Newbury Park throws down, again

Sham 69 wrote:

vacccccc wrote:

If talent is an excuse, give us your name so we can track your rise to the Olympics.

I would, but I value my anonymity. It's my senior year of high school, and was able to go from a 6 minute mile to 4:30 in under a year, so anything is possible with hard work.

Really?!

Based on your posts I've always assumed/viewed you as a 50 year old man

I predict they'll have two of their sophomores under 4 before they graduate. They'll have Colin sub-4 next year. Has ANY school had 3 sub-4 milers in their history?

This is possibly the greatest distance team, by quality, in high school history.

You know why? They do speed year round and INCREASE their mileage going into middle of cross country season. A big middle finger to Arthur Lydiard system Brojos preach.

Sham 69 wrote:

Newbury Park is proof that talent doesn't exist. Just the right culture, training, and mindset. It's not like they're a mega school, just a normal school with 2,000 students. So there's no excuse to be slow.

If it's all "talent", then why do they have guys running fast every year? It ain't a coincidence.

Just to be clear, in some states a school with 2,000 students would be one of the largest, if not THE largest school in the whole state. I know CA is different, but that's still not even a medium sized school by any stretch of the imagination.

Also, talent does exist. Saying otherwise proves you have no idea what you're talking about.

Old Man Runners wrote:

This is possibly the greatest distance team, by quality, in high school history.

You know why? They do speed year round and INCREASE their mileage going into middle of cross country season. A big middle finger to Arthur Lydiard system Brojos preach.

+1. This is what I've been preaching all along.

Sham 69 wrote:

Newbury Park is proof that talent doesn't exist. Just the right culture, training, and mindset.

Finally some truth. Newbury's coach, Brosnan has said he has spoken with the kulture king, Alberto. Brosnan must have them hooked up to some solid "kulture" straight to the vein. Maybe some oral kulture supplements as well. Would love to hear him talk about the kulture regiment his guys are on.

Old Man Runners wrote:

I predict they'll have two of their sophomores under 4 before they graduate. They'll have Colin sub-4 next year. Has ANY school had 3 sub-4 milers in their history?

This is possibly the greatest distance team, by quality, in high school history.

You know why? They do speed year round and INCREASE their mileage going into middle of cross country season. A big middle finger to Arthur Lydiard system Brojos preach.

Let me boil this down. They aren’t doing anything revolutionary that many high school programs don’t do. Here is why they are so great.

1) they have a coach who is passionate, has a solid understanding of training and gets the kids to believe and buy in. He may be a tool as many have posted out, but can’t deny the above.

2) they have an incredibly deep pool of talent that came to the school in a short period. The history of the kids on the team has been talked about on threads MANY times. It’s undeniable they are loaded like no other team has ever been.

3) they come from a demographic that supports their efforts like few areas could. They spend a month in Big Bear, have gone on at least 5 trips out of state which undoubtably weren’t cheap. The parents are all in when it comes to supporting their kids and the team. Most schools could not get that kind of support.

4) with that amount of talent and buy in, those kids are pushing each other every day to be the best they can be. The competing culture must be insane!

The combination of the above points has created a never seen before (and probably never to be seen again) team. Remove any one of the points and they would be excellent, but not what they are.

Obviously great coaching and culture, etc.

The biggest story, IMO, is two great running families with a combined 5 elite runners in a short period of time. With a few other other great runners mixed in, this creates the sense that more is going on than actually will be sustainable after those families aren’t feeding more runners.

Not saying the coach and running support community there aren’t doing great things.

The coach is a big time fundraiser. Not all of these Newbury Park families have money. If Brosnan wants to pay for something he gets it done. It's actually unbelievable to see. He reminds me of Vin Lananna. I don't think the guy believes in the word "no". This is a big reason for their success.

Sham 69 wrote:

Old Man Runners wrote:

This is possibly the greatest distance team, by quality, in high school history.

You know why? They do speed year round and INCREASE their mileage going into middle of cross country season. A big middle finger to Arthur Lydiard system Brojos preach.

+1. This is what I've been preaching all along.

I don't think you guys understand Lydiard's system very well, but I do agree that many coaches misuse the periodization by pulling back too much on mileage, and I do agree that high-recovery speed should be used year-round. However, he formed the base for many other great coaches to work from. We don't criticize Alexander Graham Bell because iPhones are better than notary phones.

Why is it that any time there is a reason pointed out for their success that isn’t directly related to giving Brosnan credit, it always comes back to try and give him credit? I’m sure he fundraises as most high school coaches do. I’m also sure not every single kid on the team comes from families with Kardashian kind of money, but don’t kid yourself, it is a wealthy area and the parents spend serious dollars for this team. If he were dealing with the agricultural areas nearby, it would not be the same level of support and that support is part of the reason for their success. That is a fact.

Let me boil this down. They aren’t doing anything revolutionary that many high school programs don’t do. Here is why they are so great.

1) they have a coach who is passionate, has a solid understanding of training and gets the kids to believe and buy in. He may be a tool as many have posted out, but can’t deny the above.

2) they have an incredibly deep pool of talent that came to the school in a short period. The history of the kids on the team has been talked about on threads MANY times. It’s undeniable they are loaded like no other team has ever been.

