Americans place in diamond league events every weekend and it really doesn’t matter much at all in the grand scheme of things. 5 high school kids all of a sudden breaking 4 minute within 3 months of each other is way more unique than Joe klecker getting 4th in a meaningless meet.
Do other sports have forums of grown men talking about high schoolers? Kinda odd to me.
Nothing weird at all, Runners who are fans of the sport (T&F, XC, Road Racing, Ultra running) follow all runners. It doesn't matter if they are HS, College, Pro, or just enthusiasts.
the american obsession with school children in sports is just bizarre. another example of how americans take something relatively normal and have to just take it too far.
I see both sides of this argument. We do overhype high school athletes and achievements. But if we want to grow the sport and make it a great experience, we need to start at the high school level and even younger. I think all track athletes should be acknowledged and we should praise the good performances, but all the comparisons and overblown admiration should be curtailed. The kids are doing great, let's move on and see what they do next.
I'm 64 years old and have been training/running for 50 years. I appreciate hearing about the top American high schoolers, but I agree that the level of attention and scrutiny they receive is ridiculous -- at least on this message board. Treating kids like commodities, endless speculation about their "real" talent, blah, blah, blah. Reminds me of the NFL combine. I'm surprised guys don't produce Tops player cards for these kids, like in baseball. Wish these young people well, and if they're still competing at age 25, more power to 'em.
Do other sports have forums of grown men talking about high schoolers? Kinda odd to me.
Since 50+ year olds are the ones who likely have children that compete in high school *and* they are also the age of high school coaches, No, it’s not odd.
I'm well over 50 and enjoy watching track at all levels. The only time I ever feel a little creepy is when the cameraman zooms in on the ladies a bit too much (this seems to occur mostly at the big international meets) when they are exhausted and lying on the track after a race, or hugging and rolling around on the track. It's just the voyeuristic aspect that feels creepy. I assume they are trying to bring up the ratings. Whatever it takes to bump the Curling Championships off the Olympic Channel and get track back on.
Do other sports have forums of grown men talking about high schoolers? Kinda odd to me.
Nothing weird at all, Runners who are fans of the sport (T&F, XC, Road Racing, Ultra running) follow all runners. It doesn't matter if they are HS, College, Pro, or just enthusiasts.
I'd be curious though to know how many of these people also post endlessly about teenage girls especially all the discussion about stages of puberty, hip shapes etc using say FB where everyone could see their age etc and the wife might be interested to know too... ? I'll make a guess they do no such thing.
It’s simply anachronistic, it was long a normal part of society for men to ogle or otherwise take an unbalanced interest in young women and men of no relation to them. Check all the creepy “sweet 16” lyrics from ‘50s and ‘60s rock and roll songs for clear examples of this outdated attitude. Running isn’t immune to it, in a mecca such as Boulder you’ll find some 50+ guys who rather openly creep on much younger female runners, including The godfather of the local scene and one of his acolytes. It’s difficult to see event photos like this and not see a creeper behind the lens:
In this thread old dudes struggle to justify their obsession with teens running circles. “I’m a coach” ok Charles just send them off on a five mile run this isn’t rocket science.
Yes, it is normal, especially for a sport as small as ours. Are you implying that older people who follow high school and discuss prospects are secretly a bunch of kid diddlers? Get a grip.
Over 50. I have followed some local HS distance runners just because I got to know them when they came to do some workouts with my training group. This was a few years back before everyone had instagram, etc. So, no one had any social media to follow.
On the national scene, I have little interest in HS distance runners except for the occasional stand out that gets to run a pro meet or breaks a record. And that is it. Kids develop at very different rates and being a top HS runner does not always translate into college and pro success. Boys who develop very early can be standouts in 9th grade and then washed up by 11th when all the other kids catch up.
Beyond the creepiness of old guys following HS sports is the really bad trend of forcing HS kids into high pressure national competition. When I was in HS in the 80s, there was a girl at my school who won state and went on to be an NCAA finalist. She had lots of trophies and a nice glossy photo of NCAA finals. And that was it. When she PR-ed, she did not get accused of doping. When she got hurt before a big meet, she did not get harangued for ducking the competition. Outside the very small community of top distance runners, no one even knew who she was.
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