College Distances vs HS

Especially at the PRs the kids has. Why pigeon hole him as a pure miler or 5000m runner? He'll have a XC season and indoor/outdoor of freshmen year to develop and see where his real strengths are.[/quote]

I agree. XC can't get here fast enough for me. I think the first few races are 6k's, which is longer than HS, and then they ramp it up to 8k closer to the conference final. The big question is if the coach red shirts him or not. Seems like most of the coaches we talked with said they run freshmen unattached at first and then decide to red shirt or not. That would not be so bad for the XC season but would be a real drag if he did that all year.

Not intending this to sound mean, but do you and your son ever talk? If so, I would imagine he could give you the best insight on what you are "looking at". He can tell you if the coach just wanted even splits or if he was training through or whatever. I'm not sure what you are hoping to gain that you couldn't best get from your own son.[/quote]

Yes, we talk all the time. I have always been more hands off about his training. In MS he had a club coach that taught him a lot about form. He had a very good HS coach that got the most out of his kids without many injuries. So I would keep our running discussions to how he felt on a training days or going into a big meet. We also talked a little about strategy and who else was in a race since his coach did not dwell on that too much and my son is more into the racing part. I am sure once he gets on campus and once he gets actual coaching (right now all he has is a relatively generic summer training plan) he will share the coaching insights with me. I will listen and record what he is saying without much editorializing, but with an eye toward helping with the mental side when things get tough and he needs a pep talk.

You will record it? You are a sick dude, let him live his life, and hope he is a better person than you.

This is a weak trolling attempt.

Not much to do? Come on, it's 69 degrees where you are right now, sunset is at 9pm, long day ahead.

disgust... wrote:

You will record it? You are a sick dude, let him live his life, and hope he is a better person than you.

Record in my mind not an actual recording. Boy, some of guys have an issue with parents being involved in a very minor way in their kid's running.

are you bored??? wrote:

This is a weak trolling attempt.

Not much to do? Come on, it's 69 degrees where you are right now, sunset is at 9pm, long day ahead.

Where in the country is it 69 degrees right now?

You should be asking if he will get to compete in any events. I predict that you and your son will be disappointed when he gets redshirted his entire first year. Indiana had 7 guys run 3:45 or better this year. That's probably faster than your son will ever run. They also had plenty of guys run fast 5ks, 10ks, and steeples. He may never get to compete in a conference meet or get to travel to many XC or track meets. So whether it is Indiana or another top program, he will have to make better than normal improvement in order to break into the team.

Has your son thought about becoming a transgender athlete? Might have a chance to be something?

shaved down wrote:

Has your son thought about becoming a transgender athlete? Might have a chance to be something?

How would he pull that off?

Predictor wrote:

You should be asking if he will get to compete in any events. I predict that you and your son will be disappointed when he gets redshirted his entire first year. Indiana had 7 guys run 3:45 or better this year. That's probably faster than your son will ever run. They also had plenty of guys run fast 5ks, 10ks, and steeples. He may never get to compete in a conference meet or get to travel to many XC or track meets. So whether it is Indiana or another top program, he will have to make better than normal improvement in order to break into the team.

Just so I understand, you are predicting he may never compete or travel on a team that is similar to Indiana (he is not going to Indiana) because of his HS times? The guy that ran 6th as a freshman for Indiana at the Big Ten XC meet last year ran the following PRs in HS: 4:18/9:47/15:42. I think if that guy can work his butt off and get in the starting 7 at the Big Tens, I assume my son has the potential to do the same for his team at some point in the next 4 years.

He just finished jr year and is at a low level D1. No problem adjusting to banked track. Definitely prefers them especially for the 800 or less.

Collegerunnerdad wrote:

He just finished jr year and is at a low level D1. No problem adjusting to banked track. Definitely prefers them especially for the 800 or less.

That’s great to know. He is ready to get at it. Wishing your son the best this season. Thanks.

You said that your son had a good coach. His upside will be much less than one random guy you identified. Tell him to give it his best shot but it happens frequently that bight eyed high school guys end up transferring after not making a P5 team.

Sideways Jack wrote:

You said that your son had a good coach. His upside will be much less than one random guy you identified. Tell him to give it his best shot but it happens frequently that bight eyed high school guys end up transferring after not making a P5 team.

So you think he might have peaked in HS because he had a good coach that had him run 50 miles per week? I’ll let him know you wish him well and tell him that he will probably have to leave his dream school because he’s likely to fail. Thanks.

No. He could run 8:35 for 3k right now but he will have to run close to 8 minutes in college. That's more than normal improvement. Why woukd he improve more than his peers who are running 9 minutes in HS if your son has solid coaching? If your son is a harder worker, he is behind because he is working harder.

If he has bad coaching and did little in HS, then hus upside is larger. Look at it objectively. Your son is a number to us. I guarantee that there are 10 guys on his roster who have faster HS PRs. Don't take advice and predictions personally. Just be prepared for the possibility that he is running 3:55 and 14:45 in a year or two and he decides to transfer.

It is interesting that a blog about running is so negative about people who run and who coach running. Sad!

Negativity is an emotion. Logic is based on facts. If a team has 20 guys on the roster, only 7 can run at the regional. So each if the 13 guys w ho don't make it will be shocked.

Sideways Jack wrote:

You said that your son had a good coach. His upside will be much less than one random guy you identified. Tell him to give it his best shot but it happens frequently that bight eyed high school guys end up transferring after not making a P5 team.

I agree. You’re son’s times suck. I wish kids would stop going to DI schools unless they are top 10 in the country. Telling kids they suck early on is the best thing we can do for our sport.

*your