why are College Walk-on standards so fast relative to the schools performance

I never said I wanted or was looking for a scholarship I was just wondering why coaches had such high walk on standards relative to the teams performance

They don't. Have you actually looked up the PRs of all of the runners? No. Did you look up their HS PRs? No. Looking at a meet or two is pointless. Many guys will run 4:40 at the first meet and be down to 4:25 by the end of indoor and then run 4:00 outdoor in the 1500. But you are focused on the 4:40.

I looked at the teams season bests and they had 2 runners sub 4:40

The OP posts a legit question. This is not just relative to distance events. Many schools have walk on standards in sprint or field events that would put them in the top 2-3 on the roster. Other posters have hit on the reasons...roster limits, recruiting philosophies, and lack of scholarship funding.

There are eqully as many D2, D3, NAIA schools that take the opposite approach and are working to build large rosters to help drive enrollment for their institution. A lot of the private schools will also guarantee some kind of financial aid even for "walk ons" because they can add someone else to help meet their roster quota. The opportunity to run in college is there for pretty much anyone. It's a matter of setting your priorities (academics, geography, athletics, etc.)

And 3 sub 2:05

PRs or season bests? Check TFRRS of each athlete and check Milesplit of each athlete. Why not list the team name so we can do the research for you? You aren't going to be on the team anyway.

The times you are listing are slower than any high school teams or college teams that I am familiar with.

Thank you people weren’t getting I was asking a get real question

Seasons bests

https://www.tfrrs.org/all_performances/MA_college_m_Assumption.html?list_hnd=2776&season_hnd=474

People are getting too caught up in the fact that the OP isn’t that good and ignoring his very valid question.

Walk on standards as listed on websites are frequently unreasonably difficult relative to how good a teams distance squad is.

Just contact the coach and see what he says. Some are weirdly opposed to anyone they don’t recruit. Some just don’t bother to update PDFs on the athletic website.

Some are weirdly opposed to anyone they don’t recruit. Some just don’t bother to update PDFs on the athletic website.[/quote]

I believe that is the first thing I said.

In addition, many schools will offer walk-on, partial and full scholarship performance standards as well to be clear and eliminate needless conversation.

My point to the OP was to find a good fit that meets their needs if he truly has a passion to know how good he can be. In my case, it couldn't have worked out any better so it's possible it could work out well for him too IF he's in the right frame of mind going into it.

Last bit of advice....If they don't have anyone (or a group) on the roster better than you, I wouldn't go there. You need better athletes to make greater gains in less time. That is one thing you can control.

SIlver24 wrote:

Seasons bests

https://www.tfrrs.org/all_performances/MA_college_m_Assumption.html?list_hnd=2776&season_hnd=474

Their men's 4x8 ran 7:54.......that was their 3rd event of the meet as well so they weren't fresh. In 2019 they ran 7:49.

Last outdoor season it took 1:56 to make the final in the 800 (7th place in the final was 1:54).

Coaches want to spend the majority of their time recruiting athletes who are MUCH FASTER than their minimum standards. The standards exist so the coach doesn't have to waste time talking to every slow kid. All he has to do is email them the standards.

Coaches want to spend the majority of their time recruiting athletes who are MUCH FASTER than their minimum standards. The standards exist so the coach doesn't have to waste time talking to every slow kid. All he has to do is email them the standards.[/quote]

I agreed with this earlier. It's finding a good fit that a coach is willing to take a chance on a walk-on but you better be prepared to commit and prove you belong before and during the experience. Your actions will be the truth, not what you have to say or promise.

I wouldn't read too much into indoor times or what it took to qualify for a final as those aren't that indicative of the athletes overall ability.

Like I said, get yourself in a position to have a chance, prove that you belong starting with performance and attitude before you get there and then every day you are there.

My coach told us on day one that his coach left him home from a meet one time because he missed a practice. He vowed to never let that happen again and didn't. I got the message pretty quick and made it a goal to never miss a practice or a meet. In 4 years I missed 3 practices and no track meets. Our second indoor meet of my freshman year Coach was only taking a van load to a big meet at Illinois. I only got to run on 3 cross country meets the previous fall but I never missed a practice. I ran a marathon on Nov 19th at 18 years old. On December 7th we ran an indoor intrasquad meet. I finished 3rd in the mile beating all but 2 of our NCAA qualifying CC team.

Again, my point is, things can change quickly for what appeared to be an average athlete who love to run and compete and has the right attitude about it. Just find the coach/program/team that has a record of helping average make great improvement over time.