Newbury Park is Privileged AF

This thread is laughable! Anyone trying to claim privilege is not an advantage is crazy.

Pros of privilege

Less distraction from needing to work along with more time to rest

Better access to resources

New and better shoes and multiple pairs specific for the function

Use of facilities like cryo, PT, massage, sports psychology

Access to gyms and equipment for cross training when injured

Supplements, vitamins, recovery drinks, etc aren’t cheap

Exposure to more competition through traveling to elite meets

Ability to travel to different and better practice locations

Pros for lack of privilege

Makes you tougher and stronger willed because you get the shaft in every area the privileged have access to.

End of list

Toad life wrote:

This thread is laughable! Anyone trying to claim privilege is not an advantage is crazy.

Pros of privilege

Less distraction from needing to work along with more time to rest

Better access to resources

New and better shoes and multiple pairs specific for the function

Use of facilities like cryo, PT, massage, sports psychology

Access to gyms and equipment for cross training when injured

Supplements, vitamins, recovery drinks, etc aren’t cheap

Exposure to more competition through traveling to elite meets

Ability to travel to different and better practice locations

Pros for lack of privilege

Makes you tougher and stronger willed because you get the shaft in every area the privileged have access to.

End of list

I am not sure what you would like to do about this privilege. Regulate it away? Make people feel guilty? Impose a privilege penalty? To what end? And how much should we allocate to a top level performer the circumstance of privilege? 20 percent? Thirty percent? And again, to what end? And oh by the way I can think of a lot better things to do with privilege than pursue a running career, a marginal sport with typically a short shelf life. Running is a way to express one's self, privileged or not. The focus on privilege reveals itself to an exercise in envy. I don't see where it leads, except to remind that we should strive for equality of opportunity where we can, a notion that doesn't need lectures on privilege.

Nothing can or should be done. It’s the circumstances each is dealt. However, you can’t deny it exists and that privilege is an advantage. To say otherwise is absolutely wrong.

Stalin and Mao had plans to deal with privilege, and then developed new forms of privilege.

The Unkle wrote:

People spoiled by privilege do not become great distance runners.

Or great boxers.

i don't know enough about boxing to dispute this, but you've got to be kidding me about distance running. ever heard of galen rupp? lmao

You must really suck. Your focus is on all of the extraneous details, flights, camps, accommodations. You know what those kids are focused on, PERFORMANCE!!! So while you focus on and cry about all that they have, they focus on running and kicking your ass. The thing that they have that makes a difference is a good coach and a built in expectation of excellence.

The last high school team that had the kind of results that Newbury Park is having was Hamond High in the mid 70's. Rudy Chapa, Carey Pinkowski and Tim Keough had the 1st, 2nd, and 4th fastest 2miles in 1975. I'm sure you've never been to Hamond Indiana. But, it is the exact opposite of Newbury Park. It is a rough, low income, steel town, with absolutely no advantages whatsoever. Hamond High didn't even have a track. They ran almost all of their workouts on a .75 mile loop at Maywoood Park.

Hammond High in the 70s, and Newbury Park now, are similar in one way and only one way. They both have/had the talent and desire and they put in the right amount of hard work to be great.

But lease cry and carry on about their superficial advantage. It makes no difference.

They still privileged af. They literally wouldn’t be running this well if mommy and daddy didn’t fund every angle or aspect of their team. They ain’t from bumf**k Siberia doing this. They’re in southern Cali running in perfect weather and have great training year round.

While you are sitting at a computer with the heater on, nice and safe to criticize people without fear of having them confront you to your face, Colin Sahlman and the boys are out there working hard and getting it done. Hundreds of thousands of kids at this very moment are what you would consider "privileged". Why aren't they all running 13:40 at Woodbridge?

The Unkle wrote:

People spoiled by privilege do not become great distance runners.

Or great boxers.

Sure. Jakob Ingebrigtsen grew up in poverty and had to fight his way up to the top.

