There are also some who develop a sense of purpose, self-discipline, and resilience from the experience of devoting themselves to training and discovering the relationship of long-term commitment to success.
Many are also afforded access to a college education they might not have had otherwise, and still others wind up with an education they might have been able to access, but nevertheless get to pursue it with a support structure they might have lacked.
And there are many, many success stories, in spite of the cautionary tales.
The right development, attitude, coaching, and additional support structure and resources can be crucial.
Sports are all about winning. Absolutely nothing else matters in sports. The sooner we stop this BS of "real life lesson" the better off all of us will be in our society.
It is completely wrong to give athletes access to education or the support structure because of their talent in sports. Those things should only be based on the students' academic qualification and financial need.
So I recently saw the social media profile of a D1 college runner and went down the rabbit hole of researching him and it left me feeling a little depressed.
So this guy appears to have been running super high mileage from a young age, with a 5k time of around 15:10 at age 14. He then stagnated, failing to improve at all over the next 2 years. Fast forward a couple more years and he's improved slightly, and gets a scholarship to a D1 US college.
He seemed to be doing pretty well there, got a 14:10 5k in Spring 2024. But the thing you need to know about this guy is that he is OBSESSED with trying to maximize his running performance. He runs 100 miles a week, does all the popular fads (double thresholds, lactate testing), and reads all the academic literature. Recently he made an instagram post detailing a workout he did and said he took bicarb before the workout, go figure. He is totally maxed out. There is nothing else he can do to improve his performance.
In spite of all this, his best result was only around 14:10 again in the 2025 outdoor season. He still has two years of college left so has time to improve, but imagine the pressure this kid must be under. Especially from the college and coaches that have invested tremendous resources in him. And of course he is majoring in EXERCISE SCIENCE... because why have a backup plan when you are hellbent on becoming a career athlete?
He made another post on instagram recently talking about all the work he's put into the sport and how it might not pay off now or in a year but that it will pay off 'eventually'. It feels like he's in denial and trying to cope with his situation.
It just put things into perspective for me that there are hundreds of kids just like this guy who are convinced they are going to become Olympians but then hit their ceiling midway through college and the money eventually dries up and they are dumped on their asses after graduation, left to fend for themselves in the civilian world.
There are thousand of athletes in in many sports that aren’t good enough to achieve unrealistic goals. Just about every guy playing minor leagues dreams of playing in the majors but only about 10% make it.
After they finally give up, the vast majority of will move on and not be bitter about it for the rest of their lives.
It’s odd that the OP selected this one guy for micro analysis.
Is that more or less depressing for you than Lutkenhaus running 30mpw and qualifying for worlds?
Maybe you should confront this runner and tell them they will never make it. They should instead half ass it and be better prepared for putting TPS cover sheets on their reports. While working a dead end job in a beige cubicle farm.
There are also some who develop a sense of purpose, self-discipline, and resilience from the experience of devoting themselves to training and discovering the relationship of long-term commitment to success.
Many are also afforded access to a college education they might not have had otherwise, and still others wind up with an education they might have been able to access, but nevertheless get to pursue it with a support structure they might have lacked.
And there are many, many success stories, in spite of the cautionary tales.
The right development, attitude, coaching, and additional support structure and resources can be crucial.
Sports are all about winning. Absolutely nothing else matters in sports. The sooner we stop this BS of "real life lesson" the better off all of us will be in our society.
It is completely wrong to give athletes access to education or the support structure because of their talent in sports. Those things should only be based on the students' academic qualification and financial need.
Truth. College athletes are there to compete. The coaches tend to be sociopaths because their livelihood depends on winning, and their coaching skills don’t transfer well.
So I recently saw the social media profile of a D1 college runner and went down the rabbit hole of researching him and it left me feeling a little depressed.
So this guy appears to have been running super high mileage from a young age, with a 5k time of around 15:10 at age 14. He then stagnated, failing to improve at all over the next 2 years. Fast forward a couple more years and he's improved slightly, and gets a scholarship to a D1 US college.
He seemed to be doing pretty well there, got a 14:10 5k in Spring 2024. But the thing you need to know about this guy is that he is OBSESSED with trying to maximize his running performance. He runs 100 miles a week, does all the popular fads (double thresholds, lactate testing), and reads all the academic literature. Recently he made an instagram post detailing a workout he did and said he took bicarb before the workout, go figure. He is totally maxed out. There is nothing else he can do to improve his performance.
In spite of all this, his best result was only around 14:10 again in the 2025 outdoor season. He still has two years of college left so has time to improve, but imagine the pressure this kid must be under. Especially from the college and coaches that have invested tremendous resources in him. And of course he is majoring in EXERCISE SCIENCE... because why have a backup plan when you are hellbent on becoming a career athlete?
He made another post on instagram recently talking about all the work he's put into the sport and how it might not pay off now or in a year but that it will pay off 'eventually'. It feels like he's in denial and trying to cope with his situation.
It just put things into perspective for me that there are hundreds of kids just like this guy who are convinced they are going to become Olympians but then hit their ceiling midway through college and the money eventually dries up and they are dumped on their asses after graduation, left to fend for themselves in the civilian world.
