Simply, I think Ritz's career mirrors Goucher's a worrying amount-- I'm a fan of both runners, and God knows when we're talking about American records etc., these guys are clearly great runners-- what we'r looking for, though, is world class (sub 2:09 perhaps). Ritz could be that-- but not the way he's going. And even those PRs aren't very comforting-- 2007 feels a long way off, watchng some of the recent races.
Jag wrote:
[quote]Ravenmaniac wrote:
Is it really the fault of Hudson's coaching ..."
Well, sort of, yes. Why can't Ritz establish attainable goals? Why's he ALWAYS shown up by people he beat in HS and college? From a critical standpoint, it always looks like Ritz has no game-plan, no idea of how to race if things don't go precisely how he thought-- and that part is the coach's responsibility. (I guess this is me going back on "Hud's a great coach...")
I can agree with that, though at some point you can reach the conclusion that certain athletes are uncoachable. Hudson's inability to corral Ritz certainly represents a chink in Hudson's armor, but recall that Ritz has said things in the past like "I used to look down upon 2:14 marathoners...Now I am one," and "I'm the world's fastest 2:11 marathoner." At this point in Ritz's career, I don't know that anyone can pound some realism into him. Ritz will have to take an objective look at himself change his own mindset to reach his potential because at times it seems like he feels entitled to world class performances based upon some of the domestic championships that he has won.
Ritz is just a supersized Fry (as in Scott). Is it not well known that FL champs tend to not do a heck of a lot in later years? Ritz has done better than most. He just needs to realize that he was an early bloomer.
I know that this may come as a surprise to a great deal of this board but a good coach says NO more than they say YES. Great athletes always want to do more than they should (training and racing). They also want to swing for the fences every time out. A good coach will tell the athlete NO. You need to improve in baby steps in both training and racing.
Brian Sell runs too many miles and needs a coach that is not afraid to tell him NO.
Dan Browne races way too much and needs a coach to tell him NO.
Fernando Cabada thinks that he is going to set a US record every time out and he needs a coach to tell him NO.
It is tough to tell a friend NO and Brad is more concerned with being a buddy than a coach. He actually does the opposite. He listens to Dathan and then supports his stupid ideas. This way he keeps his meal ticket happy. Well, now it has backfired. It reminds me of the "cool parent". The one that buys the beer for the high school kids. Their kid almost always grows up screwed up.
If Ritz didn't buy into Hudson's race plan, then that is partly on Hudson and how he sold it to Ritz. Remember XC Nationals in Boulder? Hudson is great at building fitness, but his skills in the area of emotional and mental preparation and race execution aren't quite as developed.
Ravenmaniac wrote:
Is it really the fault of Hudson's coaching that Ritz threw out the game plan and went through the 5k at London at 2:03 marathon pace? Ritz might have been ready for that 2:07 that he was aiming for, but we'll never know since he charged out of the gate near world record pace.
There are just so few coaches who have the whole package (know how to train athletes at a variety of distances, get them ready for the right races at the right time, psychological guidance, balance science vs. art, etc.). Hudson has most of those qualities but not all of them. It is difficult to find the right coach (especially one that you can work with for a long time).
Some athletes are "coach-proof," but most of us benefit from somebody who knows us as well as we do (but maintains a more objective point of view). Conversely, some athletes are not coachable. These folks never fully buy into any program, ask too many questions, won't defer to anybody else's expertise, and subconsciously sabotage their programs (this seems like Ritz).
Don't forget that there are some tremendous athletes who have coached themselves.
System Sucks wrote:
I know that this may come as a surprise to a great deal of this board but a good coach says NO more than they say YES. Great athletes always want to do more than they should (training and racing). They also want to swing for the fences every time out. A good coach will tell the athlete NO. You need to improve in baby steps in both training and racing.
Brian Sell runs too many miles and needs a coach that is not afraid to tell him NO.
Dan Browne races way too much and needs a coach to tell him NO.
Fernando Cabada thinks that he is going to set a US record every time out and he needs a coach to tell him NO.
It is tough to tell a friend NO and Brad is more concerned with being a buddy than a coach. He actually does the opposite. He listens to Dathan and then supports his stupid ideas. This way he keeps his meal ticket happy. Well, now it has backfired. It reminds me of the "cool parent". The one that buys the beer for the high school kids. Their kid almost always grows up screwed up.
