“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
There have already been multiple threads about the identity crisis and outright failure of Swoosh TC. The lack of cohesion is obvious Mike Smith’s top runners are Adidas and HOKA athletes, while Diljeet’s group is split between Adidas and ON, yet both are supposedly running Nike pro teams. The branding is broken from the start. Mike is the only one who even resembles a true professional coach, and even then, both setups are fundamentally flawed. And after the recent blow up in Eugene, no serious professional wants to base themselves there under that situation. Even when Eugene was the place to be back in 2005–2010, the top pros like Nick Symmonds were not being coached like college kids, they had fully dedicated, non-college pro coaches focused entirely on their careers.
This lines up with what I’ve heard behind the scenes too, that Nike is quietly pulling funding from the Provo and Eugene groups. They can still coach whoever they want, but the only funded Nike distance project going into 2026 is Swoosh TC in Flagstaff. That also explains why Mo ended up in Flagstaff.
“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
Wouldn’t this apply to Ed Eyestone as well?
Eyestone does it all extremely well... not to mention his TV commentary!
Let’s be honest there’s a reason Swoosh TC Eugene and Provo haven’t exactly become magnets for top tier talent. From the outside, they don’t project stability, long-term vision, or true athlete-first development. Between constant uncertainty, split priorities, and the perception that the system serves branding and ego before athletes, most serious pros see the risk before they ever see the upside. At the elite level, athletes want clarity, consistency, and total commitment not a situation where they feel like an accessory to someone else’s platform. That’s why, the pull just isn’t there. It’s almost like this experiment with Diljeet and Jerry will be gone next year.
Does anyone even know what the f@ck Swoosh TC is 😂😂😂😂😂😂
“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
It’s a shame that Jerry and Diljeet think they can pile on more just to feed their own egos, because high performance doesn’t reward ego, it exposes it.
Diljeet is hardly a superior coach. Jane could run the same race had she kept the training she was doing before BYU and still been around the same time. She did nothing extra for Jane that the average College Coach couldn't have done.
Some people are always looking for attention and she's a big one for that. Her teeth are painted the whitish white possible, sunglasses for effect, a hat for "coolness" and trying to be "the cool coach".
There are no secret "Diljeet only" workouts, they don't exist. Get top athletes and get top results unless you do something utterly stupid with their training runs.
She's looking to cash in and loves the photos being taken of her and any interview she can be involved in.
“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
This is an old quote and there have been at least three or four threads about it over the last six months.
It is obviously reposted once again just to stir up the misogynistic incels after Diljeet had the top two US athletes at XC Nats.
This "old quote" came from a Fast People podcast episode that was released, um, Tuesday. So... four days ago. It was a good listen. Smith said the moment he really realized he couldn't do both was when he had his pro athletes competing at the World Championships in Budapest the same week as his college XC team was doing a preseason camp.
This is an old quote and there have been at least three or four threads about it over the last six months.
It is obviously reposted once again just to stir up the misogynistic incels after Diljeet had the top two US athletes at XC Nats.
This "old quote" came from a Fast People podcast episode that was released, um, Tuesday. So... four days ago. It was a good listen. Smith said the moment he really realized he couldn't do both was when he had his pro athletes competing at the World Championships in Budapest the same week as his college XC team was doing a preseason camp.
“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
Pros need architects, not substitute teachers. Thinking you can run college and coach elites fully is either delusion or ego
It’s a shame that Jerry and Diljeet think they can pile on more just to feed their own egos, because high performance doesn’t reward ego, it exposes it.
Henes coaches pros.
Oh, no! Your attempt to shame BYU's and Oregon's coaches backfired, didn't it?
Word!
Didn’t Mark Wetmore coach pros while he was having pretty good success at the University of Colorado back in the day as well?
One factor that likely impacts sustainability is coaching collegiates & pros all of one gender (Eyestone, Diljeet, Henes), compared to coaching men and women at both levels, like Mike Smith was doing at NAU.
If Shalane takes on more full women's role with pros on top of the Oregon women's team, and Solinsky & Ostberg help with both genders & levels, plus the aforementioned benefits around Eugene, that may help launch a renaissance for Jerry on both levels.
Mike Smith is 100% right and anyone pretending otherwise is lying to themselves. You don’t run an elite NCAA program and an elite pro group at the same time without gutting one of them. College is 24/7: recruiting, compliance, travel, roster management, daily workouts. Pro coaching is 24/7: individualized planning, race scheduling, physios, sponsors, constant travel. Trying to stack both is pure ego pacing. It always looks fine until it doesn’t then the wheels come off fast. Which is exactly why it makes no sense for Diljeet and Jerry to be running Nike pro groups while holding full time director NCAA jobs. You can’t serve two masters at this level. One side is getting shortchanged, and it’s usually the athletes. You either commit to college or commit to the pros. Acting like you can dominate both is how you dilute both and burn trust in the process
Except under certain circumstances like those Diljeet enjoys. BYU being the destination for Mormons and many top athletes around the country makes recruiting significantly easier.
“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
How is this shade exactly? He did it for a few years at a high level. Plus Jerry and Diljeet both only coach one sex so the team is half the size. Plus if you have solid assistance, it probably is pretty manageable.
“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
How is this shade exactly? He did it for a few years at a high level. Plus Jerry and Diljeet both only coach one sex so the team is half the size. Plus if you have solid assistance, it probably is pretty manageable.
That’s not true. Jerry coaches both men and women for pros and in head coach and director.
“Coaching both NAU and the pros felt like a tempo run started way too hot—you can fake it for a while, but everyone knows how that ends.”
-Mike Smith-
His point, you don’t double dip at the highest level you dilute. College is a full-time grind. Pros are a full time grind. Trying to run both is just ego pacing… and the wheels always come off.
How is this shade exactly? He did it for a few years at a high level. Plus Jerry and Diljeet both only coach one sex so the team is half the size. Plus if you have solid assistance, it probably is pretty manageable.
It isn’t shade. OP chose the headline to generate clicks.
Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s rojo for the attention.
This "old quote" came from a Fast People podcast episode that was released, um, Tuesday. So... four days ago. It was a good listen. Smith said the moment he really realized he couldn't do both was when he had his pro athletes competing at the World Championships in Budapest the same week as his college XC team was doing a preseason camp.
August 2024: Runner's World
"I went from being a college coach to being a college coach and pro coach, and I think Budapest in 2023, that was a moment of big reflection for me. I’ve got four athletes in the World Championships. It’s also the NAU preseason cross country week, which is a very formative week of our season."