Les wrote:
Only problem in this is next two years are World Championships/Olympic years. Efraimson is clearly very ambitious, possibly even more so than Cain. Running three seasons in a typical college season would probably negatively impact her making a national team.
True, but how likely do you think it is that Efraimson makes the national team in 2015?
Very Good Decision. I wish German Fernandez and Lucas Verzbicas would have done the same... now look at them.
dkny64 wrote:
Les wrote:Only problem in this is next two years are World Championships/Olympic years. Efraimson is clearly very ambitious, possibly even more so than Cain. Running three seasons in a typical college season would probably negatively impact her making a national team.
True, but how likely do you think it is that Efraimson makes the national team in 2015?
Doesn't matter what I think, only matters what Efraimson thinks. Put it this way though -- she could very likely break Cain's HS record next year. If she runs 4:03 that would put her in the mix for sure.
Les wrote:
dkny64 wrote:True, but how likely do you think it is that Efraimson makes the national team in 2015?
Doesn't matter what I think, only matters what Efraimson thinks. Put it this way though -- she could very likely break Cain's HS record next year. If she runs 4:03 that would put her in the mix for sure.
I think Efraimson's chances of breaking Cain's HS 1500m record are significantly better than her chances of making the US team for 2015 outdoor worlds.
Let's say Efraimson is running well in 2015 and lowers her 1500m PR to 4:03.5 ahead of US outdoor nationals. Even in that [I would say optimistic] case, she's going to have a tough time cracking the top 3 if Simpson, Rowbury & Cain are healthy and fit. Simpson and Rowbury because their 1500m PRs are much faster than 4:03.5; Cain because she has 1:59.5 800m speed and a proven track record in championship racing at the US senior national level.
And then there are other possible complications:
-what if Brenda Martinez runs the 1500m instead of the 800m?
-what if Uceny or Moser is on her game?
-what if Mackey or Kampf is having a good year?
-what if someone else breaks through?
Looking at all of the above, I think Efraimson has about a 10% chance of making the US team.
bio class called wrote:
More physically mature? She's about to graduate highschool. Her bush isn't getting any bigger.
Going pro is not going to hurt her. She will be fine.
That is some imagery I didn't need (but needed to confront eventually).
That's too bad... wrote:
She's never going to learn how to win. Bad choice motivated by $$$$$$. Understandable, but I think she'll regret it.
Obviously you know nothing about this sport.
1) she'd learn nothing from every HS track race she'd do
2) she can still run in most of the same meets she'd compete during college in.
3) are you mentally I'll?
4) In general how does learning to win prepare you for being a pro? Only the worlds best win at the pro level in real races. There's no guarantee by a long shot that no matter what route she takes will she ever need to learn to win. She needs to learn how to run fast, period. Winning comes secondary.
from a wide non-running perspective, she shouldn't have gone pro. she could've gotten a free stanford education just like elise cranny and if nothing else, graduate with that degree. will she definitely make the olympics/worlds if she went to stanford? no, but thats not guaranteed as a pro either. if she really has her eyes on the big, bigger picture of life- she should've accepted a scholarship at a big, good school like stanford. but the chance of making the olympics/worlds is clearly more important to her- as she fears the college system (new coach, 3 seasons, less control of races) will hurt her chances. which i sort of disagree with as plenty of collegiate distance runners can run all 3 seasons and go to the olympics/worlds (i think of the CU girls- Jenny, Emma, Shalaya). She could've tried to find a coach that would be flexible and sensitive to her goals- and adjust her racing schedule/training accordingly. If she tried and couldn't find that, then i guess it makes sense if she values running well over getting a good, free, education.
but on the other side of the coin, lukas verzbicas and german fernandez are good examples to why she SHOULD go pro. Verzbicas even said in his flotrack driven series that he primarily left because the new program where he couldn't do things his way (bike, swim supplementary stuff). so, again if she values running well first and foremost, then it makes sense to stick with her current coach. i think this comes down to her values, not the pros and cons.
Big difference! We are talking Oregon and OK State vs Stanford! A free education from the first two can not be compared to Stanford or any if the other Ivies that this girl could have attended for free. However, she may not have the scores to go to Stanford. How do we know?
Retardalert.. wrote:
That's too bad... wrote:She's never going to learn how to win. Bad choice motivated by $$$$$$. Understandable, but I think she'll regret it.
Obviously you know nothing about this sport.
1) she'd learn nothing from every HS track race she'd do
2) she can still run in most of the same meets she'd compete during college in.
3) are you mentally I'll?
4) In general how does learning to win prepare you for being a pro? Only the worlds best win at the pro level in real races. There's no guarantee by a long shot that no matter what route she takes will she ever need to learn to win. She needs to learn how to run fast, period. Winning comes secondary.
