Briana Jackucewicz going to Harvard

I met Briana's mom once. Very nice woman, and running was a family thing for them--spending summer nights at the track with other families and kids. I did not get the impression Briana was pushed, rather that she really liked to run.

Former All County wrote:

I met Briana's mom once. Very nice woman, and running was a family thing for them--spending summer nights at the track with other families and kids. I did not get the impression Briana was pushed, rather that she really liked to run.

Ah yes. I remember those days well. Those beautful, lush summer evenings when I was 8 years old. My parents would take me down to the high school track. Mom would pack a picnic basket. Dad would have his clipboard and stop watch. I would sometimes cry at first, but looking back at it doing ten 800 meter repeats wasn't so bad.

Almost anything negative you can say about BriJac you could have said about Scherf during her senior year in high school. I don't think there is any reason she won't run very well at Harvard with one exception. She may decide there is more to life than running fast and choose to explore those avenues. When it comes right down to it, dropping the sport of running is really no different than giving up video games or dungeons and dragons. You piss off some nerds but end up more well rounded.

Super Duper Man - although sarcastic, you are spot on.

My father pushed me from a young age, and while at times I enjoyed running, he would consistently snatch any joy I received from it away - living vicariously and in a selfish way through his kid.

I was a very good national high school level performer and a capable Division 1 runner, but frankly at the end of college I was fed up with running and I felt used throughout the entire process. My father only wanted to make sure he didn't have to contribute or pay for college - in that he was successful - and his social experiment in that sense worked. But I have no relationship with him today....there's just nothing I can relate to with him and his narcissism is an eternal roadblock - even in the last stages of his life.

Thank goodness I received my education (on my own) and from that perspective running was very helpful. But it has taken many years to maturely filter the good from the bad.

The shame of it all is that I wonder what I would have done had I come to running on my own....perhaps it could have been an enjoyable pursuit if not conducted in fear or desperation (there was physical punishment and abuse when I did not run well). I did have talent - certainly not Alan Webb talent but not shabby either - won some big meets and placed high in others. But I hardly ever enjoyed it - felt like I was 50 years old after running my father's gauntlet.

I find myself reading stories about Sean O'Hair (the golfer with an abusive father) and connecting with it in a way that most cannot fathom. I look for his scores in the Monday sports section consistently, and silently cheer him on.

Please, I don't mean to suggest or know that this young athlete from New Jersey has suffered the same fate as I did - I simply don't know the facts - and her parents may be really kind and nice people - but the whole situation is susceptible to a pattern of conduct not in a child's best interest, even if some intentions are good. I wish this young athlete well as she develops her own identity.

My own kids don't run. They do what makes them happy, and I am clearly guilty of spoiling them (cars, all college expenses paid, lots of extra spending money, vacations with their friends). But they are incomparably great students and fun and beautiful kids - so I am more than happy to err on the side of spoiling, even though I know it is an over-reaction to my past.

why do people continue shitting all over this girl? she just got into harvard, which, for most, would be the pinnacle of success for an 18 year old. how many on here matched that success in high school?

as far as running goes, she was 1st team all state last year, which hardly is a disgrace. even if she never runs a step at harvard, she will have the degree, which opens more doors than most on here ever have seen. give it a rest.

I agree with a lot of posters here - she is a great competitor and has a bright future, running or otherwise.

Best of luck representing NJ in the Ivy League.

crimson wrote:

why do people continue shitting all over this girl? she just got into harvard, which, for most, would be the pinnacle of success for an 18 year old. how many on here matched that success in high school?

as far as running goes, she was 1st team all state last year, which hardly is a disgrace. even if she never runs a step at harvard, she will have the degree, which opens more doors than most on here ever have seen. give it a rest.

Speaking as one who *did* match that success (academic, not athletic!), I have nothing but good wishes for her. She got into a great college--if running helped with that, bully for her!

She may never approach the times of her youth again. Seems to me like she nevertheless picked a school where she'll be able to make a competitive contribution--I wish her the best. (Well, maybe not *the best*--I don't ever want her to finish in front of a Cornell woman, but otherwise hope things go well for her!)

And if she ends up not competing through four years? Well, that'll just place her in the majority of Ivy recruits--doesn't mean she scammed the system.

So yeah, crimson, I agree. Give her a break, and give it a rest.

i shit on her dad. i still remember when she ran the 10k at penn a few years back (04 maybe?) he was ranting and raving at her like a lunatic at her from the backstretch grandstand. i felt so bad for her. she ran 35 something and beat most of the field.

Congratulation to BriJ. For all of the haters, I have some questions:

-Did she choose her Dad?

-Is it her fault she got hurt (realize she has one of the best HS coaches in NJ)?

