperbole and kidding aside, the above is the right answer. Treat kids with respect and dignity, but don't reward mediocrity.

M.A.G.A...

Also, have to wonder if what Laura Ingraham said about demographics has anything to do with the coach's philosophy. Maybe the demographics have changed in Bonneville leading to more obese kids.

Trump2020OP-the real one... wrote:

What Real Old Guy said.

Jack Daniels: "You're a human being first, a student second, and an athlete third."

Yes, all hyperbole and kidding aside, the above is the right answer. Treat kids with respect and dignity, but don't reward mediocrity.

M.A.G.A...

America is full of shitty high school coaches. Its a result of the high population. And the stipend that schools hand off to favored teachers and friends

Fast? wrote:

But is the team good???

If this is real than no the team isn't good. Last year Bonneville had one runner who qualified for NXN and I believe you 16th or 17th overall. He has now transferred to a different school in town. On the boys team last year he was the only one to break 18 minutes for the 5k all season, not sure if the even had anyone break 19