How to tell your hs “track coach” you are training with a real track coach

poser alert wrote:

high school xc coach wrote:

not quite as funny as listening to entitled parents/personal coaches. must suck being on the outside looking in ;)

No it doesn’t esp when you’re the one w the upper hand. Don’t forget, you work for the taxpayer my kid doesn’t work for you

;) right back at ‘cha, doode!

I know there are people who think the world works this way. but it doesn't. LOL

Well forgive me for not heeding the order of things you appear to hold so dear. Many of us have had to fight our way through life because this societal order you point to served no other purpose but to silence and hold people like myself back. If you’re decent, kind, reasonable, rational and hard working I will defend you with vehemence. But if you’re not, watch out. I don’t suffer fools gladly. I will make battling you my pet project and fight you with laser focus the likes of which you have never before seen

The opinion that someone should blindly follow their high school coach in the interest of school loyalty only works if the coach has a clue. Unfortunately, a lot of high school coaches have no idea how to coach distance runners, so their athletes either under perform or get injured. If a person has the choice between their club coach who ran collegiately, understands physiology and has done extensive research into various training styles or their neighborhood school's coach that was asked to fill a position and has no clue, then I would stick with the experienced coach. If you look at the top runners in the country, they almost all are either running for a club or were fortunate to end up with a good coach. Very seldom are gifted athletes with poor coaches able to get recognized by colleges and continue their careers at the collegiate level.

I, for the most part, agree with you. However, if an athlete's gifts do not extend to the simple ability to show up to practice everyday, their collegiate future was probably already limited. As I said, any coach with even a rudimentary acquaintance with the sport will be able to recognize talent. I can't imagine a coach wilfully holding back such an athlete when openly and respectfully presented with said athlete's desire to excel. How hard could it really be to say "Hey coach, I am willing to do however much work it takes to run X:XX in the 1600. Can you help me get there?"

poser alert wrote:

high school xc coach wrote:

not quite as funny as listening to entitled parents/personal coaches. must suck being on the outside looking in ;)

No it doesn’t esp when you’re the one w the upper hand. Don’t forget, you work for the taxpayer my kid doesn’t work for you

;) right back at ‘cha, doode!

Yeah what he said! The taxpayers are giving high school coaches a solid $2-3/hr and anything less than world class coaching is totally unacceptable.

Deception and lying are good qualities to teach a young athlete. You are a fantastic advice person and a stand up "coach".

jacks21 wrote:

We have a personal track coach that is extremely good. They know their stuff. This is the first year for our kid to do hs track. The hs coach knows very little about how to really train for each distance. Every athlete he “coaches” does the same thing. How does my kid tactfully tell him she has been training with a real coach in the off season?

We're just talking about off season training? Not sure why there's any discussion at all about this. Your kid can train how they want in the off season and there's no need to inform the coach at all.

Yawn. All this over an extracurricular activity.

Caruso > D. Rose! wrote:

poser alert wrote:

No it doesn’t esp when you’re the one w the upper hand. Don’t forget, you work for the taxpayer my kid doesn’t work for you

;) right back at ‘cha, doode!

Yeah what he said! The taxpayers are giving high school coaches a solid $2-3/hr and anything less than world class coaching is totally unacceptable.

Good. You don't like it? Leave. Nobody is forcing you to take the job for this pittance. And when you're gone, the kids will be free to run in high school meets unattached with their outside coaches because there will be no high school program for them to run for. So, do everyone a favor and take your shitty, ungrateful coaching elsewhere.

anti helicopter parent wrote:

Save the real high school coach a headache and have your son not show up.

Yeah, why is this a topic, a thread, or a question? Don't say anything. I never said a word to my HS track coach; we never met. If you're not sure how to dodge him, here's the secret: you don't show up for the first day of practice. Nor any other practices.

Full disclosure:

I went over to the track one afternoon and stumbled across 'the team'. I knew one guy and got in on some intervals with his group. So I did actually show up to a practice but never encountered a coach. However, the point still stands: if you train and race without this clown's input - like the whole distance gang at my school did - there is no need for any explanation or discussion.

The problem with 'high school track coach' and high school track coaches everywhere is that they lack authority to enforce the 'order' and impose their wills on anybody. I never once obeyed the coach and I was the best distance runner at school. That may have not been saying a whole lot, but I was a lot better than anyone who believed that there was a way things worked and you must follow and obey. The poster believes anyone running in his school district must run for him because he needs the job. If no one showed up to 'go out for' track he'd be out of there. Give school coaches the respect they deserve: none!

sustainable earth wrote:

Caruso > D. Rose! wrote:

Yeah what he said! The taxpayers are giving high school coaches a solid $2-3/hr and anything less than world class coaching is totally unacceptable.