Because our opinions differ you assume I know nothing about the sport?
I know this much, people who think winning is secondary to running fast times don't have pro contracts very long. Winning is secondary to NOTHING when you are a pro. Sponsors can say they you want to have a nice online following and represent the sport well, blah blah blah, but when it comes to being professional it is about WINNING. Everything else is tied for a very distant second.
Alexa can not race against pros and win. She can't even win or get on the podium in a national race if Simpson, Cain and Rowbury are there. As a pro, especially as a woman, that's a serious problem. She's very good looking, and that is going to be extremely helpful, but even that can only go so far.
She is a huge talent and I think she has the capacity to win eventually, but it's very difficult for the psyche to be thrown to the dogs at her age. Those bitc..es aren't playing around! They are mean as hell and I think her confidence is going to be shaken.
College would have given her the opportunity to learn how to win under different circumstances. It also would allow her to get a great education while being a part of a great college team. And she would be able to develop a network that comes with graduating and being a star athlete at a university. If she graduates from somewhere that she never runs for nobody at that college will care.
So yeah, I'd say if she isn't getting 7 figures (and she's not!) she is making a choice she's going to regret. 17 going on 35, unbeknownst to her. She doesn't know what she's getting in to.
Opportunity, but sacrifice wrote:
...In fact, young women in college are far more likely to have a decent support system than a pro would...
This is absurd, both in general and for the specific situation of this athlete after signing with Nike.
As long as she wears bun huugers that are two sizes smaller than what she should normally be wearing, and does stretches and run throughs for us fans, it's fine with me that Alexa went pro.
That's too bad wrote:
Alexa can not race against pros and win. She can't even win or get on the podium in a national race if Simpson, Cain and Rowbury are there.
This is why they think you know nothing about the sport. The only reason Cain has won nationals is because Simpson and Rowbury have not shown up several times. And then there's Uceny.
Those three seem to not show up enough for Cain to be successful so why would they all of a sudden start showing up now that Alexa is here?
There are STIPULATIONS! wrote:
As long as she wears bun huugers that are two sizes smaller than what she should normally be wearing, and does stretches and run throughs for us fans, it\\\'s fine with me that Alexa went pro.
On the coattails of that statement...
I wish she had chosen to run for New Balance for one obvious, bright orange, reason. ;-P
****This statement does not activate until the day of her 18th birthday.
That's too bad wrote:
Retardalert.. wrote:Obviously you know nothing about this sport.
1) she'd learn nothing from every HS track race she'd do
2) she can still run in most of the same meets she'd compete during college in.
3) are you mentally I'll?
4) In general how does learning to win prepare you for being a pro? Only the worlds best win at the pro level in real races. There's no guarantee by a long shot that no matter what route she takes will she ever need to learn to win. She needs to learn how to run fast, period. Winning comes secondary.
Because our opinions differ you assume I know nothing about the sport?
I know this much, people who think winning is secondary to running fast times don't have pro contracts very long. Winning is secondary to NOTHING when you are a pro. Sponsors can say they you want to have a nice online following and represent the sport well, blah blah blah, but when it comes to being professional it is about WINNING. Everything else is tied for a very distant second.
Alexa can not race against pros and win. She can't even win or get on the podium in a national race if Simpson, Cain and Rowbury are there. As a pro, especially as a woman, that's a serious problem. She's very good looking, and that is going to be extremely helpful, but even that can only go so far.
She is a huge talent and I think she has the capacity to win eventually, but it's very difficult for the psyche to be thrown to the dogs at her age. Those bitc..es aren't playing around! They are mean as hell and I think her confidence is going to be shaken.
College would have given her the opportunity to learn how to win under different circumstances. It also would allow her to get a great education while being a part of a great college team. And she would be able to develop a network that comes with graduating and being a star athlete at a university. If she graduates from somewhere that she never runs for nobody at that college will care.
So yeah, I'd say if she isn't getting 7 figures (and she's not!) she is making a choice she's going to regret. 17 going on 35, unbeknownst to her. She doesn't know what she's getting in to.
I don't think he's saying your opinion's differ, i think he's saying you are wrong and an idiot. It's not your opinion, it's just stupidity being written down.
People who think running fast is the most important to get pro contracts is in the right, moron. Do you know how many distance runner contracts have been given out without the expectation they will EVER win a real pro (not an all US champ) race? How many top pro races has Galen Rupp won in his entire career and he's our best runner. You seem to know nothing about the sport at all like Retardface said. If you end up winning a gold medal, then you're a once in a life time distance runner in America.
