This keeps getting ignored in other threads: Nico is an adidas athlete, but his coach is on Nike’s payroll. Mike Smith’s job is to make Nike athletes run fast, not adidas ones. Ever since Nico started training with Swoosh TC, the trajectory hasn’t been good. That’s not a coincidence.
Yeah yeah we know what you think, and I’m sure you’ll make a lot more posts saying the same thing.
Isn’t he living and training in the same town? What Nike athletes are on Smith’s team? Seems he is doing nothing different. Probably took a long break after the games. Was Young ever a great XC runner?
Was Young ever a great XC runner? He set the NXN record in dominant fashion in HS, then was 4th at NCAAs as a freshman, and was top 6 3 more times. He doesn't have 2 NCAA XC wins like Blanks, but easily one of the best the US has had in the last generation. I was gonna ask if you were new to the sport, but then I checked and your account was registered before i was born, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you missed it. He was as good, or better, at XC than Wolfe or Hansen in college, and has a DL win and a 12:45 to his name. He's closer to Fisher than anyone else in terms of XC I think.
I agree with the people saying it's dumb to think Nico isn't performing as well as he should be because Smith is a Nike coach. He won a DL, ran 12:45, and came 5th at Worlds last year under Mike Smith. He had one subpar XC race in December, and one subpar XC race in January. It's disappointing as a fan, and I'm sure he's not happy either, but it's nothing to get worried over. If he races poorly throughout indoors, I'll start wondering what's going on, but it could come down to him just not being back in shape after a long outdoor season (notably the top US finisher Parker Wolfe ended his season before NCAAs due to injury and had plenty of time to focus on this).
It's not Nico's coach and it's not his brand. This is what you get when you live in Flagstaff full time. Couple of years of lights out performance, and then the slow degridation of your muscle mass and the long term affects of constant sleep deprivation that you cannot adapt too. Just watch: Strand and Wolfe will be on absolute fire for 2026 and 2027. Likely won't even make the team in 2028.
It's not Nico's coach and it's not his brand. This is what you get when you live in Flagstaff full time. Couple of years of lights out performance, and then the slow degridation of your muscle mass and the long term affects of constant sleep deprivation that you cannot adapt too. Just watch: Strand and Wolfe will be on absolute fire for 2026 and 2027. Likely won't even make the team in 2028.
tell that to a sherpa dragging some fat rich guy to the top of Mount Everest
I don’t follow XC. Thanks for the stats, HS XC run on groomed golf courses aren’t really an indicator of world dominance. I do agree nothing for Young to worry about.
The “change” went into effect in Sept? At the beginning of his break? If earlier it didn’t hurt his track season which was spectacular.
Maybe the OP can give this thread a verified timeline on when Smith received his first paycheck from Nike and exactly what date Nico stopped performing to his talent level.
Isn’t he living and training in the same town? What Nike athletes are on Smith’s team? Seems he is doing nothing different. Probably took a long break after the games. Was Young ever a great XC runner?
Was Young ever a great XC runner? He set the NXN record in dominant fashion in HS, then was 4th at NCAAs as a freshman, and was top 6 3 more times. He doesn't have 2 NCAA XC wins like Blanks, but easily one of the best the US has had in the last generation. I was gonna ask if you were new to the sport, but then I checked and your account was registered before i was born, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you missed it. He was as good, or better, at XC than Wolfe or Hansen in college, and has a DL win and a 12:45 to his name. He's closer to Fisher than anyone else in terms of XC I think.
I agree with the people saying it's dumb to think Nico isn't performing as well as he should be because Smith is a Nike coach. He won a DL, ran 12:45, and came 5th at Worlds last year under Mike Smith. He had one subpar XC race in December, and one subpar XC race in January. It's disappointing as a fan, and I'm sure he's not happy either, but it's nothing to get worried over. If he races poorly throughout indoors, I'll start wondering what's going on, but it could come down to him just not being back in shape after a long outdoor season (notably the top US finisher Parker Wolfe ended his season before NCAAs due to injury and had plenty of time to focus on this).
The question isn’t “was Nico great?” It’s “is he being optimized now in this environment?” Early on, Nico was clearly the focal point. The program revolved around him. Once Swoosh TC showed up, the center of gravity shifted. That doesn’t mean sabotage, conspiracy, or that Smith suddenly forgot how to coach it means priorities and incentives changed. Nike funded pro groups are phenomenal environments… if you’re the priority athlete. Right now, that’s Parker. The setup, race timing, and long term planning line up perfectly for him. Nico looks more like someone training around the system than as the system.
This keeps getting ignored in other threads: Nico is an adidas athlete, but his coach is on Nike’s payroll. Mike Smith’s job is to make Nike athletes run fast, not adidas ones. Ever since Nico started training with Swoosh TC, the trajectory hasn’t been good. That’s not a coincidence.
It’s hard to explain how a 12:45 athlete isn’t even in the top 20. I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but something clearly isn’t lining up
It’s hard to explain how a 12:45 athlete isn’t even in the top 20. I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but something clearly isn’t lining up
We KNOW why.
I think that’s the entire point of this thread. As soon as he’s been in this training situation, he’s now had two genuinely poor races by his standards. Whatever this Nico / Nike Swoosh TC setup is supposed to be, so far it’s not proving to be good for him.
The question isn’t “was Nico great?” It’s “is he being optimized now in this environment?” Early on, Nico was clearly the focal point. The program revolved around him. Once Swoosh TC showed up, the center of gravity shifted. That doesn’t mean sabotage, conspiracy, or that Smith suddenly forgot how to coach it means priorities and incentives changed. Nike funded pro groups are phenomenal environments… if you’re the priority athlete. Right now, that’s Parker. The setup, race timing, and long term planning line up perfectly for him. Nico looks more like someone training around the system than as the system.
Smith was the head coach of both the men and women at NAU plus coaching a handful of pros before joining Nike. Why would you even dare to say that "Nico was clearly the focal point."?
This keeps getting ignored in other threads: Nico is an adidas athlete, but his coach is on Nike’s payroll. Mike Smith’s job is to make Nike athletes run fast, not adidas ones. Ever since Nico started training with Swoosh TC, the trajectory hasn’t been good. That’s not a coincidence.
It’s hard to explain how a 12:45 athlete isn’t even in the top 20. I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but something clearly isn’t lining up
That’s not impossible to explain of the field of this caliber.
The question isn’t “was Nico great?” It’s “is he being optimized now in this environment?” Early on, Nico was clearly the focal point. The program revolved around him. Once Swoosh TC showed up, the center of gravity shifted. That doesn’t mean sabotage, conspiracy, or that Smith suddenly forgot how to coach it means priorities and incentives changed. Nike funded pro groups are phenomenal environments… if you’re the priority athlete. Right now, that’s Parker. The setup, race timing, and long term planning line up perfectly for him. Nico looks more like someone training around the system than as the system.
Smith was the head coach of both the men and women at NAU plus coaching a handful of pros before joining Nike. Why would you even dare to say that "Nico was clearly the focal point."?
Now that he’s not the center, his results have been bad.
It's common knowledge that Nico got seriously ill twice in the current build. he got covid a couple weeks before USA cross and then he got the flu during his training for worlds. He's also a second year pro and the majority of second year pros experience a bit of a regression, the sophomore slump. He's doing just fine
It's common knowledge that Nico got seriously ill twice in the current build. he got covid a couple weeks before USA cross and then he got the flu during his training for worlds. He's also a second year pro and the majority of second year pros experience a bit of a regression, the sophomore slump. He's doing just fine