Yesterday I started a thread asking what has happened to Dustin Horter, or what is going on with him. That thread has disappeared because someone, probably one of his parents, reported the thread to have it removed. The question was honest and there was nothing derogatory written about Horter. I even wished him luck going forward.
For those that don't know who Horter is, he was a high school phenom, won a lot of state championships in Ohio, a state with notoriously good high school distance running, was a national champion in the Brooks mile, won the Midwest Nike NXN and was in the top 10 at the National Nike NXN, and won all sorts of other accolades. In short, he was a highly-touted prospect coming out of high school and seemed destined to be a perennial top 10 collegiate runner and perhaps a professional someday. Now he probably will not even be a top 10 runner on his collegiate team. His best times were achieved when he was in high school. The person that had the thread removed stated that his issues started with covid and that he never recovered from having it. While that may be the cause of some of his current form, anyone that paid attention to the collegiate running scene will have noticed that Horter started slipping long before covid was even a thing.
This thread is not being started as a thread to bash Horter or anyone else. It just seems that so many guys that are at the top when in high school, become middle of the pack or worse once in college. I honestly thought that Brodey Hasty was headed down this path but he nearly achieved All-American status in XC and seems to be headed in a good direction. He was a bit of a diva in high school but now has a great attitude and is a hard worker. There are many guys that just don't live up to expectations and many that exceed expectations.
I know that college running is a much different beast than high school running is. Many sports are the same. It is so much more demanding and some just aren't cut out for it. What are some of the reasons that the transition doesn't go well for so many?
- Matured too early? Guys mature later than girls/women. With the girls, it is usually evident when they're still in high school if they will someday reach an elite level or have the potential to do so. With the guys that might not be evident until later when they mature more. For some of these guys, their best running days were in high school. Horter is an example of that.
- Was the high school coach better than the college coach This really seems unlikely because if the high school coach were better, he or she would be coaching college.
- Effort. Running in college is a lot harder than in high school. It's a grind and the guys need to be studs. It also requires a huge effort. Perhaps some of the guys just aren't doing what is required of them to make it to the top level.
- Attitude. A lot of these guys were divas in high school. They were superior and they knew it. They were cocky. When they get to college, they are suddenly running against men that are better than they are. Many just can't handle it. It seems that a lot of the best guys were more humble in high school. Luis Grijvala is a good eample of that. He was certainly excellent in high school but was probably not considered to be one of the top 10 or 20 guys in the country. He was just a good kid that was humble, worked hard, and had a great attitude. He developed into one of the best collegiate runners and that is why he ran in the Olympics and is a pro today. Brodey Hasty, who I talked about before, was one of the best in high school. He knew he was one of the best and he was a bit full of himself. He struggled a bit initially. Today his attitude is much better and his results are starting to reflect that. He's a hard worker. It's good to see.
- Genetics and natural ability. These guys that are so good in high school obviously have good genes that allowed them to be so good. Some of this does with maturing too early but perhaps they really did reach their peaks and genetically can not get any better. Look at a guy like Cole Hocker. He was very good in high school but now he is a beast and somewhat of a freak of nature. Those that were familiar with him in high school certainly knew that he would be great but not many anticipated that he may become the best middle-distance runner that the United States has ever seen.
- Getting burned out. Maybe these guys just put in too much work in high school and are now burned out. Maybe the fun is gone and they just don't have the desire to do what needs to be done. Hocker ran notoriously low mileage in high school. It has been reported that most often he ran 25-30 miles a week. Maybe some of the phenoms that don't live up to the hype just put in too many miles and too early.
- What other reasons are there? This is an issue with running in this country. If some of the problems are addressed and identified, perhaps our runners will be more successful on the international level. Some improvements are being made but there is still a long way to go.
Mods - if this thread is reported, please change names if necessary so that it is not deleted. This is a serious thread and is not derogatory at all. I have a feeling that whoever it was that reported my thread yesterday will do so again...