Judge by how many keep going, especially the talented one's, after HS and College to USATF level, not by what they win in HS. Great at the time, means stuff all in the long run if they fall by the wayside. The US results inernationally, distance-wise, doesn't paint a good picture. So, by that, I gather, generally speaking, development (is that a word in the HS Track & Field dictionary) at HS level is pretty average in the US as that's where it all starts.
Good Lord, does ever HS coach in history qualify as "Best Ever"? If someone asked about the greatest college football coaches, you'd hear names like Bryant, Paterno, Bowden, Rochne, etc. You would not hear the name of the coach at Northwestern Boondocks State College.
The truth of the matter is that there are a lot of brilliant coaches out there. XC and Track coaches are also willing to share their "secrets" with others which means that those that want to learn can.
So what does it take to be successful?
1) Consistency at one place which leads to a tradition
2) Coaches that are able to recruit the best athletes at the school to their sport.
3) A lot of time and dedication.
4) Support (could be from administration but most of the time they could give a rat's you know about cross country and track).
What else am I missing?
Actually I would add that it's more about recruiting quantity and out of quantity you will get quality.
Bob Timmons....Witchita East....best runner- Jim Ryun
pat castagno, delaware
does it count against a coach, if he gets 'results', but his intense program/approach, leaves the kids burned out with the majority NOT running in college....or running slower than high school, before quitting?
Chuck Medley--St. Xavier High School
Chris Jensen from the 50\'s and 60\'s Jackson High School, Jackson Michigan. Great coach and a great person.
Big John wrote:
Don Kliewer: Manheim Township (Lancaster, PA)
Thought the coach was named Lee?? Anyway got to give major props to a guy who takes two kids just out of the 8th grade and has them beating the state's best runner at 5K after less than 2 weeks of practice! That is classic nurture over nature!
Is that you Frank?
I think when you talk about the best high school coaches, you have to take into account how the runners do when they are under their wings only. What runners do after they leave their helm shouldn't help or hurt that coach's legacy. I think Newton is very straightforward with his philosophy of getting the most out of his runners IN hs. That doesn't make it right or wrong.
Joe Newton is the best HS XC coach of all time.
your memory is short. tyson. mead was something that will not be replicated anytime soon.
tyson
I might have to agree with you...(I read the "Long Green Line", years ago, too)....but doesn't he have a huge attrition rate after high school due to the burn out factor?
Sigh. No. This is always used to dismiss Joe's accomplishments, and it usually means no one has bothered to check things out. As one poster above said, not long ago there were 10 York runners in D1 doing well, and that does not take into account the D3 runners, ie, Dave Montgomery will be running for Grinnell this fall, and enters D3 as a top threat from the get go. Adam Roche is about done now at Iowa, McNamara is at Michigan and the twins are heading to Oregon. Not too long ago, York has a series of D1 All Americans, in Sage (Stanford), Kyle Erickson (UCLA), Tim Hobbs Illinois), a thrower whose name I forget (Iowa), and even Maria Cicero at Boston College (not coached by Newton, of course). As I noted earlier, with 130 runners, many of whom run because of the tradition, a lot will probably not run competitvely when they get to college- some want to do other things, but from personal experience, and my kids did run well through college, they both also wanted to do things like travel, have girlfriends, etc. And, as I noted, they are among many former York runners who are coaching.
I am not sure why you find the need to defend Mr. Newton. His place is history is quite secure and his detractors are simply jealous of his success.
A bit of a special case and I cannot remember the name right now. Back a few years ago there was a run of maybe 5 years or more where almost half of the top ranking women throwers in one or two implements (not SP, but maybe discus and/or jav) were from Grand Forks, ND (I might also mis-remember the city in ND, but I think this is correct). He coached at one HS but also coached a few athletes at other HSs in town to places on the national list.
I would say, not my son's coach. On his 3rd day of practice, he did a 10 miler. I know HS kids can handle a lot, but that seems like it's asking for injury. He's a soph and didn't train at all over the summer (a different topic), but that seems way too fast of a buildup.