3) they come from a demographic that supports their efforts like few areas could. They spend a month in Big Bear, have gone on at least 5 trips out of state which undoubtably weren’t cheap. The parents are all in when it comes to supporting their kids and the team. Most schools could not get that kind of support.

4) with that amount of talent and buy in, those kids are pushing each other every day to be the best they can be. The competing culture must be insane!

The combination of the above points has created a never seen before (and probably never to be seen again) team. Remove any one of the points and they would be excellent, but not what they are.[/quote]

Correct. In addition (and to prove your point more) the coach / team uses the private black mamba facility (the sports academy) located close to their school for additional strength and injury prevention.

Correct. In addition (and to prove your point more) the coach / team uses the private black mamba facility (the sports academy) located close to their school for additional strength and injury prevention.[/quote]

The 100% do not use the sports academy. That has nothing for track. In fact Brosnan can't stand that place.

To further the point, most teams fund raise for uniforms, shoes for kids who can’t afford them, bus trips to away meets, post season banquets, equipment like rollers, etc. Assuming all of that stuff needs to be paid for as well, we’re talking about magnitudes more for trips to IN, hotel stays in AZ, access to the private sports place mentioned earlier, a MONTH at altitude. Also, many teams benefit from larger numbers where there are 100+ kids that fund raise and the top kids benefit. Newbury has a very small team. Again, this is one of the 4 points I initially listed that contribute to their success. The coach was the first one listed, so don’t think this is a dig on him. However, don’t say their demographic doesn’t make a difference. The biggest factor on the original list is #2, but the other 3 contribute as well.

I bet Sahlman goes sub 4min in High School.

I agree with others. I’ve never seen a high school team do what they are doing at the prep level.

Here is something Rich Gonzalez said online ;

“Over the last two years, Newbury Park has featured a stunning six individuals clocked at 9:04.03 or faster under coach Sean Brosnan, an unmatched feat at the prep level.”

CaliforniaRNRCoach wrote:

The 100% do not use the sports academy. That has nothing for track. In fact Brosnan can't stand that place.

Maybe they don't use it anymore but they have in the past for strength and injury prevention.

derp wrote:

Dr. NoNoNo wrote:

Yesterday in Arizona Newbury Park guys go in the full 2 mi they go 8:57 and 9:04 full mile 4;04-4:15-4:15 in the. Could this be the best one day showing in history by a team?

And to top it off their girl goes 4:48 for the full mile.

This is giving me a headache so I'll make it a little more clear.

2 mile:

Lex Young (SO) 8:57

Daniel Appleford (JR) 9:04

Nicholas Goldstein (SR) 9:14

1 mile:

Collin Sahlman (JR) 4:04

Leo Young (SO) 4:15

Aaron Sahlman (SO) 4:15

Aaron Cantu (SO) 4:22

Girls 1 mile:

Samantha McDonnell (JR) 4:48

The crazy thing is that there's only 1 senior on this list, and most of them are sophomores.

No, what's really crazy is that is the same thing we were saying last year, and now they have more insane underclassmen to make up for it. I think the team is actually better than when they had Young and Aschbrenner. I feel bad for Jace, 14:53 at woodward and an 8:44 3200, usually we'd all be talking about him.

Those who slam Sean Brosnan have probably never had a conversation with him, nor do they get up as early/stay up as late on a regular basis, working very hard to build their programs.

I think our nation should embrace him and what his girls and boys are doing, and possibly be willing to learn from them.

In a truly golden era of high school running, they are going where none have been before.

Kudos to Sean for giving his kids such a phenomenal opportunity!

BTW, I wonder why nobody seems to be complaining about what Newbury Park alums are doing at the collegiate level.... wait.....

Californikansan wrote:

Those who slam Sean Brosnan have probably never had a conversation with him, nor do they get up as early/stay up as late on a regular basis, working very hard to build their programs.

I think our nation should embrace him and what his girls and boys are doing, and possibly be willing to learn from them.

In a truly golden era of high school running, they are going where none have been before.

Kudos to Sean for giving his kids such a phenomenal opportunity!

BTW, I wonder why nobody seems to be complaining about what Newbury Park alums are doing at the collegiate level.... wait.....

See, here we go. Who has slammed Brosnan? He’s doing a really good job and I don’t think anyone has disputed that. However, there are many coaches who know as much, work as hard and are as passionate. Not all of them have the other pieces to work with. It’s like his fan club gets all bent if not 100% of the credit goes to him.

Also, be careful to talk about alumni performance in college. Nico is absolutely crushing it and Jace seems to be doing well. However, there have been some that have not done well and don’t give me the BS that they weren’t in his program for all four years. If that’s the case, don’t take credit for the sophomores who are doing well if it requires 4 years and don’t take credit for how those kids did. In high school that didn’t do well in college. Nico and Jace could be and probably would be successful in any program (high school or college).

Sham 69 wrote:

vacccccc wrote:

If talent is an excuse, give us your name so we can track your rise to the Olympics.

I would, but I value my anonymity. It's my senior year of high school, and was able to go from a 6 minute mile to 4:30 in under a year, so anything is possible with hard work.

430 miler confirmed