"I'm not their father. I'm not their friend. I'm their coach."
Joe Vigil
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Not sure who did the web site but it is spectacular!
Part therapist, part consultant, part motivational expert, part professional organizer, part friend, part nag — the personal coach seeks to do for your life what a personal trainer does for your body.
Kim Palmer
The most important quality I look for in a player is accountability. You've got to be accountable for who you are. It's too easy to blame things on someone else. Lenny Wilkins
What Ritz does not realize is that he has indeed been performing up to potential. This is as good as it gets for Ritz. Come on, folks is he really that good?
Yes.
Noddles wrote:
Come on, folks is he really that good?
I think so, yes: I ran against a guy from Ashland, Ohio who ended up going around 2:16 for the marathon. The difference between him and Ritz should be much greater than the difference between Ritz and Hall (instead, it's the same). Up until the last 18 months or so, Hall and Ritz were absolutely equals, suggesting that they're similarly capable. Over that same period, though, Ritz has seriously disappointed himself: thus the coaching change. As he put it, he's, "the fastest 2:11 marathoner in the world." He just might be right, and that's not where he should be.
Maybe Ritz will run 2:09 someday. Don't expect him to win a major marathon.
If he is indeed the world's fastest 2:11 marathon runner then he should have no problem winning the Houston marathon. However, if Deriba Merga runs again he may not win.
Ritz is a solid marathon runner like the Ed Eyestone was in the 80s.
Heck, we should not complain at least now are marathon runners are getting into the top ten in major races. At this point that is all we can ask for.
Ritz blew through his opening 5k in 14:37 at London. That's why his legs fell off at the end. He was fitter than 2:10:00, but he didn't execute the race plan. Can't put that on Hudson.
I predict when Ritz leaves Hudson, he will up his mileage and then get injured. History will repeat itself.
He's actually a nice guy. You confuse one short moment you perceive as negative as the totality of his persona. Imagine what the guy I gave the bird to while driving thinks of my character.. Well, I guess I really am a jerk, but hey, my wife and cats love me. Yea, I like Ritz alright based on my experience of time spent with him. He's bright, focused and humble in my mind. It would be my guess that he wouldn't flip off that d-weed whose driving 50 in the left lane while traffic passes on the right indefinably. . That's just the way things are. I wouldn't take it out of context.:)
Austinbuffalo wrote:
I used to think highly of Ritz, but before a Chicago Marathon that I ran, I jogged right by him, said hello to him, and he looked at me like "why are your lips moving?" He is either arrogant, or shy and comes across as arrogant....
Really? So when college runners go out too fast in a race and blow up, that's no reflection at all on how their coach prepared them to race? Coaching isn't being a fitness instructor or personal trainer for running. A coach also formulates a strategy for the athlete based on current fitness and what can be expected from the field in that race. If an athlete doesn't follow his best race strategy then the coach didn't do enough to sell the athlete on the soundness of the race strategy or maybe just didn't prepare the athlete well to handle that race strategy or even didn't come up with a sound race strategy. It could also be that the athlete doesn't respect the coach enough to truly buy into that race plan. Just don't act like the coach has zero role at all in how the athlete executes in a race. If that were true, why even have a coach or why agree to coach someone who won't accept your coaching?
Hudson Doppleganger wrote:
Ritz blew through his opening 5k in 14:37 at London. That's why his legs fell off at the end. He was fitter than 2:10:00, but he didn't execute the race plan. Can't put that on Hudson.
nohim wrote:
He's actually a nice guy. You confuse one short moment you perceive as negative as the totality of his persona. Imagine what the guy I gave the bird to while driving thinks of my character.. Well, I guess I really am a jerk, but hey, my wife and cats love me. Yea, I like Ritz alright based on my experience of time spent with him. He's bright, focused and humble in my mind. It would be my guess that he wouldn't flip off that d-weed whose driving 50 in the left lane while traffic passes on the right indefinably. . That's just the way things are. I wouldn't take it out of context.:)
[/quote]
I think people actually misunderstood his "fastest 2:11 marathoner" comment. To me it was a self-deprecating joke. Like he was saying "I'm tired of having this un-met potential." I don't understand how people could read it as an arrogant or boastful comment.