Except nobody is advocating for freshmen to run 50-60 mpw. It’s a slow build, starting with whatever they can handle, 20, 25, 30 mpw, whatever that is, and then developing a love for the sport and progressively adding more until they get to 60 or even 70 as seniors.
There’s no doubt kids probably have more conflicts now than they did 30-40 years ago, and, no question the coaches generally have to cater to the lowest common denominator as with anything else in life. But, if you build the right culture, eventually, the upperclassmen become the torchbearers and start to hand it off to the underclassmen as they come up.
When I was in high school, there were always a handful of varsity runners who were motivated and running “high mileage” of about 50-60 mpw because they came from a culture of success. It was infectious. I got a late start coming from a soccer and tennis background like so many kids, but I remember being instantly motivated by the good guys who took the time to talk to me and tell me how good I could be if I simply put the time in and committed fully. I had a great coach but I didn’t need him to tell me this. Moreover, we did have one dude who was a prodigy in his pre-teens, who was probably running some 70+ mile weeks. And he showed what was possible. There’s always a guy like that on every team.
Finally, yes, it’s better if coaches focus on all around athleticism of the kids when they are young. But kids shouldn’t be afraid of high volume either. Honestly, 60-70+ mpw isn’t that high for an 18-year old who has college aspirations. There’s still plenty of room to grow. Good college programs start the kids at about 80 mpw and work up to 100+. And, kids, even if you have coaches with a “low volume” mentality, there’s nothing stopping you from doing morning runs or extra runs on the weekend. Heck, double every day.