They're getting their college paid for by participating in a sport. Poor things. Seriously, they should be grateful for that opportunity. Given the changing nature of college athletics, I don't know how much longer that opportunity will exist for track athletes.
this is how it is in EVERY college sport. there are blue chip prospects riding the bench on Div 1 basketball teams who still think they'll get drafted in the first round, 5 star recruits who will never make it off their football practice squads but are convinced they'll win a Heisman. and yes, great high school runners certain they'll win an Olympic gold even if they can't make the travel squad on their own college team. college athletics should be a wake up call for these dreamers, but some never get the message.
there's a guy I play basketball with at LA Fitness, he's in his late 20's and played for Cal Baptist (I checked his stats, he never started) who is STILL talking how he only plays at LA Fitness to stay in shape for when the NBA G League calls. he even flew to Greece on his own dime and tried out for some teams to no avail.
this is how it is in EVERY college sport. there are blue chip prospects riding the bench on Div 1 basketball teams who still think they'll get drafted in the first round, 5 star recruits who will never make it off their football practice squads but are convinced they'll win a Heisman. and yes, great high school runners certain they'll win an Olympic gold even if they can't make the travel squad on their own college team. college athletics should be a wake up call for these dreamers, but some never get the message.
there's a guy I play basketball with at LA Fitness, he's in his late 20's and played for Cal Baptist (I checked his stats, he never started) who is STILL talking how he only plays at LA Fitness to stay in shape for when the NBA G League calls. he even flew to Greece on his own dime and tried out for some teams to no avail.
Thanks for publically sh*tting on this man.
I can tell you are a great person.
-David Christ
Jesus H. Christ, David Christ, I didn't 'publically' sh*t on anyone. i never once mentioned his name. lighten up.
Sports are all about winning. Absolutely nothing else matters in sports. The sooner we stop this BS of "real life lesson" the better off all of us will be in our society.
It is completely wrong to give athletes access to education or the support structure because of their talent in sports. Those things should only be based on the students' academic qualification and financial need.
Truth. College athletes are there to compete. The coaches tend to be sociopaths because their livelihood depends on winning, and their coaching skills don’t transfer well.
Most colleges don’t have competitive XC teams, so few coaches’ livelihoods depend on winning.
re "wah wah they are getting college paid for," few of us are getting a full, and some of us were walkons or d3s who carried our own financial weight or took out debt. this isn't football with 85 fulls.
also, for a lot of us, we have a choice of schools, but incomplete knowledge what we're signing up for. most of us show up ready to run through walls to accomplish something. it takes a few weeks for it to fully dawn that it's a problem and not just a bad day or two. it takes a season or so to be like, i don't want this for 4 years.
also, there's "a matter of taste" and there's "this guy is an a$$ and none of his team like him." i've had demanding but fine, and then i've had an outright jerk. like our college soccer coach was gone before i graduated and universally disliked. asked me to hurt the conference player of the year and i restrained it to just shutting him down. and got yelled at for not obeying.
that and i had at least one opposing coach, where it was like how is this guy coaching college.
so i wouldn't assume competence, or that there isn't some line or set of lines where it's not the players' fault or even a matter of taste.
So I recently saw the social media profile of a D1 college runner and went down the rabbit hole of researching him and it left me feeling a little depressed.
So this guy appears to have been running super high mileage from a young age, with a 5k time of around 15:10 at age 14. He then stagnated, failing to improve at all over the next 2 years. Fast forward a couple more years and he's improved slightly, and gets a scholarship to a D1 US college.
He seemed to be doing pretty well there, got a 14:10 5k in Spring 2024. But the thing you need to know about this guy is that he is OBSESSED with trying to maximize his running performance. He runs 100 miles a week, does all the popular fads (double thresholds, lactate testing), and reads all the academic literature. Recently he made an instagram post detailing a workout he did and said he took bicarb before the workout, go figure. He is totally maxed out. There is nothing else he can do to improve his performance.
In spite of all this, his best result was only around 14:10 again in the 2025 outdoor season. He still has two years of college left so has time to improve, but imagine the pressure this kid must be under. Especially from the college and coaches that have invested tremendous resources in him. And of course he is majoring in EXERCISE SCIENCE... because why have a backup plan when you are hellbent on becoming a career athlete?
He made another post on instagram recently talking about all the work he's put into the sport and how it might not pay off now or in a year but that it will pay off 'eventually'. It feels like he's in denial and trying to cope with his situation.
It just put things into perspective for me that there are hundreds of kids just like this guy who are convinced they are going to become Olympians but then hit their ceiling midway through college and the money eventually dries up and they are dumped on their asses after graduation, left to fend for themselves in the civilian world.
Seems like there is simply too much over-thinking on your part. When you are that age you are simply in the moment. I entered D1 as a high potential as I medaled at U20 USA and earned a full scholarship. My freshman year was a super slow start as I adjusted to the training, but by the end my talent and competitiveness put me 2nd on the team. I only got better from there, learning day after day week after week month after month, racing NCAA Champions quite competitively all while enjoying college life and big miles (110m peak). I never got to run in super shoes or test with lactate meters or have bi-carb, but my times hold their own and now I still run at a competitive level while working an F100 job. There's nothing like your high school and college experience. You are young, can recover, can hammer and can dream.
From the OP's description, the student athlete in question would be a coach's dream. Self-motivated, disciplined and willing to work his ass off. What more do you need?
The aforementioned qualities are transferable to other aspects of life. What he lacks is maturity to weather disappointment and the pragmatism to step away, when he does not make progress. But this is a very hard thing to do, especially for someone with the best years of their life ahead of them! The lack of maturity is not a knock on the young man, merely a fact that it takes experience, age and time to acquire.