seattle hser wrote:
So how much difference does it make to have a good coach? Are any coaches really good or bad or is it just a matter of having talented athletes? Just curious because our team loves our coaches but don't think they are very knowledgeable and we have talked to the Gig Harbor guys and it seems like they all know a lot about running. So I guess what I'm wondering is that their coach was like a professional runner so is it just that what he knows or learned doesn't matter for high school and it just makes a difference in college? How does someone know if someone is a good coach or not or if its just coincidence that their new coach came at the same time really good kids are there that would just be good anyway? maybe watchout or someone smart who knows could share too?
It is always more about the talent than coaching. Again I have absolutely nothing against the GH coach, but GH has a decades long tradition of distance success with both of the previous two coaches being quite renown, tons of kids turn out for them every year and that culminated with the most depth they've ever had this year, I concede that an inspiring coach may have a lot to do with attracting talent and inspiring the kids to work hard, but this guy didn't invent running 70-90 miles a week, nor is that necessarily the factor responsible for the teams's success. Anyone can talk a lot about running, but a lot of the time what person "thinks" he knows may be wrong, so just because some is immersed in training theory doesn't mean he subscribes to the right set of ideas. Bottom line it takes ridiculous genetics to run sub-420 as a soph like their #3 guy did last year. I don't have the definitive answer to how you tell a good coach from a bad one.