College sports are not pro sports and should not be treated as such, even for athletes who could go pro. If the athletes want to train like pros that is on them. Things like weight, goals, performance should be individualized and set by the athlete. Good on these athletes for sticking up for themselves. The coaches should have treated it like a college sport and not like they're going to win the olympics.
That's not good. Hopefully this article ends the practice, but Johnson comes out looking pretty terrible.
“Track is nothing but numbers,” he says. “A good mathematician probably could be a good track coach.”
I'd argue the opposite. Pretty much anyone with a background in running could come up with a decent training plan, but what separates good coaches are their abilities to support and inspire athletes.
Yikes Yikes Yikes wrote:
That's not good. Hopefully this article ends the practice, but Johnson comes out looking pretty terrible.
“Track is nothing but numbers,” he says. “A good mathematician probably could be a good track coach.”
I'd argue the opposite. Pretty much anyone with a background in running could come up with a decent training plan, but what separates good coaches are their abilities to support and inspire athletes.
Agreed. That quote (and the article obviously) should be a massive red flag for any HSer considering Oregon. ESPECIALLY girls. Does it work for some? Obviously. But at what cost/risk?
Kvothe wrote:
College sports are not pro sports and should not be treated as such, even for athletes who could go pro. If the athletes want to train like pros that is on them. Things like weight, goals, performance should be individualized and set by the athlete. Good on these athletes for sticking up for themselves. The coaches should have treated it like a college sport and not like they're going to win the olympics.
Then go to a different school. There are hundreds of other options. Some people like this approach.
Give me a full ride to Oregon. You weigh and measure any time you want.
Kvothe wrote:
College sports are not pro sports and should not be treated as such, even for athletes who could go pro. If the athletes want to train like pros that is on them. Things like weight, goals, performance should be individualized and set by the athlete. Good on these athletes for sticking up for themselves. The coaches should have treated it like a college sport and not like they're going to win the olympics.
If it's unacceptable for collegiate runners I don't see why it would be acceptable for professional ones. A professional runner should not be expected to risk her health and career to achieve a coach’s goal of having an Olympic medal winner.
You know who else went to University of Oregon and is obsessed with what women weigh?
Are DEXA scans a good tool to find out who has a thyroid problem that was not caught in the athlete's annual physical?
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I think you are confusing weakness with toughness. Women are not afraid to speak up about abusive practices.
Sorry, I think this DEXA thing is so stupid. It sucks all the joy, personality and spontaneity out of the sport. I don't know how else to scream this point from the rooftops but weight is not the end all or be all for performance. It's stupid that so many male coaches are fixated on it.
Manbearpig15 wrote:
Give me a full ride to Oregon. You weigh and measure any time you want.
LOL really? Oregon is not Harvard, bud.
Never said weak. I said fragile. Mentally fragile for sure.
I could also give a list of women’s coaches that have been just as bad, if not worse than male coaches. It’s not a gender thing.
One last thing- body comp is certainly not everything but it is very important the higher level you are trying to be at. If you are running for Oregon, you should have some level of understanding that success is important. It isn’t Portland State.
I listened to an interview from Mary Cain not to long ago and she said to quote her very loosley 'The University she was expected to go to (UO) if she didn't join NOP; the coach there used to weigh athletes as well.'
Does she mean the Powells with that?
If yes, that's very interesting.
Kvothe wrote:
College sports are not pro sports and should not be treated as such, even for athletes who could go pro. If the athletes want to train like pros that is on them. Things like weight, goals, performance should be individualized and set by the athlete. Good on these athletes for sticking up for themselves. The coaches should have treated it like a college sport and not like they're going to win the olympics.
At the top of D1 college sports are amateur sports in name only. Many of the top athletes wouldn't be in school at all if they weren't on the team and it's through the team that they make their living. Coaches have their livelihood on the line and depend on their athletes doing well.
godzillas sack wrote:
Never said weak. I said fragile. Mentally fragile for sure.
I could also give a list of women’s coaches that have been just as bad, if not worse than male coaches. It’s not a gender thing.
One last thing- body comp is certainly not everything but it is very important the higher level you are trying to be at. If you are running for Oregon, you should have some level of understanding that success is important. It isn’t Portland State.
Once again, women aren't weak. They are tough and stand their ground. I think you are having difficulty with comprehension here.
Also you are acting like these girls came in as hippos and need to lose weight. They are already at a pretty optimal weight which led to them running times that are worthy of Oregon.
You know what really makes a coach look good, it's not analytics, it's importing a bunch of foreigners and purging the US athletes.
This article only scrapes the surface. Some of the sprinters at UO have been screamed at for being fat in front of team members while being weighed. Why has such a successful program had so many athletes transfer out? Why has it had so many with injuries.
Body weight is only ONE component of what is going to make an athlete successful. Yes weight matters and it shouldn't be 100% off topic but coaches can address this in many other ways besides the ones Johnson abuses. Johnson uses this information as extortion over this athletes. He withheld athletes being allowed to travel to meets, their travel food money and NCAA gifts to those not meeting his standards. That he parsed in his PC quotes to Goe as "the athletes not obtaining their own goals" is his trying to deflect blame for his role in destroying the careers and lives of so many young girls and women. Those around Eugene know the truth about Johnson. Now more will come out. Thankfully. The question is why would any parent trust their child to run for a man who so dismissively treats such serious accusations.
SDSU Aztec wrote:
Kvothe wrote:
College sports are not pro sports and should not be treated as such, even for athletes who could go pro. If the athletes want to train like pros that is on them. Things like weight, goals, performance should be individualized and set by the athlete. Good on these athletes for sticking up for themselves. The coaches should have treated it like a college sport and not like they're going to win the olympics.
If it's unacceptable for collegiate runners I don't see why it would be acceptable for professional ones. A professional runner should not be expected to risk her health and career to achieve a coach’s goal of having an Olympic medal winner.
What?
Since when are professional sports healthy?
Gymnastics, swimming, tennis, football... you name it, they all abuse young bodies.
It is easy for this to go the other way. If you don’t monitor weight, a lot of women at that level will also under eat. Just ignoring it doesn’t solve the problem.
Maybe a little extreme but these athletes know what they signed up for and honestly I wish my university was this serious. You go to a competitive power 5 school to win titles, not to play paddy cake. If you’re not serious then leave, but for some athletes this is what all that hard work in high school was for, a professional college atmosphere.