2022 College Track & Field Open Coaching Positions Discussion

Hearing UTRGV throws to NAU?

ALRIGHT KIDS! THIS IS THE WEEK TO GET UR NEW JARB!! Fluff those knee pads, throw out that expired lube, work on those mouth exercises on the plane...and for godsake, if you don't have your butt plug in it's already too late, it's CONVENTION 2021!!! Who's going to be the most popular coach in Orlando? I'm fine with male and female categories...

Convention is the ultimate pissing contest. Nothing is ever learned, breakout session move at the pace of mud. It's basically a time for volunteers to suck up the best ya can to the biggest of Egos so they might one day interview you for a job that will pay under a living wage and demand 7 days of work "coaching" and by coaching I mean placing out cones on the freezing ground, doing laundry, driving the entitled "athletes" to and from a run, ordering food for the entire team and so forth and so on. No wonder the Ego's out there are so big. I'd be strutting my stuff all day long as the peons begged for my attention and approval to do be my servant. Happy Convention peoples. I'd rather bowl with degenerates, Hang in there peons, it will get better for you. One day you'll be 70 and the director of a crap team and miss all your family's important days. #MoveonandBowl

vaquero wrote:

Hearing UTRGV throws to NAU?

HC already has a short list. May still be worth a shot though.

Distance coach is on his way out too.

Someone didn't get an invite:(

Good to meet up with coaches you know but yes a lot of them are there acting like their $hit don’t stink and for what? Man who cares! It’s mostly the men, I stopped going to that crap years ago it’s a waste of time.

everyone is invited babe

Mcgreg got the extra thick kneepads

we should sell knee pads at the convention. smart!

Been in the Biz over 30 years and can tell you this is a complete waste of time! It's to go drink, play golf, vaca on the schools dime, smoosh for jobs.

Clowns like this guy ^^^ are so busy thinking they know everything and criticizing every single forum speaker to bother trying to learn anything. I've learned plenty at convention. Take the time, actually listen, maybe you'll find something valuable. I've been going for over a decade and I've learned something new every year.

Idaho got their throws coach:

https://govandals.com/news/2021/12/14/track-field-cross-country-idaho-track-and-field-adds-paul-barrett-to-coaching-staff.aspx

Convention is funny. The same goofy ppl click up together every single year and act so pretentious like their ish don’t stink it’s all just a try to act cool like you’re important crowd. You got the nerdy distance coaches with the cargo shorts polo and hat carrying their backpack with nothing important in it just old meet program landyard. The wannabe cool laid back distance coach has flannel button down shirt boot cut jeans and some goofyass shoes or Birkenstocks on. It’s a clown show there let’s be real.

Mericadude wrote:

Been in the Biz over 30 years and can tell you this is a complete waste of time! It's to go drink, play golf, vaca on the schools dime, smoosh for jobs.

Dude, you just made it sound amazing

Coaches that think they can't benefit from going to convention are the types of coaches I hope to avoid hiring. Angry at the world, think they know everything already, project their insecurities about not being a part of the cool kids club. Guys this can be a positive experience for everyone. The only knock is that it's expensive.

When it comes down to it those negative people will leave the profession or find themselves stuck somewhere they're miserable and the rest of us will go about our business, never having the opportunity to meet them and grow.

How about Sean Carlson at his symposium tonight? That was a solid stand up routine disguised as an informative training chat.🤣

it is time wrote:

Coaches that think they can't benefit from going to convention are the types of coaches I hope to avoid hiring. Angry at the world, think they know everything already, project their insecurities about not being a part of the cool kids club. Guys this can be a positive experience for everyone. The only knock is that it's expensive.

When it comes down to it those negative people will leave the profession or find themselves stuck somewhere they're miserable and the rest of us will go about our business, never having the opportunity to meet them and grow.

How about Sean Carlson at his symposium tonight? That was a solid stand up routine disguised as an informative training chat.🤣

The main importance of the convention is voting. Beyond that it is a pretty big waste of time. (Even that is probably a waste of time. It's rare for anything to be decided by just a few votes). The first few years for a young coach can be helpful. After that, the symposiums are not helpful. Even the most interesting sounding symposiums are usually pretty big disappointments once you are a knowledgeable coach. Few if any of the top coaches present, and when they do they aren't sharing their "secrets". So you aren't getting much, and are certainly not getting anything you can't get from spending a bit of time in a book or doing your own research. Thinking you are getting much if anything from the symposiums is at best lazy.

As for the social and employment aspects, if you are hiring someone because you met them at the Convention, and you think your interactions with them at the Convention are enough to feel they are hirable, that's pretty messed up. Unless you are a head coach that wants suck-ups and fakes, and there are plenty of those. It's a really weird environment with awkward and fake interactions. Not where and how I want to find my coaching staff.

Beyond that, as someone else said, the convention is a "vacation" paid for by the athletic department. The days are open, the afternoons are symposiums that most don't go to, so the afternoons are open, and the evenings are events, or open. It's a silly number of days given what is accomplished. I guess that is great if you don't have a family or don't care about your family. For many, after a long season of working, recruiting, travel, gone most weekends, etc. the priority is to spend time with family and recharge before jumping right back into it (only worse) for a long track & field season.

I also agree that there is an illogical level of arrogance with xc and track coaches. I guess if you can feel like a king in your little pond, then have at it. But the reality is that our sport is an afterthought. It may be important to us, but outside of those convention walls, pretty much nobody cares. You can think you are big crap, but its a fantasy. 99.99% of the American population doesn't know and doesn't care.

Just curious.. . what would your recommended attire be?

(im not at the convention so ....asking for a friend)

I'd also point out that there are people with big egos in every profession and also plenty of politics involved in any profession too.

Go to the convention or don't... no big thing either way.

The only thing that really matters in the convention is voting. Every once in a while there is a proposal that will fundamentally alter our sport. Whether that's in the latest proposal to change XC qualification that comes around every few years or changes to rules or scholarships.