Didn't make my college team - what the hell do I do???

I don't know. Maybe go to class, study, hey a degree, and move on with life?

Where?

^ this is a great story, thanks for posting

Michael Jordan didn't make Varsity his sophomore year in high school. He recovered.

Good story but doesnt quite match Terrence Mahon's story at Oregon.

congrats, you are not eligible to be tested now

for the next 6 month run a very advanced and heavy doping regimen (if you dont know where to find such drugs hang out in the parking lot near any track in the boulder, colorado springs, or eugene parking lots where all the pro groups train at)

show up to track tryouts next spring and you should be good to go, be sure to wear super shoes during the tryouts as well

I don't think it's that hard.

If I'm a coach, I don't care what he ran last year -- I want to know what he's going to run this year. If he's bad in workouts and then gets told not to compete by a doctor, why would I rely on this kid if I've got other options?

To OP, run unattached or wait until track season. Also maybe consider stopping being a whiny, entitled goober.

.... and now for the inside scoop on the Summer of 89.

"A little story. Terrance Mahon was a decent high school runner with a 2 mile PR of 9:13 from his junior year of HS. Nothing to write home about. He went to the University of Oregon as a walk-on, followed the program during his freshman year and did not improve at all. U of O is a pretty good program don't you think? Yet Terrance didn't improve. Why so? It was clear to me, he hadn't been doing his homework. He hadn't yet mastered the basics.

At the end of the school year he made the commitment to stay in town for the Summer to train and work. He asked me what I thought he should do.

I said "Run more".

"How much" he asked.

"I dunno, but start running doubles and find out", I said.

He followed it up with the usual litany of "how, what, when, where and whys". I gave him the usual "quit yer thinking and get runnin"

He then asked, "but malmo, won't I get tired"

My response, "you will, but it will soon pass".

The rest is history. Within 6 months Terrance was All-American (27th) in cross country AND ran a 28:57 10k on the track in December. He was in the top 10 All Time USA Junior for that 10k.In just six months after being stagnant for two years.

The only things he did different from HS and his freshman years were 1) he ran doubles nearly every day 2) he ran 100 mpw most of the Summer 3) he ran a tempo run once a week 4) he ran long repeats (800-1 mile) once a week.

Does that sound like any magic program? The point is, Terrance made the commitment and stuck with it. He also DIDN'T RACE THE WORKOUTS. Surprise of all surprises, he made the big breakthrough. In short, he WAS the Summer of Terrance. Where do you think I got the Summer of malmo from? I don't post anything original here do I?

A lot of you guys are capable of making the big breakthrough too. The problem is, you talk yourself out of it before you get started. You're willing to waste years convincing yourself that what is needed is countless ways of rearranging your mileage, yet won't, for a second, consider that what you really need is right there in front of your nose: the roads. Get out on the roads and run more. Master the basics, everything else will take care of itself.

Not really. You don't have to be a 19 year old hs man-child, nor take one or two redshirt years to progress:

HS 4:16 9:10

FR 4:08 8:52sc
SO 4:06 8:40sc
JR 4:03 8:30sc
SR 4:00 8:22sc

4 years, no redshirt. A 4:16/9:10 kid can succeed at any school, even without bouncy shoes and a propeller beanie.

Probably the best and easiest advice I’ve ever seen on this board.

I agree with the comments to take this time to work on your base in preparation for track and to focus on your academics. I also wonder, if you explained the situation to your coach, and you would have easily made the team otherwise, do you want to run for this coach in the future? If we have the full story, and this coach is basically making his team worse for no good reason, then they don't seem like the best decision maker.

Keep training , make sure your recovered from sickness , at that point reach out to the coach see if you can at least stay on the teams workout schedule, with your times and ability regardless of the school the coach should honor that . Rather then just try out in the spring if you get into a good spot in training run an unattached race or two in xc. Doing that you cover your bases if the college your at is unable to roster you , you will have some recent times to help aide the transfer process if necessary. Above all else make sure the GPA is high , there will be redshirts and runners who are ineligible come winter, if you put some consistent times down and show you can help your team in multiple ways it’s a hard sell not to make the roster.

While the OP may think this is a big deal, it truly is not. I also did not make my XC team in college first semester for a similar reason, I trained on my own, and joined many of the other runners on the team for their off day runs. I tried out again in track and made the team and had a great 3.5 remaining years in XC/track.

Think of this from the coaches perspective, they did not promise you a spot. They have people who ran in tryouts who in their mind made the team by getting a certain place. They would be angry if someone who did not run takes their spot from them. Eat the humble pie, run a lot, and join the team in spring. 3 months is nothing in the vast scheme of things.

This.

I built a big base last year in preparation to make the XC team at my university. I got there, thought I was doing good, and the coach pulled me aside and told me he would continue coaching me if I wanted but I wouldn’t be given an opportunity to be on the roster until I ran sub 1:56 indoors. Initially I was upset, I ran 70-80 mile weeks all summer, showed up and was beating guys that they recruited. However, this gave me time to have a good middle distance buildup and I ran 1:57 during a workout and 1:54 for my first race in December. I’m willing to bet I would’ve started out in around 2:00 shape if I had stuck with cross country training all of fall.

Turn your setbacks into opportunities. If this team won’t take you by track season, find a different one. As someone else said, you’re too talented to not run in college. There are plenty of D1s with good coaches and facilities that will pay you to go there.

Let this experience mold you... Do some research, read a couple books... And become better than them all while being off the team. Hire some pro to coach you and make the coach regret brushing you off.... Hard work beats talent. Or transfer.

TBH 9:10 is a decent 2 mile split in any 5 at smaller D1 programs. Yes it's great for HS but just a good start for college.

22:55 is a normal 5 mile time at smaller D1 programs?