It’s important to understand that some of the races that (some) people think Rheinhardt should’ve run were not possible because he was sick at the wrong time. He’s had flu or Covid more than once in the last year, so he was out of commission for a few days when some good races were happening. It was bad timing of course, as those were big races that he could’ve run in well and would like to have completed. That’s life: it is what it is!
An athlete and his or her her coach have to make do the best they can with the situations at-hand. People are not robots: they’re not always going to be healthy and on top of their game. Sometimes outside constraint limit the athlete. In particular it should be noted that Rheinhardt has dealt with a lot of pressure in Florida. The pressure has come from the district in which he lives. For example last spring, he was not allowed to compete out of state the during Florida high school track season. He wanted to go to Nashville to run in one instance, and Kansas City in another, to run under four minutes in the mile when he was in top shape. But, the district would not allow him to compete out of state. We wonder if the rules have to do with football rules carrying over to other sports. His team coach, from Nease High School, has been fighting the district on this matter for quite a while. Coach Ted DeVos pointed out that there were other instances when high school organizations were and still are allowed to compete out of state, such as ROTC programs.
As a whole, coaches do their best to make it possible for their athletes to get into good competitive situations, but sometimes there are constraints. As I understand it, Coach DeVos was recently successful in getting the district to allow Rheinhardt or other track athletes to compete out of state with some limitations. I’m not sure about all the details. Coach De Vos simply said that it was fine for Rheinhardt to compete in Arcadia. I always run by the options with Coach DeVos. He and I collaborate on where Rheinhardt competes. We have a good relationship, and I greatly respect him. His whole goal, like mine, is to help young athletes get their best opportunities; not be restricted by bureaucracy or egos or selfishness. It’s not about us, we both agree: it’s about helping athletes. It’s really that simple. The more we can work together, the high school team coach and outside personal coach, who very much is like an outside tutor for academics if you think about it, the better the opportunities can be for athletes to develop to higher levels, which of course is exciting for the athlete and gives them more opportunities… such as college scholarships.
Rheinhardt is doing his best to get stronger and better, and he’s hopeful that he can compete outside of his state with support from the district in which he lives. He is also hopeful that there is no more flu going around his school, which could make him unhealthy at the wrong time. Rheinhardt assures me that is not afraid to compete against other top athletes. In fact, he saying repeatedly that he wants to go ahead to head with the best. It’s just he’s had a little bit of bad luck getting those opportunities the last year.
About the future: I can assure you that Rheinhardt isn’t training as hard as he could. He runs just once a day, not twice a day. The main goal is to have a long future beyond high school. He can run at a high-level on one session per day as a high school athlete, but there’s room for growth in the future; at least that’s how I’ve tried to plan things for him. Coach De Vos believes in exactly the same thing, and that’s why we work so well together with a singular goal that Rheinhardt have a great future.
As an aside, to some who think Rheinhardt not getting better, respectfully, I disagree. This winter at the University of Arkansas, one month following time off from training due to dealing with Covid, Rheinhardt ran a 4:01.1 mile, setting a lifetime best, and 6-days later ran a 4:03.1 mile. He was quite tired due to travel back to Florida, and then returning to Arkansas, so he didn’t have as much mental mojo on the second attempt as he did on the first. In retrospect it would’ve been nice if he could’ve stayed in Fayetteville and not had to deal with travel fatigue. But, there’s only so many days a Nease high school student can takeoff or pay a penalty.
Since running the two indoor 1 mile races in Arkansas, Rheinhardt ran two local 800 m races in Florida. One was an open 800m race in a small meet, and one in a relay race. He ran 1:51.7 and 1:51.9 in windy conditions. He also ran in a 4 x 400m relay after one of the 800s and split a :50.3. Of course, in late winter or early spring in Florida, it’s often not ideal weather…but, it is the same as it is in many parts of America where they can have cold or wind that limit race times. It is what it is, and all athletes, and their coaches, do the best they can of fighting hard and competing in whatever situation is presented. *Nothing is better than learning to tough it out, regardless if the results are slow; for, creating grit and tenacity is important!! All coaches believe this is true. When good weather is good, health is good, and a few weeks of good training are under are one’s belt, that’s when great results happen. It’s true, no matter the athlete’s performance level (low, intermediate, or high).
Another reflection: Rheinhardt ran a strong 1000m indoors before he fell backward to Covid in January. In the 1,000m race he showed a good ability to concentrate and run fast on his own. Likewise, over the recent weekend in an 800m race at Arcadia, he showed a good ability to run fast without having someone push him. As we know, that is a mental skill worth developing for all athletes.
Coach De Vos and I have discussed what Rheinhardt has done this winter; reflecting as all people should do who strive to improve their methods, strategies, and decision making proficiency. We think the two full mile races that Rheinhardt ran six days apart this winter, four weeks after having Covid, showed that Rheinhardt was doing good foundational preparation. (We don’t recall that any high school runner who had ever run those times six days apart. It may have happened, but we’re unsure. Maybe Jim Ryun did it back in the 1960s? )
The 800m that Rheinhardt just ran in 1:50.12 (with a fast opening lap) showed he is making progress in his speed and anaerobic fitness. Hopefully good opportunities open up this spring to show his level is continuing to improve! He will be running quite a few smaller competitions within his state for multiple reasons. For one, he needs run in five races to meet the criterion for competing in the districts. Second, as member of a community, he has an obligation to help his team.