Matthew Maton Ditches His HS Teammates In Postseason

A full grown adult coming onto a message board to trash a high school kid for wanting to run a prestigious and fun race is pretty pathetic. Yeah, the team won't place as high without him, but they will still get to compete at a great event. Even more so, now another kid gets to race at NXN, an experience he will get to treasure for the rest of his life.

Good for Maton and good for the rest of the team, few kids get to go to NXN or FL. I hope they all have a great time.

You keep trying to suggest that Maton picked fame over the team. If I was on his team I would be LIVID if Maton decided to run NXN instead of FLN. THAT would bother me for the rest of my life, not vice versa. I'd want him to go to FLN and kick Fischer et. al's asses. There are more reasons besides Twitter followers to pick FLN.

aslan wrote:

Team above all else.

I understand he wants to race the best in the nation, but if I were his teammate, his coach, or even him I would not accept this decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzbt_yQrQjk

A team that wont be together for next year? Or even for track season? They're training partners, sometimes racing partners. They're probably close as brothers. And if that is so, then they wouldn't hold him back for the sake of racing together when he ought to be racing the real championship race elsewhere.

What's your relationship to the school and the parties involved, i.e., who didn't you like there before this came up and gave you an opening to complain ? What motivates a presumed adult to get on a message board and complain about a situation that's none of his business involving a bunch of kids who show no sign of being bothered by the situation?

You don't run NXN "as" a high school team. The team becomes a club. The things that count for high school teams, qualifying for and placing at their state championship meets are done. These meets are icing on the cake.

This exact thing is happening at the high school where my kids ran. Everyone is fine about it. Heck, it opens up a slot for another kid who would not get to run.

"when he ought to be racing the real championship race elsewhere."

Those who say this sport isn't a team sport probably were on teams that were just a collection of individuals - those teams don't tend to do very well at the highest levels. Those who are teams, train together, push each other, and become competitive friends and rivals all in one, they tend to win more often. I've seen less talented individuals come together as a team and beat the other teams that seemed to run separately, but as pieces were more talented (usually because one team had 3 really good runners, an okay 4th, and a lead balloon for a 5th runner - while the other had a 4-7 who could close the door strongly on any given race day).

But back to the choice for Maton. He's one of the best in the nation. He has a very good team. But the perception is (and perhaps incorrectly) is that FL is for individual champions (as the race IS designed that way), while NXN is the team (er club) championship, because it's promotion is all geared toward that. I believe last year FL offered up spots to some of the highest NXN finishers - a very smart move. But for the good of our sport, lets combine post season meets and work toward a race that can crown both and individual and team/club national champion. WHAT BETTER WAY FOR OUR SPORT TO STAND OUT AMONG ALL OTHER HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS!!!

This might make far to much sense, and who would really want distance running to become more attractive to competitive teens. I mean, in a day and age when US distance running is showing competitiveness against the world, kids are flocking (especially males) to play soccer in an era when the USMNT is consistently being overrated and getting their ass kicked in the World Cup (go look at the record since 1990 - abysmal).

gobluesasquatch wrote:

"when he ought to be racing the real championship race elsewhere."

Those who say this sport isn't a team sport probably were on teams that were just a collection of individuals - those teams don't tend to do very well at the highest levels. Those who are teams, train together, push each other, and become competitive friends and rivals all in one, they tend to win more often. I've seen less talented individuals come together as a team and beat the other teams that seemed to run separately, but as pieces were more talented (usually because one team had 3 really good runners, an okay 4th, and a lead balloon for a 5th runner - while the other had a 4-7 who could close the door strongly on any given race day).

This entire paragraph is based on a faulty assumption. Not everyone who believes that high school postseason cross country meets are an individual sport were assuredly on crappy teams. That's silly.

I am equally, if not moreso, impressed that he wants to make a national team. That should have (and seems to be with good advice from the experienced McLatchies) been the main focus anyway. Too much HS stuff! If you have an opportunity to run for your country (World XC in China in this case) then that should trump anything else. Both Footlocker and NXN are great meets, but when I see how few of these good runners even bother to try out for the National teams (at least the of-age College runners may have scholarship responsibilities, and they should be there anyway I believe) it makes me really wonder about priorities of our coaches. It also says that USATF is such a lame-duck organization that it can't get the best athletes (certainly Juniors if not Pro's) to try out for its teams.

Damn i hope he picks Oregon for College. GO DUCKS

You were annoying as pac12fan, you are still annoying as they call me flopro.

wongg wrote:

Would his team have been favored or even had a chance to win NXN?

If not, pfft, who cares.

If so, he might have opted for NXN, but I dont begrudge him for going to FL.

Yes, they are considered to be a Top-5 team nationally when Maton is running with them. That's the point. They have a shot to win a team and individual national championship together, AS A TEAM.

