I think it is more likely he leaves his current coaching situation for "greener" pastures since he missed the team this year. Terrible idea IMO but look at his history. I think he's run his lifetime PRs this season?
Could have worked? It did work. He had one of the greatest turnarounds of any elite US runner I've ever followed. Hell he wasnt' even an elite US runner. Now he's #4 in the world.
Jonathan's got all of the details including what led to the split but it just comes down to this - Hoey is uncoachable. I have written an editorial stating that which will come out tomorrow.
His talent is big. His drive is amazing. He reminds me of Alan Webb. But recovey is one of the key things in the sport. Your body doesn't get stronger while you lift weights or faster while you are workinng out - it gets stronger as you recover.
Basically the thing that broke the came'ls back is Hoey didn't want to take any downtime after 2025. Crazy.
I'm interested to see what now happens, and there's actually an athlete going the exact opposition direction now who could be interesting too. That is Eric Holt, who seems to have a very similar mindset/approach to Hoey (Holt's approach comes from his feeling as an underdog, and from a family/HS coach with more of a football mentality). While Holt on the Coffee Club podcast said he is making it his mission to dial back his intensity (in practice & the gym) while trusting his training, it seems Hoey is going the exact opposite way. So we'll see. I think Hoey is the bigger talent, but I could see Holt making a major step forward while Hoey regresses during the season.
Wow. They are both grown adults and I bet it was a well thought out decision. Hope that Rinaldi elaborates a bit on the board. Big season for his group, they all took a big step. If rinaldi perhaps lived in America it could have worked, who knows.
His talent is big. His drive is amazing. He reminds me of Alan Webb.
Yes it does sound a bit like Webb. Enormous talent but impatience, frequent coaching changes, not sticking to a long term plan, underperforming at the biggest meets...
There’s something we’re all overlooking here, ITS THE DAD! He’s super controlling of everything! Multiple ex coaches have come out on this! I mean the guy literally built a 400m track in their backyard.
Sounds like Hoey repeated the mistakes he made with his previous coaches: not doing workouts as prescribed, not resting enough, and not being patient with getting results.
I wrote this after reading Gault's feature profile on him in May, and other than maybe the part about depression, it still seems accurate:
Reading the article, it struck me that Hoey's biggest challenges were related to mental health: depression, lacking confidence, pushing too hard in training, not trusting the process, etc. His father has done everything he can to remove Hoey's external obstacles, but oftentimes the greatest obstacles in life come from within.
***Off topic criticism which we are taking care off**
Glad it seems like they’re on good terms, and hopefully I’m completely wrong, but this seems like a horrible move to me. It looks like Hoey managed to finally stay healthy for a couple years and realized his potential under Rinaldi, and now he’s going back to what he did under 5 coaches in 5 years, which was run too hard and get injured. Especially hearing that he overcooked himself in his last workout before USAs of his own accord, running 48-47-49 instead of 3x48.5 like his coach told him, it makes me think this is a bad decision for him.
Again, I like Hoey and I hope I’m wrong. And if there’s any time to take a chance on his own, it’s 2026 since there’s no WC. I just have a bad feeling he’s gonna lose his whole outdoor season, or regress back to his 1:47 times.
This post was edited by rojo 1 hour after it was posted.
There’s something we’re all overlooking here, ITS THE DAD! He’s super controlling of everything! Multiple ex coaches have come out on this! I mean the guy literally built a 400m track in their backyard.
He already ran 3:29, how much faster does an 800 guy need to go? Have any guys faster than Hoey in the 800 ran faster than Hoey's 3:29.75? (Coe's PB was .02 seconds slower)
Maybe he wants to improve more from the 400m side?
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Josh should leave pops! Move to Australia to work with Justin, enjoy the southern summer and the euro summer. Swim in that beautiful water on the easy days. Relax, the people don’t even wear shoes! Think of the freedom this kid could enjoy. Have some training partners
Leave PA, leave the country and keep running fast!
Wow. They are both grown adults and I bet it was a well thought out decision. Hope that Rinaldi elaborates a bit on the board. Big season for his group, they all took a big step. If rinaldi perhaps lived in America it could have worked, who knows.
Could have worked? It did work. He had one of the greatest turnarounds of any elite US runner I've ever followed. Hell he wasnt' even an elite US runner. Now he's #4 in the world.
Jonathan's got all of the details including what led to the split but it just comes down to this - Hoey is uncoachable. I have written an editorial stating that which will come out tomorrow.
His talent is big. His drive is amazing. He reminds me of Alan Webb. But recovey is one of the key things in the sport. Your body doesn't get stronger while you lift weights or faster while you are workinng out - it gets stronger as you recover.
Basically the thing that broke the came'ls back is Hoey didn't want to take any downtime after 2025. Crazy.
Uncoachable is right. That family is insane. How in the world does this strike them as a good idea? Why even keep hiring coaches at this point? Every single coach he's had has been fired on the basis of failing to agree on a training approach. The only difference is that this one actually worked.
Just coach him yourself if you know so godd*mn much, Fran!
Could have worked? It did work. He had one of the greatest turnarounds of any elite US runner I've ever followed. Hell he wasnt' even an elite US runner. Now he's #4 in the world.
Jonathan's got all of the details including what led to the split but it just comes down to this - Hoey is uncoachable. I have written an editorial stating that which will come out tomorrow.
His talent is big. His drive is amazing. He reminds me of Alan Webb. But recovey is one of the key things in the sport. Your body doesn't get stronger while you lift weights or faster while you are workinng out - it gets stronger as you recover.
Basically the thing that broke the came'ls back is Hoey didn't want to take any downtime after 2025. Crazy.
As you say, he was coached to #4 in the world. So I don't think it's fair to call him "uncoachable." I would suggest taking the impartial tone of a journalist and letting people decide for themselves if they feel the need to blame one party or another.
Hoey and coach had a fairy tale year except podium at worlds.
If I was the coach, and the athlete wanted to go against the program or the family was interfering after performing miracles, I'd tell them to take a hike, or maybe pay me $1-2m a year in ahole tax to play along as a yes man.
That said Hoey has a blatant Kenyan PED profile. on EPO you don't get tired and recover when you should be in a hamock or hospital.
There’s something we’re all overlooking here, ITS THE DAD! He’s super controlling of everything! Multiple ex coaches have come out on this! I mean the guy literally built a 400m track in their backyard.
His good buddy Mahon was the first coach
they don’t talk anymore…
Yes, Fran (the father) has admitted to being a "volatile hothead," and Rinaldi said he spoke to Fran nearly every day. Rinaldi said they got along well, but it's strange for a parent of a professional adult athlete in his mid-20s to have that level of involvement with the coach.
Who will coach Josh next? Even if Fran pays well, I can't imagine the top pro coaches lining up to deal with an athlete who has an overbearing father and a long, documented history of not following his coaches' training plan.