Top California runner quits track team because the new coach made the team run less than 10 miles a week

banginmysoul wrote:

She couldn't run anymore than 8 miles for two weeks... so what. Did she ask what the mileage will be after the first two weeks? I am sure there is more to this than what is written in the article.

When I was in high school I ran what I wanted to run. The coach came to me and asked me what workouts he should have for the team. He could have done it himself but I respected him more for asking me. Besides that, if I wanted to change in the middle of practice then I did. Any coach who tries to dictate to a team is an idiot. It should be a mutual association or else not exist. I don't know anything about the present situation but the present coaching staff should be fired, and a new one hired with input from the team including those who were on it previously.

what a joke! wrote:

Top California runner Jessie Petersen from Carlmont HS (the high school that had the controversial firing of their distance coach last year who led them to many titles) quit her track team because the new coach made the team run less than 10 miles a week.

The article is here:

What are your thoughts? Did she do the right thing? She was D1 recruit status, how much could this affect her?

Alan Culpepper quit track his senior year because he didn't want to triple for meaningless points in every meet. It worked out well enough for him.

new coach sounds like a cross fit proponent.

yeah I would normally agree with the coach but that is shit 8 miles a week...Sounds like California's HS coaches in the Central Valley...and look at 98% of the times coming out of there...

She should have shut her yap did the wimpy ass 8 miles a week and speed sessions or sandbagged them. Then she should just run on her own before or after school what she is used to. Simple as that. If she REALLY loved racing she'd do it no matter what. She'd find a way even if it meant appeasing a stupid ass coach. Just don't bring it up and do what you love cause you love it. period.

It seems like the coaches wanted them to do NO physical activity outside of practice, or anything had to be cleared by them. If she was caught...

The new coach: Kind of lost, admittedly.

The new coach during the fall: Never got a chance because of the lingering blood sucking former coach.

The former coach: Classless guy who needed to go away but who has stayed around only to make things worse.

Start with the original problem that never went away, and you can see why this whole thing went to hell.

Weary wrote:

Sometimes teenagers can actually be right and adults and authority figures can be terribly wrong. I know this comes as a big shock. I say this as an old fart.

I know. A GARGANTUAN shock. People seem to think that anyone labeled as "coach" automatically knows everything about everything and should have 100% control over their athletes and instantly dismiss any athlete who says otherwise as a rebellious ignorant teenager who can't handle authority. I dealt with it when I was in high school. Even when I quit decided not to run track one year and coached myself to a 14s PR in the 1600m (4:12) while his athletes all peaked two months before state and bombed the whole season people thought I was crazy.

I say good for this girl. I'm sure any college coach with half a brain would understand, and if they don't, they're not a good coach anyway so who cares.

I can't believe that I read through the whole thread and more than one person (you would think maybe one person would troll) thought the coach was correct in having the runners do 8 miles in a week. Are you freaking serious? People are saying the girl should listen to this coach? If you are one of them, please stop running because you are a complete idiot. You have no intelligence at all. You are a complete waste to the running community. I can go on and on and I really want to. It's like saying a doctor should only read the first page of a book to learn how to do heart surgery. It's like telling someone to learn how to drive just by looking at a car.

8 miles a week is plenty! My team has won conference title after title only running 8 miles each week. Here is our weekly breakdown.

Sunday- Long Run 3.1 miles

Monday- Easy recovery .5 miles.

Tueday- 400 meter repeats 2x400 with 1 minute rest inbetween.

Wednesay- Rest Day

Thursday- 2 Mile Tempo Run

Friday- 1 Mile timed speed run.

Satuday- easy recovery 1 mile.

Using this tactic your distance athletes on your team can help you achieve title after title like ours has in the Louisiana Swamp League.

I needed a little laugh with how dumbfounded I was after reading some of the other posts. Thanks.

Path of least resistance wrote:

She should have shut her yap did the wimpy ass 8 miles a week and speed sessions or sandbagged them. Then she should just run on her own before or after school what she is used to. Simple as that. If she REALLY loved racing she'd do it no matter what. She'd find a way even if it meant appeasing a stupid ass coach. Just don't bring it up and do what you love cause you love it. period.

She probably took issue with the contract that she had to sign, stating she wouldn't do other training outside of practice. Now obviously she could have anyways, but I think it was more of a statement of "No, on my honor, I cannot put up with this injustice" and she left. Also in the contract, no talking to alumni runners, old coaches, or even parents about training. That's some bullshit right there.

