It's official: Fernandez joins Schumacher!

GF really missed a great chance to run with the best, instead he choose quantity over quality.

Look at it this way Al Sal took 12 years to make Galen into usa's greatest distance runner, and he didn't have GF talent, even giving him the same 12years he could be the next great one at age 33, obviously it would probably take half that time. Look what he did with Mo in two years after the dude had been running with another coach!

Fernandez should have chose John Cook, in my opinion. Lower mileage and lots of drills to strengthen weaknesses. Plus he got Flanagan, Rowbury and Manzano international championship medals in the last 4 years. It seems to me that cook is especially good with 1500m-type runners. Schumacher is yet to have the success with Flanagan that Cook did. Cook got Shalane an Olympic medal and an American Record. Schumacher has gotten her neither.

There's been four American medals at 1500m in the last four years. 2 women (Rowbury & Simpson), 2 men (Centro & Manzano). Cook coached half of them. Shumacher, none. Even Salazar hasn't coached someone to a 1500m medal.

Does Schumacher have any medals internationally? Even Kara's was achieved under Salazar.

Medals in the last five years:

Salazar 6. (Farah 4, Rupp 1 & K. Goucher 1)

Cook 3 (Flanagan, Rowbury, Manzano)

Schumacher 0.

If my stats are off, someone please correct me. It's possible I'm overlooking someone since I'm going off the top of my head.

Thomas Wastolife wrote:

GREMNA HERNDANDEZ was arguably never a better miler than 2 miler and 5k guy. yeah he won the NCAA 1500 and got the AJR, but he also has the 5k AJR, and placed 5th in the 08 trials. his 8:34 in high school is superior to his mile time. someone with his speed would have no trouble adapting - theoretically - to international 5k's.

No

Jim Ryun still has the american junior record at 1500m

(as well as 800m, 1 mile, and 2 miles!)

It just occurred to me that Flanagan's former American record at 5,000m may have been shortly after she switched to Schumacher. I was referring to Cook helping her get the current 10k record.

Joe mama wrote:

GF really missed a great chance to run with the best, instead he choose quantity over quality.

Look at it this way Al Sal took 12 years to make Galen into usa's greatest distance runner, and he didn't have GF talent, even giving him the same 12years he could be the next great one at age 33, obviously it would probably take half that time. Look what he did with Mo in two years after the dude had been running with another coach!

Not sure how so many of you can be so sure of what these coaches do or don't do. From where I sit both Schu and Al look pretty darned competent.

Rupp and Farah's success speaks for itself. But one could point to Webb, Ritz, Kara... if one wanted to go negative.

Then look at what Jager did this year. I suppose you can speculate that he will just get injured next year but that seems like groundless speculation. Solinsky did some amazing things then got injured. Was that Jerry's doing? I sure as heck don't know and I suspect that neither do you. Teg has had many, many excellent years. Bumbi seems to have made very good progress thus far...

There are no guarantees of long term health in a sport where you have to push your body to the limit. But I seriously doubt that Schumacher is going to immediately run German into the ground out of ignorance or malevolence.

He missed the boat wrote:

Fernandez should have chose John Cook, in my opinion. ... It seems to me that cook is especially good with 1500m-type runners. ...

Fernandez is not a 1500m-type runner. Therefore with that one statement you pretty much discredited your post in multiple ways.

I guess that's a matter of opinion. Didn't he hold the collegiate indoor Mile record? He may still, I'm not sure. He also just qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 1500m. Obviously people could argue that Dave Smith had him in the wrong events, and I know that he ran some good 5,000m races in his collegiate career. But some people might think he still has 1500m potential. Either way, Cook helped Flanagan get the American Record at 10,000m.

I still believe Cook could be successful with Fernandez at any distance on the track.

German Fernandez fits the Bob Kennedy mold better than anyone I've seen in a long time. Bob was a good 1500m runner in College. But what set him apart was his speed endurance over 7 to 8 minutes of racing.

Bob Kennedy's best distance, arguably, was the 3k. He ran 7:32 or faster for 4 seasons.

As undertrained as German is, he still has great speed endurance. Ultimately the 1500m is not his best event, but neither is the 5k. I think it's the 3k. It's unfortunate that it is not an Olympic distance.

