I have no inside information regarding the OKSt program, but if true isn't that almost as bad, the coaches allowing an athlete or parent to pressure them to allow the athlete to run despite injury and conditioning concerns? Injuries are part of this sport and sometimes there is nothing that could be done to avoid them. But it seems like there were warning signs here, especially with the athlete's history. Whatever occurred, a rupture occurred that resulted in a sudden transfer.
Can confirm she is in the portal. Announcement soon.
Not sure what she is looking for that she couldn't find at Oklahoma State. They got her into great shape. I don't think another coach would have had her finish any higher than she did in xc.
No coach can fix her form. And a coach isn't responsible for the fact that she is injury prone.
So what does she think another school can do for her that wasn't being done for her at Oklahoma State?
Another school can provide her a degree that future employers will respect.
These coaches see their runners as commodities. It’s the only sport you run 3 seasons a year and so many div 1 coaches abuse them in a year. Run them all year, (3 seasons) shame them if they run bad, tell them that they trained them well, but they didn’t run hard enough. All kinds of horrible things. What a runner faces all year racing is beyond stressful. I salute anyone in this sport who transfers or who stays because these athletes give their coaches 3 seasons in one year and so much of their body. Spare me the be true to your school theme on this thread.
She committed to OSU before she became a national class runner. She only became national class when she won nxn/foot l in December of her Sr yr, but commitment to OSU was in November. Therefore OSU was recruiting her off her '3 yr consistent level in hs'.
That consistent level in hs was also very good. Numerous TX state podiums in track and xc. 140xc speed rating as a soph. It just wasn't 'double national champion's good.
I don't think it's that she doesn't like OK State, as someone who's spent a fair amount of time on the OSU campus, albeit mostly with the men's team, They all have a fantastic team dynamic, Natalie has many friends there and as far as I can tell, she doesn't hate Stillwater. And I don't think that Dave Smith is a bad coach at all, he's a really cool dude and fairly accommodating for different people's training even for the same events, most people he's coached absolutely adore him. It's probably more likely that she wants a school that will give her all the TLC she needs to truly excel/ Of course I'm not her, and don't know exactly how she feels, but I thought you guys would like some less speculative opinions.
I feel bad for Natalie, but I'm glad she's recognizing early that it isn't working at OK State.
I'm not sure that a runner can really succeed on such minimal (actual running) training for a long period of time.
I'm not trying to hate, I want her to succeed! But maybe the issue would be building yourself up so that you can handle more miles rather than trying to avoid them.
Based on her recent injury post/nationals performance, there may be some frustration with the coaching/training/program etc. that have her looking elsewhere. Just suspicions, otherwise I can’t find anything else on her profile that would point to an interest in transferring. Would like to know if anyone knows anything about this
You ended up really nailing this! Amazing LRC sleuths.
Well one reason she could be leaving is that Stillwater, OK is an incredibly depressing place to live for 4-5 years of your life.
I visited for the first time this year for the NCAA meet. Amazing course. And their program speaks for itself.
But good lord, what a miserable place. In the middle of nowhere. Horribly hot half of the year. What they have in town isn't much, espeically compared to other college towns.
I could not do it and I am amazed their athletic department is able to recruit the athletes that they do.
Well one reason she could be leaving is that Stillwater, OK is an incredibly depressing place to live for 4-5 years of your life.
I visited for the first time this year for the NCAA meet. Amazing course. And their program speaks for itself.
But good lord, what a miserable place. In the middle of nowhere. Horribly hot half of the year. What they have in town isn't much, espeically compared to other college towns.
I could not do it and I am amazed their athletic department is able to recruit the athletes that they do.
Compared to most of Oklahoma, Stillwater is an absolute oasis for runners, lots of sidewalks (don't take that for granted in OK), miles of dirt roads surrounding the town, and the best xc course in the nation. You must've never had Eskimo Joe's Cheese Fries.
Someone said it earlier, the athlete shouldn't need a reason to want to leave. Coaches leave all the time and noone says anythign about them. If these runners want to pursue alternative options at other schools they should have the freedom, just like everyone does in the open market.
While I agree generally with the concern in your post, I wonder how much privacy someone with 10k followers should expect on their social media activity. It seems (I’m not the one to know) that the path to making money for collegiate athletes is precisely through having large social media followings that are, for lack of a better word, followed.
it's not a matter of privacy, but rather obsessive middle age men who refresh her page every 5 minutes to see if anything changes. it's a creepy obsession and clearly they do not have pure intentions.
the only way to see if someone's bio changed is to click their page. Somehow these creepers notice the bio changes within minutes. They also posted here immediately as soon as Tynissmaa started following the NC State women on social media.
"Obsessive middle age men". Why just men? A bit of Reverse Sexism going here maybe?
it's not a matter of privacy, but rather obsessive middle age men who refresh her page every 5 minutes to see if anything changes. it's a creepy obsession and clearly they do not have pure intentions.
the only way to see if someone's bio changed is to click their page. Somehow these creepers notice the bio changes within minutes. They also posted here immediately as soon as Tynissmaa started following the NC State women on social media.
"Obsessive middle age men". Why just men? A bit of Reverse Sexism going here maybe?
Agree with this. My teenage daughter is the one who scoped this out for me.
it's not a matter of privacy, but rather obsessive middle age men who refresh her page every 5 minutes to see if anything changes. it's a creepy obsession and clearly they do not have pure intentions.
the only way to see if someone's bio changed is to click their page. Somehow these creepers notice the bio changes within minutes. They also posted here immediately as soon as Tynissmaa started following the NC State women on social media.
"Obsessive middle age men". Why just men? A bit of Reverse Sexism going here maybe?
The most obsessed person by far is semihaze who claims to be a young woman. She is the one who keeps posting this stuff, not middle age men.
Well one reason she could be leaving is that Stillwater, OK is an incredibly depressing place to live for 4-5 years of your life.
I visited for the first time this year for the NCAA meet. Amazing course. And their program speaks for itself.
But good lord, what a miserable place. In the middle of nowhere. Horribly hot half of the year. What they have in town isn't much, espeically compared to other college towns.
I could not do it and I am amazed their athletic department is able to recruit the athletes that they do.
Compared to most of Oklahoma, Stillwater is an absolute oasis for runners, lots of sidewalks (don't take that for granted in OK), miles of dirt roads surrounding the town, and the best xc course in the nation. You must've never had Eskimo Joe's Cheese Fries.
Those cheese fries better cure cancer if that's your selling point for a university.
Well one reason she could be leaving is that Stillwater, OK is an incredibly depressing place to live for 4-5 years of your life.
I visited for the first time this year for the NCAA meet. Amazing course. And their program speaks for itself.
But good lord, what a miserable place. In the middle of nowhere. Horribly hot half of the year. What they have in town isn't much, espeically compared to other college towns.
I could not do it and I am amazed their athletic department is able to recruit the athletes that they do.
Compared to most of Oklahoma, Stillwater is an absolute oasis for runners, lots of sidewalks (don't take that for granted in OK), miles of dirt roads surrounding the town, and the best xc course in the nation. You must've never had Eskimo Joe's Cheese Fries.
"Compared to most of Oklahoma..." you're making my point for me.
No question that OKST has the best course in the nation, or has one of the best Distance programs in the nation.
But Stillwater is not a selling point all by itself when you're up against places like Colorado, NAU, Stanford, and NC State.
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