Jakobs father has treated him like a test subject which is what he’s been since 10 years old

CLB dropping You know absolutely nothing about the Newbury Park, I do , I live here. You know absolutely nothing about any of these kids or their situations.

mmmmm wrote:

They still privileged af. They literally wouldn’t be running this well if mommy and daddy didn’t fund every angle or aspect of their team. They ain’t from bumf**k Siberia doing this. They’re in southern Cali running in perfect weather and have great training year round.

There are a lot of teams in CA wealthier than NP, which is a pretty typical CA suburban school. I don't see the school winning titles in a bunch of other sports like swimming, which would indicate privilege. Why aren't other schools in SoCal with even wealthier parents doing so well in XC? If you think this team is privileged you have not really seen what true privilege is like in the elite private and public schools in the US.

According to his report "The total minority enrollment is 39%, and 20% of students are economically disadvantaged."

They are privileged and wealthy but let’s not pretend like what this team is doing isn’t amazing.

You have four runners in one highschool that would be the overall cross country state champion in almost every other state in the union (New Jersey, New York, Michigan and Colorado might be the only exceptions). The fifth runner for Newbury would be the overall state champion in about half the states in the union. The sixth and seven runners would be overall state champions for the slowest ten 5-10 states. You have to basically be a D-1 level prospect to just travel for Newbury’s varsity team.

You could give other highschool teams all the “privilege” in the world- they ain’t replicating that.

This is dumb. You don't know their situation, but even if they are "privileged", they are taking advantage of this opportunity they have been given. Every human being should use the opportunities given to flourish, so good for them! These kids have accomplished something amazing. They and the coaches and families deserve the accolades. If we start talking about privilege, then every accomplishment--especially ones like the countless that have come from the U.S.-- can always be reduced to privilege because there is always someone less privileged.

mmmmm wrote:

They still privileged af. They literally wouldn’t be running this well if mommy and daddy didn’t fund every angle or aspect of their team. They ain’t from bumf**k Siberia doing this. They’re in southern Cali running in perfect weather and have great training year round.

Only losers whine about anyone being privileged. Life is what you make of it.

I definitely agree that these kids are privileged as heck. They have pretty much the same exact benefits as college runners. They have the newest, nicest, fastest shoes. They have enough money to travel to meets and training camps. They have good programs and good coaches. They have parents that are all in when it comes to supporting their kids endeavors. However, I could never argue that these kids don't have talent. They are obviously some very talented and hardworking kids. I'm also not gonna say that they haven't earned the times they have achieved because they obviously bust their butts year round. But there are kids who achieve times pretty close to this with none of that privilege. They just work hard and have talent. Which suggests that while these boys are talented, its not as impressive as a kid running similar times with none of these advantages. The fact is, the amount of privilege these kids have gives them such an advantage (and I'm not saying they are the only school like this. There are tons. ). Most high school running programs (like mine) get minimal funding and support from the school, and the parents can't afford to pick up the slack and pay for things. So there's no summer training camps or high caliber coaching or traveling to meets. They find some teacher who does community 5ks on the weekends to coach. Kids can't afford to go to training camps because its expensive and they can't afford to take time off of working or schoolwork. Because the reality is, lots of kids have to work to help support their families. Newbury Park would never have these problems. Just the fact that their parents and school have money is enough privilege to diminish the prestige of their accomplishments. They SURE AS HECK better be running these times because they're training and living like college athletes so they'd better produce the results they have been.

Thats just not true because privilege is systemic. saying "life is what you make of it." is so dumb. The point is that kids with privilege have the ability to make their life into what they want. Other kids do not. You can't just decide that you have enough money to get yourself into a better situation. It just doesn't work like that. You obviously are someone who doesn't want to admit that they are privileged.

There are countless professional athletes that came from property that have excelled in the the major team sports. Like golf, it seems distance running is a country club sport.