Apologies to Summit HS, Maton and his coaches. I simply think they are going to regret it later on. The coaches, school, and kids involved are likely to never have an opportunity like this again.

Maybe my piss and vinegar ought to be directed towards whoever it is among the NFHS, Footlocker and Nike camps that can't put on one legitimate meet that is run like an actual XC race.

Melancholy Parent wrote:

Fair enough. Clearly most people here feel that XC is an individual sport and the individual comes before any sort of team. Majority rules.

It's not the same sport as I remember it years ago. The kids just want as many lemmings following them on Twittergram and if running FL helps that cause then so be it.

This is so silly. Why do the other kids on the team want to go to NXN? Is it because they want to race against a higher level of competition? Or is it because they want more Twittergram followers? Why are their motivations for racing in a national championship more pure than his motivations for racing in a national championship?

Team sport or not, cross country is all about advancing to the highest level you can. Most of the kids on the team want to go to NXN to face a higher level of competition. Maton wants to go to Foot Locker (and then BUPA, and then junior nationals, and then worlds) to face an even higher level of competition. If he and his coaches think that's the best plan, why would they deviate from it in order to run against a lower level of competition? Did they not get enough of a team bonding experience over the past three months? Can they not hang out and train together anymore because he's running at different races?

Melancholy Parent wrote:

Apologies to Summit HS, Maton and his coaches. I simply think they are going to regret it later on. The coaches, school, and kids involved are likely to never have an opportunity like this again.

And Maton will never have an opportunity to run at Foot Locker again. And his teammates may never get to say they ran with a Foot Locker national champion. And his school may never get to put his Team USA singlet up in their Hall of Fame. Those last two are just hypotheticals, but so is the prospect of Summit qualifying for NXN.

Do you think Maton regrets going to FL last year, when his team finished 10th at NXN regions? He would have moved them from 10th to 7th. Instead, he got third at Foot Locker.

No offense ( and by saying that, I understand what I am going to say is offensive and honestly don't really care if you're offended. I am just saying that to sound PC about this), but why care so much? My guess is that you are the parent of a mediocre kid on the team that is upset because the team may not advance to the finals of the NXN (which most college coaches agree is a waste of time) and hurt your kid's chance of being recruited.

If your kid is good, people will know. There is really no other reason for you to care as much.

As far as the sport "not being what you remember", I am not buying it. If you are as old as me (44), then "the sport you remember" is a sport that ONLY has the Kinney National Championships (precursor to Footlocker) and there was absolutely no team involvement.

Leave this kid alone. It, honestly, is none of your business what he does and the fact you took the time out of your day to write a public post on a world-wide forum to bash a high school kid, literally, says more about you and your character than the kid you are bashing.

That is the thread ender. You're welcome.

he can do what he wants. he has his goals, and it's to win footlocker. so what?

besides, he's just a kid. how can you judge him without knowing anything other than that he's doing a different race than his teammates?

A XC National Championship meet (for teams AND individuals) would have to be run like the NCAA meet and have 200-300 people in it.

If you can't figure out why this isn't feasible, nobody can help you.

Hint: the NCAA meet has a wide range of abilities. From guys who can run 13:20 all the way to probably 14:45. They achieve this by having the meet at a BIG, wide-open venue and the race is 10k long.

The systems for FL and NXN are just fine for their intended purposes. Maton beat his next best teammate by 57 seconds. He placed THIRD at FL in a race FULL of 11th graders. You seem to be the only one that doesn't understand that HE is the one that would be giving up an opportunity.

newname wrote:

Maton beat his next best teammate by 57 seconds.

Yeah, running cross-country always felt very team-oriented to me because I did actually run next to my teammates for a lot of the races. At the very least, I could see them.

For guys like Maton, all they see is a golf cart and one or two other runners. Doesn't matter if they're at NXN, FL, or the Slapville Triangular. I'd have to think he'd laugh at the idea that CC is a team sport.

If he were my son, I'd be telling him to run with his team. And I went to Footlocker myself and prefer it greatly to NXN.

Cool. If he were my son, I'd let him make up his own mind, and would be glad he chose Footlocker.

Human Torch wrote:

If he were my son, I'd be telling him to run with his team. And I went to Footlocker myself and prefer it greatly to NXN.

I don't believe you. Honestly, if you are actually being honest, which I don't believe that to be the case (You were NOT a Footlocker finalist), if you had a son that talented and didn't understand the importance of putting his eggs into the Footlocker basket, I would think you were an idiot to not hold out of NXN (which, let's be clear, you DO NOT run for your high school team) for a chance to be a national champion. A REAL national champion.

My guess is that "Human Torch" and the OP are one in the same.