adobe wrote:
Lost in the well-deserved praise for Valby's performances at SECs and NCAAs is how poorly she's been managed by Solinsky this year. It's really irresponsible to patch such a talented athlete together after a serious injury and milk them for points, especially as an underclassman. If this BTC pedal to the floor approach continues, her development over the next four years will not be commensurate with what her talent deserves.
On the other hand, compare Valby with Starliper and Tuohy: all three came into their schools with serious injury issues. Henes took the "slow and steady" approach, which seems to be paying off, but both Katelynne and presumably Starliper have had serious mental struggles as a result many arduous struggle seasons in a row. Meanwhile, Valby has been able to bounce back to have a breakthrough season, however brief, seems to be mentally fresh, and now has many months to continue her recovery. By next December, hopefully all three will be 100%, and if so, Solinsky's approach will be vindicated, if it isn't already.
I also find it interesting that the most promising female distance runners on both the prep and collegiate level, Cook and Valby, are competing successfully on low mileage and lots of cross training.