How to approach getting a personal coach to your teams coach

I did it junior year starting in the winter after a very disappointing XC season where we only ran about 25-30 miles a week and did speed or hills almost every day.

Idk what your schools policy is, but for me the coaches didn’t own me during winter or summer, and couldn’t punish me for anything I did during that time. In season I would sandbag workouts that wouldn’t be productive to me, and did a lot of two a days and higher productivity workouts.

I never informed my coaches that I had hired a new coach, but they knew that I was doing a lot of training on my own and were unhappy with it. They complained and told me to stop a lot because I was “setting a bad example for the team” but they never really tried to enforce it because the results were really there.

I went from 2:14/4:58/17:47 to 1:59/4:31/16:09, running the 16:09 at footlocker and running the 800/1600 this indoor season.

I’ve now time trialed 4:22 in the mile and should be close to 1:55 in the 800. It’s without a doubt worth it. You never will realize how fast you can be with improper training and it’s sad to see lazy coaching snuffing out potential.

Best of luck to you!

every situation will vary. Sometimes a coach is fine, and it is meddlesome, arrogant parents and kids who think they know more than they do. but there are a lot of trash coaches out there as well.

if you can complete the workouts your coach gives you, you should be fine. If you can't, the coach should be well within their right not to run you at meets.

Some coaches would make that move, many others wouldn't.

When I was in high school I came up with my own training plan. I never outright told my coach that I was doing my own thing (although he figured it out when I'd run past his house every morning for doubles). By the time we had that talk I had already proven myself with results. If I was slower he might have put a stop to it.

I think the most important thing is that you don't make too many changes during your actual practice. Going for an extra 10 minutes on a run is one thing, but don't skip or sandbag workouts. Even if a workout isn't ideal, it will still help your fitness. In my experience, even the "bad" programs write decent track workouts. Even if the workout sounds stupid, it can usually be saved by adjusting pace/rest/reps.

What I think you should do:

1. Work on the little things at practice. Drills, warmup, core, etc. Do them at home if you have to.

2. When you're at your HS practice, listen to your coaches. Only go against them if it's a minor change or if it will make a big difference in the quality of your training.

3. Do whatever you want with your private coach, as long as you are recovered and ready for team practice.

4. Once you have some results to back yourself up with, consider telling your coaches.

5. Once you become the local superstar, you can brag. Remember that your race results justify your ego, not how much time you spend with a private coach. I've seen kids get carried away with that, so I hope you don't do that too.

Now I strongly recommend ditching the private coach and instead getting free advice here. But that's neither here nor there. All I can say is good luck. The hard work will pay off.

Some mighty fine Olympic level runners have done the same. Rip the bandaid off and be willing to run solo. Skip HS if you believe that is the right decision.

4-3 Thirty wrote:

Some mighty fine Olympic level runners have done the same. Rip the bandaid off and be willing to run solo. Skip HS if you believe that is the right decision.

This⬆. Turn pro already.