-Once she started running slower and got hurt, should she have fought on or just quit?

Frankly, her willingness to keep going through the injuries is inspiring. She still has her best races to come in 2009.

This whole thing about not contributing at Harvard is crazy. Also, the top 10 in NJ comment is not fair either since NJ, particularly in 2009, is one of the strongest states for girl's XC.

I meant 2008.

You're right that parents can ruin a sport for a kid, but my advice is to try to make peace with your Dad. He's as imperfect as most people.

There are always horror stories of fathers (and sometimes mothers) pushing their kids too hard in sports to a point that the kid associates his self worth with his performance as an athlete. That is clearly not a healthy situation.

But, I think there is a place for parents to be guides and mentors. My older brother was a good collegiate swimmer, but he was a pain in the butt until he was about 15 when he grew up a bit and realized he needed to work very hard in high school to be good enough to compete in college. My father was never abusive or anything like that. He was a very positive motivator and set a good example for us. But I have many a memory of my brother refusing to go to practice when he was 12 or 13 and my dad basically dragging his ass out of bed in the morning and putting him in the car while dishing out some tough love criticism of his lack of discipline. I am convinced that if my father had let him do what he wanted when he was 12, he would have quit the sport and would have missed way too much for 3-4 years to get back into it and be successful at the collegiate level.

My brother and I talk about this even today sometimes (over 25 years later). He is a successful swim coach now and he often credits Dad for being tough on him when he was a "lazy little snot" (his words).

He's also responsible for her getting a free Ivy education. Come on, she wasn't going to be the next M. Slaney and make a living from running.

It seems to me that she has done very well and will continue to have a very successful and rewarding life.

1500 wrote:

He's also responsible for her getting a free Ivy education. Come on, she wasn't going to be the next M. Slaney and make a living from running.

It seems to me that she has done very well and will continue to have a very successful and rewarding life.

Free? Am I missing something or do you really have no clue as to how things work.

1500 wrote:

He's also responsible for her getting a free Ivy education.

Umm, there are no athletic scholarships in the Ivy League.

All of her family's (calculated) financial need will be met by an outright grant--no loans--but then that's true for every H student, and remains true whether one goes out for/stays with a sport or not.

Now if you're just saying that he pushed her academically so she could get into H, that's a different story--in which case "free" doesn't need to be said (and is likely inaccurate anyway).

I think the main knock was always on her dad who people felt pushed her too hard when she was way too young and theorized that she would eventually burn out athletically because of the undisciplined and unnecessary workload. Guess what? Those people were correct. On a side note, good for her on getting into a great school. At least her parents got the academic part of raising their kid correct even though they made mistakes on the athletic side.

No FXG, you miss the point.

Smart as Bri-J may be, the reason she got the likely letter was her running.

Saretsky has a whole stable of 2200+ SAT, valedictorian, AP super duper scholars on his squad. Most of them are very accomplished runners, most did not get likely letters, probably just a strong promise of admission. Ivy recruiting is complex, distance runners tend to be smart, sometimes real smart. But coaches do not obtain likely letters for academic performance.

You may disagree with Saretsky for using a likely letter in this case, but stop arguing she got into Harvard for her scholastic achievements. She met whatever academic standard was necessary. On average for the Harvard track teams it is very high, but likely letters are probably somewhat inversely related to academics. That is not a comment on Bri specifically, I'll take your word she is a genius. If she was an Intel winner or published novelist or exceptional violinist maybe we could imagine the likely letter came for some other reason than running. But no one is even arguing that the likely letter was not for running, except, indirectly, you.

Here's the point: If Saretsky did not specifically want her for running there would be no likely letter.

She may never be a star at the NCAA level, she will likely contribute to the Harvard team in a big way, maybe not. Saretsky has taken the that risk.

Ivy Follower wrote:

No FXG, you miss the point.

Smart as Bri-J may be, the reason she got the likely letter was her running.

Dude, you *really* don't know how the Ivy League (at least in terms of recruiting/admission) works.

[Oh, I was gonna talk about Early Decision application and the likely-letter process and stuff, but it bores me even as I'm writing it. Think what you want--your ignorance probably can't do any real damage, and who cares, really?]

I'm an Ivy athlete with 3 kids who recently graduated from 3 different ivys, all recruited athletes(1 track, 1 football, 1 other), and a father who coached for many years. I think I've got a pretty good handle. Thanks for your concern though.

Likely letters are way too valuable to use on a recruit who is not highly valued athletically. Simple as that. What's your problem?

My daughter was recruited by an ivy league school. She was bright enough to receive a National Merit scholarship from a major corporation. Interestingly, her application had a stamp on it and it was routed differently than regular applications. I don't think she would have been accepted without running.