And did anyone else see the comment by the parent who thought that any runner not working out during supervised practice was going to get kidnapped by a boogieman? Man, if my parents knew how many times I slipped out the back door at 2am to run...I always found it comical. Other kids snuck out to get drunk or do drugs...I snuck out to go running!

Lightning wrote:

She should of changed schools

CA probably has some regulations against that. Most states do these days. She'd lose eligibility anyways.

With all of the information on this exact site about training, etc. I am kind of shocked seeing some of these replies. I think she was fine for quitting the team. It is very frustrating and could have a very negative effect on the talented young athletes lives when they have to work with a coach who so obviously isn't very knowledgeable about distance running. With that said, A better debate is where should the disgruntled athletes draw the line. There are plenty of obviously flawed coaches out there. At what point should an athlete stay on a team with a coach that they either disagree with or don't have faith in.

Its hard to quantify, but say instead of a ridiculous 8 miles her coach capped the training at 20 miles instead. Would it even make the news? It is still not nearly enough running for a 2 miler, but would then it be bad that she quit? how anout 25,30,35. Either way it becomes a tougher decision when it is very close on the pros and cons of staying with a team/coach. Thats got to be tougher on the athlete. 8 miles is just so absurd that theres no decision but to quit, and having a great coach is easy to stay, but at what point does quitting become bad?

With all of the information on this exact site about training, etc. I am kind of shocked seeing some of these replies. I think she was fine for quitting the team. It is very frustrating and could have a very negative effect on the talented young athletes lives when they have to work with a coach who so obviously isn't very knowledgeable about distance running. With that said, A better debate is where should the disgruntled athletes draw the line. There are plenty of obviously flawed coaches out there. At what point should an athlete stay on a team with a coach that they either disagree with or don't have faith in.

Its hard to quantify, but say instead of a ridiculous 8 miles her coach capped the training at 20 miles instead. Would it even make the news? It is still not nearly enough running for a 2 miler, but would then it be bad that she quit? how anout 25,30,35. Either way it becomes a tougher decision when it is very close on the pros and cons of staying with a team/coach. Thats got to be tougher on the athlete. 8 miles is just so absurd that theres no decision but to quit, and having a great coach is easy to stay, but at what point does quitting become bad?

wowwww wrote:

It seems like the coaches wanted them to do NO physical activity outside of practice, or anything had to be cleared by them. If she was caught...

If she was caught? Running in her own free time? What, she would be kicked off the team? The top runner? So...she'd be off the team anyway.

Any time I had an incompetent high school coach I just ran on my own and/or got workouts elsewhere. I never thought much of it. They knew I ran more, but they didn't seem to mind when I was one of the only few girls scoring points. It's easier to ask for forgiveness (if necessary) than it is to ask for permission.

My biggest concern here is not for Jessie. I feel that this is a very unfortunate situation and that the new coach is VERY wrong with his coaching philosophy. However, Jessie has already proven she is a high caliber athlete and will be invited to the national meets at the end of the season. Additionally, she is going to be able to receive scholarships to colleges on what she has already accomplished. It is also unfortunate that she is not going to be able to defend her championships.

However, whom I really feel bad for is the athletes that are on the cusp of being good athletes and college hopefulls. These distance runners are not going to be given the opportunity to have a successful season due to the poor coaching. They are not going to have a chance to earn the college scholarship or walk on standards as a late blooming senior.

It is awful that this coach is going to rob them of that in an effort to establish his "authority" over this team. I would like to ask this coach what it is that he thinks he is teaching these student athletes. There are countless books and studies to show that their best athletic interests are not being addressed. I would actually argue that the coach is more concerned with his own dominance on this program. If a simular situation were to take place in the class room this "educator" would lose his job. Just imagine a teacher saying, "We are going to use this science book from 1975 because I am the new teacher and that is how I want to teach my class." The administration would have his job.

Lightning wrote:

She should of changed schools

Do you always replace verbs with prepositions?

all the replies to this post....how come none of you referenced the energy systems that need to be trained? How come none of you reference different methods and theories related to this issue?? No talk of lactic threshold, special endurance, red blood cell count related to VO2 and what type of training increases that...

There is absolutely no scientific arguements in any of your posts...so all of you subscribe to the common MISconception of "if I don't win...run more, then run more again..."

and what does it get you??