Let's hope this isnt Drew Hunter 2.0 that becomes addicted to wine in his $1.6M Boulder 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house and then watches his same aged peers surpass him one after another, eventually placing a string of fourths in international qualifiers.
Drew has built a family and career from the deal he struck as a high schooler. I'd say he is a success. So what if he didn't have the running career some of us thought he might have.
For real, he hit the lottery and is likely set for life. We could all hope to be so lucky in our own lives. More power to him.
coach has a very delicate job now. gonna have to replace dozens of races, that probably acted as 80% of his most important workouts. his schedule is going to look completely different now.
no more week after week of 400/800/4x4 triples etc.
huge transition coming this year.
No doubt, but wasn’t that always going to be the case? He was going to be far and away the fastest kid in every race no matter the event. The only exception would be a few invite 400s and miles.
In Nike uni or Central High uni everything was going to be change next year.
No American high school track athlete has been in this exact situation before - everything any elite high school kid could ever hope to achieve in a full pro career accomplished by the end of sophomore year. Anyone else you might compare him to had a choice between a lucrative pro contract and the NCAA, where there is (now) substantial NIL money and valuable competitive experience to be gained even for world-class athletes, not between a lucrative pro contract and 2 more years of obliterating high schoolers for free. Not much of a choice.
His coach, obviously, has progressed him incredibly well within the structure of a high school season. Makes sense to stick with him unless or until things go wrong. Trying to run it back with your high school coach (as Alan Webb did after his failed year at Michigan) can eventually produce diminishing returns - almost everyone ultimately needs a professional training group and a coach with a track record of progressing adults. But that is years away, maybe never if he keeps improving.
I don’t doubt that it’s true, but I’ve struggled to find any other sources for this besides them.
On one hand, it makes sense–he’s more than good enough, and Texas doesn’t allow NIL stuff with highschoolers.
On the other hand, he and his coach have talked repeatedly about how he wants to stay a highschooler, and do all the high school competition things.
Puzzling. But I imagine things change when Nike throws a bag of money at your kitchen table.
This isn't puzzling at all. The kid just beat the world indoor champion (Hoey), a 4th place Olympic finisher and American record holder (Hoppel), and finshed right behind a former world champion and American record holder (Brazier) at nationals. His 1:42 pr surpasses the current NCAA record. He is the fastest runner under 18 of all-time. He has absolutely nothing to gain from beating up on high school competition for two more years. It would be a stunning waste of talent. He's only going to get better running with the big boys. He literally has nowhere else to go.
Great move to go pro! He's much too talented to be racing high school competition. That being said, I hope his high school coach can continue to DEVELOP him as he matures. Probably a good idea for him to get some advice from a pro coach at some point, hopefully Nike has a plan in place. Let's not go down the Mary Cain road again, I know Alberto is not in the picture, which is good, but someone with world class experience needs to help manage this kid's development.
Coach Capeau seems to be incredibly resourceful and aligned with great mentors. Nike is also setting them up with a very strong support system that will be a huge help.
Doesn’t guarantee success of course (what scenario does?), but this also isn’t just the standard history-teacher-who-coaches situation.
Worth noting, he previously coached an elite HS 800m guy who ran at Ole Miss under Van Hoy (now one of his mentors and friends).
This isn't puzzling at all. The kid just beat the world indoor champion (Hoey), a 4th place Olympic finisher and American record holder (Hoppel), and finshed right behind a former world champion and American record holder (Brazier) at nationals. His 1:42 pr surpasses the current NCAA record. He is the fastest runner under 18 of all-time. He has absolutely nothing to gain from beating up on high school competition for two more years. It would be a stunning waste of talent. He's only going to get better running with the big boys. He literally has nowhere else to go.
Great move to go pro! He's much too talented to be racing high school competition. That being said, I hope his high school coach can continue to DEVELOP him as he matures. Probably a good idea for him to get some advice from a pro coach at some point, hopefully Nike has a plan in place. Let's not go down the Mary Cain road again, I know Alberto is not in the picture, which is good, but someone with world class experience needs to help manage this kid's development.
What is development? Is that an concern only for young runners or is it true for older runners also?
I don’t know. I’m guessing- please feel free to define it in your terms also.
Help him reach (as close as possible) his max lifetime potential in time and placement in global competition, and prioritize that over all other athletic goals, including short-term success.
No American high school track athlete has been in this exact situation before - everything any elite high school kid could ever hope to achieve in a full pro career accomplished by the end of sophomore year. Anyone else you might compare him to had a choice between a lucrative pro contract and the NCAA, where there is (now) substantial NIL money and valuable competitive experience to be gained even for world-class athletes, not between a lucrative pro contract and 2 more years of obliterating high schoolers for free. Not much of a choice.
His coach, obviously, has progressed him incredibly well within the structure of a high school season. Makes sense to stick with him unless or until things go wrong. Trying to run it back with your high school coach (as Alan Webb did after his failed year at Michigan) can eventually produce diminishing returns - almost everyone ultimately needs a professional training group and a coach with a track record of progressing adults. But that is years away, maybe never if he keeps improving.
No other runner broke 2:00 this year at Lutkenhaus’ HS this year, so I guess his coach’s expertise is only effective with 1:42 guys.
This isn't puzzling at all. The kid just beat the world indoor champion (Hoey), a 4th place Olympic finisher and American record holder (Hoppel), and finshed right behind a former world champion and American record holder (Brazier) at nationals. His 1:42 pr surpasses the current NCAA record. He is the fastest runner under 18 of all-time. He has absolutely nothing to gain from beating up on high school competition for two more years. It would be a stunning waste of talent. He's only going to get better running with the big boys. He literally has nowhere else to go.
Great move to go pro! He's much too talented to be racing high school competition. That being said, I hope his high school coach can continue to DEVELOP him as he matures. Probably a good idea for him to get some advice from a pro coach at some point, hopefully Nike has a plan in place. Let's not go down the Mary Cain road again, I know Alberto is not in the picture, which is good, but someone with world class experience needs to help manage this kid's development.
Actually you are wrong again. The kid ran 1:42 at 16, and you are essentially saying that the coach doesn’t know what he is doing. You have no clue. The guy who is coaching him is doing a great job.
I hope his coach knows how much they are tested as pros. This won't turn out too well. Why cant most of you use common sense and see just how suspicious this kid's times are? I bet if he was from any African country, dropping from 1:45 to 1:42 in a matter of months there would be endless doping accusations.
Great move to go pro! He's much too talented to be racing high school competition. That being said, I hope his high school coach can continue to DEVELOP him as he matures. Probably a good idea for him to get some advice from a pro coach at some point, hopefully Nike has a plan in place. Let's not go down the Mary Cain road again, I know Alberto is not in the picture, which is good, but someone with world class experience needs to help manage this kid's development.
Actually you are wrong again. The kid ran 1:42 at 16, and you are essentially saying that the coach doesn’t know what he is doing. You have no clue. The guy who is coaching him is doing a great job.
Ahhh...another shout from the peanut gallery, "essentially saying" is not "Saying". Now go back and read the post again and try not to get too worked up. Of course the coach has done a great job, but let's not forget how gifted Cooper is and that he's just 16!!!! Coaching a world class athlete on a year around schedule isn't easy and requires a bit of experience. Seeking some world class advice isn't saying he can't coach Cooper, just making sure he knows what to expect both good and bad can't hurt. Cooper has got a lot of growing to do, both mentally and physically and having a solid support system overseeing that is gonna be HUGE.
I'm a fan and am excited to see how fast Cooper can run. You can relax now!