It Has to be said. wrote:

German Fernandez fits the Bob Kennedy mold better than anyone I've seen in a long time. Bob was a good 1500m runner in College. But what set him apart was his speed endurance over 7 to 8 minutes of racing.

Bob Kennedy's best distance, arguably, was the 3k. He ran 7:32 or faster for 4 seasons.

As undertrained as German is, he still has great speed endurance. Ultimately the 1500m is not his best event, but neither is the 5k. I think it's the 3k. It's unfortunate that it is not an Olympic distance.

I'd say GF's best distance will be the 10000 if he can ever stay healthy. If he can't stay healthy it is all a moot point.

Jager ran 13:20 or so at 20 years of age, was injured quite a while and then out of nowhere dominated the U.S. steeple and broke the American record with an 8:06. That guy is almost as talented as German and much more talented than Bumbi. German should get back on the carnivorous diet that got him 3:55/13:25 at age 18.

jjjjjjj wrote:

....German should get back on the carnivorous diet that got him 3:55/13:25 at age 18.

I agree. The Mexican restaurant I go to used have pictures of GF as you walked in near the order area after GF set the HS records in 2008 and the JR American records 2009. Tons of pictures. I believe they are relatives. Over the last three years the pictures have gotten less and less. Now there are none.

I think GF should start eating thoses carne asada burritos again to get his iron back.

When he does well in the next two to three weeks I'm going to get the news clippings and put them on that wall near the order area.

Joe mama wrote:

GF really missed a great chance to run with the best, instead he choose quantity over quality.

Look at it this way Al Sal took 12 years to make Galen into usa's greatest distance runner, and he didn't have GF talent, even giving him the same 12years he could be the next great one at age 33, obviously it would probably take half that time. Look what he did with Mo in two years after the dude had been running with another coach!

I wouldn't say that Rupp is less talented than German. He ran 13:37 in high school and 4:01. That's every bit as good as German.

Just wondering how many injuries do Al Sal athletes get compared to Schumacher?

I am guessing with jäger being hurt for ever and Solinsky too, Schumaker might not have been the best choice

He missed the boat wrote:

Medals in the last five years:

Salazar 6. (Farah 4, Rupp 1 & K. Goucher 1)

Cook 3 (Flanagan, Rowbury, Manzano)

Schumacher 0.

If my stats are off, someone please correct me. It's possible I'm overlooking someone since I'm going off the top of my head.

Salazar 7 : Farah 4, Rupp 1, Ritz 1 (World Half Marathon bronze), K Goucher 1

kdididj wrote:

I wouldn't say that Rupp is less talented than German. He ran 13:37 in high school and 4:01. That's every bit as good as German.

Rupp had better highschool and college career and has an Olympic Silver medal. Rupp isn't every bit as good as German. German is a nobody talent wise compared to him until proven otherwise with ARs and Olympic/World medals.

sskjdkjsj wrote:

Salazar 7 : Farah 4, Rupp 1, Ritz 1 (World Half Marathon bronze), K Goucher 1

Not a knock on AlSal but it is just very difficult to know the real influence of a coach.

One could reasonably argue that as far as coaching goes AlSal should get 30% of the credit for Farah's medals, 100% for Rupp's, 10% for Ritz, and IDK for Goucher (who has since left AlSal's group, which says something). Plus, what did he make of Webb, the most talented of them all by everyone's admission?

I suspect that both AlSal and Schu know what they are doing and if sometimes an athlete gets hurt or outperforms it is mostly just random chance.

Jinx wrote:

Plus, what did he make of Webb, the most talented of them all by everyone's admission?

Webb was beating Rupp at 5k under Salazar. If Webb had stuck with Salazar and focused on 5k (which he ended doing anyway for 2012), he might have a medal now.

dklflkfkld wrote:

Jinx wrote:

Plus, what did he make of Webb, the most talented of them all by everyone's admission?

Webb was beating Rupp at 5k under Salazar. If Webb had stuck with Salazar and focused on 5k (which he ended doing anyway for 2012), he might have a medal now.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda, mighta

Whale and Minnow wrote:

... German is a nobody talent wise compared to him until proven otherwise with ARs and Olympic/World medals.

Sorry, but the "Person A does not have any talent until proven otherwise with records/medals..." is about as lame as they come. If that were the case then the word "talent" becomes meaningless.

Please try being less stupid if you can summon up sufficient talent for this.