randomcoach wrote:
I'll give you a non-hypothetical situation.
Years ago I was coaching a talented athlete (for middle distance track) who was in her last year of high school. She was genetically small, but appeared underweight. I was also this person's teacher for an academic course required by many university programs. Beyond my visual assessment based on her appearance that there was an underlying issue with undereating, there wasn't much to be certain about. I regularly observed the person to eat at normal times (both around the school and on trips), albeit small portion sizes. I had a few discussions with the female XC coach, who was also somewhat concerned.
She wasn't getting injured, and she was able to complete hard workouts. I didn't specifically bring up the topic, but made sure to give general information about fueling the workouts and for recovery (not just to this athlete, slightly more often to this athlete).
Years later, my suspicion was confirmed, but I didn't feel there was anything obvious enough for me to prevent them from racing. I'd be curious to learn what you think I should have done.
This is a great example and it sounds very tough to navigate. I should clarify I'm not trying to blanket assume ALL coaches aren't doing their best to navigate these difficult and sometimes unclear scenarios. When I wrote this post, I have in mind a few athletes who over the course of a couple years, very visibly went from healthy looking to egregiously thin and sick. They also got significantly faster. There's even a clear dulling of their smile and light in their eyes. It's super hard to witness.
I'd say in addition to observing your athlete's behavior (which is hard to do when you only see them for a few hours a day), noting personality changes along with significant physical changes are some things to watch out for.