But learning how to win? Overrated. Go run in college to learn how to "win" and see how much it helps you in the pros when you can't win no matter what you do because you're too slow. Are tactics important for placement, sure, but that's not "learning how to win". Bekele dind't win all his races because he "knew how to win". He won them because he was the best.
The Rocket. wrote:
Very Good Decision. I wish German Fernandez and Lucas Verzbicas would have done the same... now look at them.
First of all, at least at he beginning of the thread, some question as to the rumor's truth existed. Assuming this really has happened and is not merely being considered, the thread turned to a debate about the wisdom of the deciision.
What is there to debate? The only meaningful consequence of accepting moolah for product endorsement is that NCAA rules ban athletes who have. That's it. FL and NXN don't, nor do the various NB sponsored meets organized for her age group. As an earlier astute poster pointed out, these events require wearing the organizor's jersey and sometimes shoes too (NXN, for ex.)This could conflict with the athlete's contractual obligations.
These are, of course very insignificant 'downsides' to accepting coin if in fact they are downsides at all. I'm old nnow but was a pretty decent runner (10k) as a high schooler. I was never planning to run NCAA and would have immediately accepted any reasonable offer as long as I could tolerate the product. I would even have worn shoes I didnn't like if the price was right. Unfortunately my heyday predates shoe company sponsorship becoming popular (also predates the internet so my name won't exist if anyone searched!) But I DO say unfortunately since the only effect of making money is the lack of NCAA eligibility. I had no interest in their stupid system and neither does our heroine in this case.
BTW Lukas V basically didn't run NCAA. He ran either one or 2 early season races and qit. College did not ruin either him nor Webb. How is Luke an example of a mistake? He did and does accept money, gave up NCAA elegibility and is now seen only in the pro kit. He is smart as is our newest. Pro. Best of u. Luck to her!
some perv wrote:
On the coattails of that statement...
I wish she had chosen to run for New Balance for one obvious, bright orange, reason. ;-P
****This statement does not activate until the day of her 18th birthday.
Why 18?
The people who say this wonderful talent is doing the right thing: I just don't get y'all. Maybe Efraimson has another fifteen years of competitive running if she's EXTREMELY lucky. Then she has another half-century-plus to live, and that's not easy to do when you're only coasting on your former glory and have few options other than coaching and other sports-related activities, or have to go back to the grind of school when you're in your thirties. GO TO EFFIN' COLLEGE, ALEXA! Okay, maybe you don't get to optimize your performance for the Diamond League, but there are dozens of schools where you will get outstanding training, hopefully have an exciting and stimulating intellectual, cultural and social life, and build a future based on something more than putting one foot in front of the other one. Seriously! Don't be seduced by a little instant money and dreams of early glory! You're talented enough to have many Olympic cycles ahead of you.
starmiler wrote:
The people who say this wonderful talent is doing the right thing: I just don't get y'all. Maybe Efraimson has another fifteen years of competitive running if she's EXTREMELY lucky. Then she has another half-century-plus to live, and that's not easy to do when you're only coasting on your former glory and have few options other than coaching and other sports-related activities, or have to go back to the grind of school when you're in your thirties. GO TO EFFIN' COLLEGE, ALEXA! Okay, maybe you don't get to optimize your performance for the Diamond League, but there are dozens of schools where you will get outstanding training, hopefully have an exciting and stimulating intellectual, cultural and social life, and build a future based on something more than putting one foot in front of the other one. Seriously! Don't be seduced by a little instant money and dreams of early glory! You're talented enough to have many Olympic cycles ahead of you.
Did she say she isn't going to college?
starmiler wrote:
The people who say this wonderful talent is doing the right thing: I just don't get y'all. Maybe Efraimson has another fifteen years of competitive running if she's EXTREMELY lucky. Then she has another half-century-plus to live, and that's not easy to do when you're only coasting on your former glory and have few options other than coaching and other sports-related activities, or have to go back to the grind of school when you're in your thirties. GO TO EFFIN' COLLEGE, ALEXA! Okay, maybe you don't get to optimize your performance for the Diamond League, but there are dozens of schools where you will get outstanding training, hopefully have an exciting and stimulating intellectual, cultural and social life, and build a future based on something more than putting one foot in front of the other one. Seriously! Don't be seduced by a little instant money and dreams of early glory! You're talented enough to have many Olympic cycles ahead of you.
Under what scenario can she earn more money from running than she will right now?
Taking a step back from whether it is a good or bad decision, what $$ amount do you think tipped the balance to go pro? You have to take into account:
- she has to cover college costs ($50K? x 4 years)
- she has to pay her coach
- her agent gets a %
- she has to pay income taxes