` wrote:
LateRunnerPhil wrote:
yup--hard to find any runners that did really well as a pro skipping college...look at what Grant Fisher is doing now compared to Hunter...
Did it stop Jakob from becoming a solid 1500m-10000m runner? If anything, a college environment has additional downsides compared to the pro lifestyle, like girls and drinking/partying multiple nights a week. Why do you think BYU is doing so well consistently year after year? Not the only reason, but one is that they just don't party as hard and don't drink like other colleges do (not saying it's wrong to do it, I mean enjoy your life but it will affect the running a little bit).
Being a pro in 2021 doesn't mean sitting at the coach all day. Look at how much Drew Hunter has achieved already in his early 20s. He built a huge brand, an apparel-store that's printing money and done lots of entrepreneurial work and innovations. His life is just as full as of a college kid.
We can't take the examples of some college kids becoming world-beaters and some early pros failing to deliver as proof that anyone should go to college. It depends on the individual, the college, which training he thrives on, how much he already trained in college, etc. I like to mention to Hunter/Fisher case repeatedly because as it went on it became clearer that it was more about Fisher simply just being a more talented runner than Hunter, and Fisher would still be the better runner now had he gone pro and Hunter to college. Hunter just trained harder in HS, was not distracted by playing lots of soccer each week and his potential for further improvement was smaller than for Fisher.
Jakob was making World teams as a high schooler and had run 3:31 and 13:17. Nobody would suggest that he should have gone to college. That would have been a joke. Jakob could have won NCAA championships as a high school junior. That's the only scenario when a distance runner should go pro, when they are already making World teams and running in the NCAA would be a joke.
Now, 3:57 for the mile and 8:39 for 2 mile is great for Kessler, but it's not even competitive in the NCAA. As a pro he'd just be spinning his wheels for 3-4 years. Might as well go to college and get some competition that's more at his level first.