This post ranks up there as one of the silliest posts on LRC.
Are we saying the kid could have ran 5 seconds faster if he knew the school record was 4:20? I say NO.
The coach is probably a little embarrassed but I do not think he harmed the kid.
This post ranks up there as one of the silliest posts on LRC.
Are we saying the kid could have ran 5 seconds faster if he knew the school record was 4:20? I say NO.
The coach is probably a little embarrassed but I do not think he harmed the kid.
4:25 is fantastic! You should be really excited. Both my sons were serious runners who barely broke 5 min. I ran much faster than them so I am a bit jealous of you. I wish my kids had some talent. Kudos!
When you start running, you know the school records within the first couple of weeks. This is ridiculous.
I feel at this point your only option is to punish your son for not breaking the school record. This embarrassment from the fruit of your loins should not go unpunished. I suggest laying a pipe a belt and a stick on a table and asking him to choose. Hopefully he makes the right choice. Thanks for writing!
I ran high school in the late 70s/early 80s. I have no idea where our records were kept--way before websites, they certainly weren't posted in the gym or anywhere visible in the school. But I knew them--that's for sure. I agree it'd be surprising for someone maybe close not to know the record.
BSdetector wrote:
When you start running, you know the school records within the first couple of weeks. This is ridiculous.
St Patrick's JV wrote:
4:25 didn't even make our top 7
Yeah it did
St Patrick's JV wrote:
4:25 didn't even make our top 7
Our school had 5 in one season, and possibly more than 10 over the course of 5-7 years.
OP, I'm not sure what the big deal is. Your son got a PR by a pretty big margin. That should be worth it. If he can improve a bit more, it might be ready to run at college (though not at a first rate program...or even second rate).
School record is very soft.
did he at least get a participation medal?
The 1600 is a popular event, coach had to be an idiot if he didn't know the record. Regardless, don't think it's a big deal. Major PR for your son, enjoy it and if hes not a senior let him shoot for 4:20.
Your son ran a 7 second PR which means he has been underachieving. The coach's mistake actually did your son a favor in getting him to put forth what was most likely his first all out effort of the season. You should thank him.
May I add a rational response?
Dear OP,
I can understand your frustrations. However, I would suggest that you take comfort in your son running a 4:20. However, let me ask a few questions.
Knowing that 90% of all high school races call 4 laps around a 400m track the mile, did your son run a measured mile or a 1600m?
Is your son interested in running in college?
Is the coach a good person, or some douche who thinks what he did was good coaching? It was not.
Congratulate your son and move on. If I was a college coach, I would consider your son to fill out the group for a D2 or D3 program. I would even consider your son for a minor D1 program. I would think programs like Georgetown, Providence College, Oregon, Stanford, Arkansas, etc etc.. he would get discouraged and might possibly lose all confidence and enjoyment in the sport.
If he is a senior and a good student, encourage him to go to a good D3 program, where there could possibly be a good coach, and enjoy the life where most athletes on the field realize this is just a means to an end. And, in that end, they will receive a college degree.
I know D3's don't give out scholarships. And, for that matter neither do Ivy league schools. Yet , several of my former students ran on Ivy league teams, that they would not have a realistic chance of being accepted were they not decent runners , and one exceptional javelin thrower.
I'm just curious....are the school records not posted somewhere or otherwise available as a packet??
I'm a coach at a small high school and keep all times on athletic.net. At the end of the season, I compile and re-print our top 10 individual and top-5 relay marks. This is posted in the gym and given to athletes in a packet.
Most school at least have the top mark posted...
Sir John Falstaff wrote:
Never Say Always wrote:4:20 is a pretty solid record for a middle school. Maybe he'll have a shot at the HS record in coming years.
Yeah, and you have a 8-inch Johnson, your wife is a Victoria's Secret model, and you make over $400,000 annually.
Finally someone gets it right. At $400k salary, I would almost believe that someone has a victoria secret model wife.
These aren't very good 1500 times.
Er... wrote:
I ran high school in the late 70s/early 80s. I have no idea where our records were kept--way before websites, they certainly weren't posted in the gym or anywhere visible in the school. But I knew them--that's for sure. I agree it'd be surprising for someone maybe close not to know the record.
BSdetector wrote:When you start running, you know the school records within the first couple of weeks. This is ridiculous.
99 % of the school records are posted in the GYMS especially back then. I played basketball also and would run to the board at ever new school I went to to check it out
Overthe wrote:
Sir John Falstaff wrote:Yeah, and you have a 8-inch Johnson, your wife is a Victoria's Secret model, and you make over $400,000 annually.
Finally someone gets it right. At $400k salary, I would almost believe that someone has a victoria secret model wife.
Something like 300k people make 400k. Few of them have VS wife's. You got to stop hanging around with so many poor people
Your son runs a PR and you find something to complain about... sad. Also, by the end of HS nobody gives a rats ass about anything from elementary school. By the end of college nobody gives a rats ass about HS... and so on. As an adult I'm surprised you haven't figured that out. Vicarious parents are sad.
how do people not know their school record in the mile?
i'm 27, wasn't close to any of my hs school records, and probably could still name who had each of them and ~what it was 10 years ago
The competition today is much stronger than 30 years ago. It used to be that sub 4:20 was rare, now every big school has at least a couple. Training information from the internet, I suppose. Maybe equipment and surfaces.
Several years ago the defending Minnesota state champion ran about 4:12 in the region meet, and didn't get a chance to defend his title because he was 3rd and only the top two advanced out of the region.