Good. You don't like it? Leave. Nobody is forcing you to take the job for this pittance. And when you're gone, the kids will be free to run in high school meets unattached with their outside coaches because there will be no high school program for them to run for. So, do everyone a favor and take your shitty, ungrateful coaching elsewhere.

Let’s pretend I quit. You think the school’s team would fold? 120 athletes and 7 other coaches aren’t going to keep the program running? Our school has had a track program since the doors opened in 1973, before I was born. School wouldn’t miss a beat if I or any other coach on campus left. Just like your team isn’t going to miss a beat when you end up quitting or get kicked off the team.

So you think taxpayers should be hogtied to pay a underperforming coach’s salary and at the same time have their children blocked from competing when they skip practice for supplementary coaching ? Really. You must have zero pride and honor. You are the lowest of the low

poser alert wrote:

So you think taxpayers should be hogtied to pay a underperforming coach’s salary and at the same time have their children blocked from competing when they skip practice for supplementary coaching ? Really. You must have zero pride and honor. You are the lowest of the low

I’m beyond low. The worst of the worst.

There are plenty of bad high school coaches. Plenty of great ones too.

The problem is, many of the families that tend to seek out private coaches are the ones whose heads are so far up their own asses that they refuse to accept that the great coach they have already is enough for their special child. You also get kids who don't work well with others and have a massive ego and look down on their fellow teammates (even though their teammates are often faster/working harder!)

Unfortunately, there are also several private coaches who foster this kind of behavior, and market themselves in a way that is deceptive or even dishonest, promising future scholarships, records, careers, etc.

Maybe you and your child some do some reflection and ask yourself if any of that applies to you.

If you can honestly say that is not the case, then your daughter should quit the team. Why stay if it's that bad? Have your daughter race unattached at open meets.

I don't understand how this thread kept going past the first response. If you don't like it head to AAU and don't run for the school team.

In my experience most club coaches have no clue what they are doing and just are collecting a paycheck by lying to kids about what they can or should do. In our area we have a few who are notorious for laying claim to every kid in the area that have success for certain events despite never coaching them. Any kids who go to them usually wind up overworked and heart.

As a high school coach I put a good amount of time into individualizing my training for all of my athletes despite getting paid next to nothing. I have had kids sparingly in different events that go to a different coach in the off season because their school coach only works during the season. I get that because the coach isn't willing to work with them but I wouldn't be a fan of letting a kid do that from my event group.

As people have said part of high school sports is you compete for your school with the kids in your area or attendance zone. That is your team and those are your coaches. The team dynamics are very important and developing teamwork and a cohesive group. When I have kids following my program I know how they are doing and what they should be capable of. They are in a system and if they get hurt or are struggling I know why and can work with them to fix it. It helps to have this information to determine varsity spots and entries into important meets. It wouldn't be fair for a kid to show up once a week and expect to be in the same situation as these other kids.

I had a job interview for a head coaching position one time where the AD informed me that several members of the varsity team worked with a private coach. I thanked him for his time and when I was offered the job I turned it down for all of the reasons above.

If you really don't think your high school coach can do well for whatever reason then stick with your other coach. But high school sports are about more than just times and that needs to be put in the proper context. If it still isn't for them than enjoy the club track scene and have fun with it but don't expect special treatment and don't try to lie your way out of it.

sustainable earth wrote:

Caruso > D. Rose! wrote:

Yeah what he said! The taxpayers are giving high school coaches a solid $2-3/hr and anything less than world class coaching is totally unacceptable.

Good. You don't like it? Leave. Nobody is forcing you to take the job for this pittance. And when you're gone, the kids will be free to run in high school meets unattached with their outside coaches because there will be no high school program for them to run for. So, do everyone a favor and take your shitty, ungrateful coaching elsewhere.

Is there a state anywhere in this nation that allows unattached athletes to participate in high school meets? I know that you are just trolling, but please make some attempt to present yourself as a legitimate poster.

Check out the resumes of both coaches.

Show the resume of the better coach to the coach not so good.

That should solve all disputes.

lol@ all the anger from these anti-social, arrogant weirdos.