Heard in the Ben true interview by letsrun that’s Galen rupp was “limping by”…just age or was he injured in the race? Looks like his best days are behind him now that he’s off the Salazar high test
LRC note: The poster is referencing LetsRun.com's Wejo saying "I saw him [Galen Rupp] limping out of here"
Can't argue Salazar is a great coach. Nemerous ahletes that have left him have fallen off a cliff. Even Levins fit that billing until his recent resurgence.
Can't argue Salazar is a great coach. Nemerous ahletes that have left him have fallen off a cliff. Even Levins fit that billing until his recent resurgence.
Nemerous athletes fell off a cliff when he started coaching them as well. We only remember the great ones.
He was a good coach. No better or worse than countless others. The first 10 years coaching it was pretty bad actually.
Talent, available resources and location matter and at some point you numbskulls that worship the likes of Smith, Powell, Taylor, Schumacher, etc will come to realize this. How great of a coach was Mark Wetmore at Seton Hall?
He is old. Things start to tweak weirdly at that age especially after years of high end training. He still might have enough left to make the marathon team if everything clicks on the race day. American men's field is pretty weak.
Can't argue Salazar is a great coach. Nemerous ahletes that have left him have fallen off a cliff. Even Levins fit that billing until his recent resurgence.
It’s like Ben Johnson. He was never the same after leaving Charlie Francis. Sure, he had a very short resurgence, but the he got busted again.
Nemerous athletes fell off a cliff when he started coaching them as well. We only remember the great ones.
He was a good coach. No better or worse than countless others. The first 10 years coaching it was pretty bad actually.
Talent, available resources and location matter and at some point you numbskulls that worship the likes of Smith, Powell, Taylor, Schumacher, etc will come to realize this. How great of a coach was Mark Wetmore at Seton Hall?
Nah we don't tolerate Mike Smith slander here. NAU couldn't have won XC last year with anyone else as coach.
To your point, some people do overestimate how good a coach is, but I think you're super downplaying the impact that a specific coach can have. When it comes to talent, part of a coach's job is to recruit talent. Available resources and location matter, but for over a decade BTC was based in Portland (not at altitude), didn't have a track (grass/gravel loops instead), and was still churning out global medalists. BYU won XC with their top 5 all coming from Utah. UW has 2 NCAA champs on their roster born within 30 miles of the school. Sean Brosnan took NP from not winning a conference title in over a decade to national champions in 4 years. I saw people say for years that he just got lucky and was nothing special as a coach, but the senior guys aren't quite as dominant/consistent as they were with him last year. Judging by the past few months, it looks like he's turning around UCLA with some big transfers and solid performances.
The coach is integral in building a strong culture for a team too. Arguably, a good culture is the most important part of a team performing well. Listen to any NAU kid's interview and they'll say they didn't even mention nationals until a few weeks before. There's a strong focus on the day-to-day, and they aren't worrying about what they're doing weeks or months in advance. They don't talk about chasing records. They don't even focus on winning, they just try to perform as well as they can on the day. I'm sure if Smith and Schumacher switched places, NAU would still be a top 5 team, but I think if you replaced Smith with a decent coach, it all falls apart.
Nemerous athletes fell off a cliff when he started coaching them as well. We only remember the great ones.
He was a good coach. No better or worse than countless others. The first 10 years coaching it was pretty bad actually.
Talent, available resources and location matter and at some point you numbskulls that worship the likes of Smith, Powell, Taylor, Schumacher, etc will come to realize this. How great of a coach was Mark Wetmore at Seton Hall?
Nah we don't tolerate Mike Smith slander here. NAU couldn't have won XC last year with anyone else as coach.
To your point, some people do overestimate how good a coach is, but I think you're super downplaying the impact that a specific coach can have. When it comes to talent, part of a coach's job is to recruit talent. Available resources and location matter, but for over a decade BTC was based in Portland (not at altitude), didn't have a track (grass/gravel loops instead), and was still churning out global medalists. BYU won XC with their top 5 all coming from Utah. UW has 2 NCAA champs on their roster born within 30 miles of the school. Sean Brosnan took NP from not winning a conference title in over a decade to national champions in 4 years. I saw people say for years that he just got lucky and was nothing special as a coach, but the senior guys aren't quite as dominant/consistent as they were with him last year. Judging by the past few months, it looks like he's turning around UCLA with some big transfers and solid performances.
The coach is integral in building a strong culture for a team too. Arguably, a good culture is the most important part of a team performing well. Listen to any NAU kid's interview and they'll say they didn't even mention nationals until a few weeks before. There's a strong focus on the day-to-day, and they aren't worrying about what they're doing weeks or months in advance. They don't talk about chasing records. They don't even focus on winning, they just try to perform as well as they can on the day. I'm sure if Smith and Schumacher switched places, NAU would still be a top 5 team, but I think if you replaced Smith with a decent coach, it all falls apart.
I don't disagree with your post and the importance of good coaching, but BTC absolutely had a track in Portland, right on the Nike campus.
My question in general is in an interview Alberto brought up if something were to happen to him that Galen would know the program and be able to continue on. I believe this was shortly after he died , but still. Galen was running pro way before and he should know the system. So why smith? He’s obviously not doing good.
How would you know? The terrible tv coverage only showed the leaders... All other runners are completely irrelevant... I don't recall seeing him except at the start.
Unlike the other Americans he actually lines up against the best. Where was Connor and the others. Best American in modern history. Two medals in two events. End.of story.
Nemerous athletes fell off a cliff when he started coaching them as well. We only remember the great ones.
He was a good coach. No better or worse than countless others. The first 10 years coaching it was pretty bad actually.
Talent, available resources and location matter and at some point you numbskulls that worship the likes of Smith, Powell, Taylor, Schumacher, etc will come to realize this. How great of a coach was Mark Wetmore at Seton Hall?
Nah we don't tolerate Mike Smith slander here. NAU couldn't have won XC last year with anyone else as coach.
To your point, some people do overestimate how good a coach is, but I think you're super downplaying the impact that a specific coach can have. When it comes to talent, part of a coach's job is to recruit talent. Available resources and location matter, but for over a decade BTC was based in Portland (not at altitude), didn't have a track (grass/gravel loops instead), and was still churning out global medalists. BYU won XC with their top 5 all coming from Utah. UW has 2 NCAA champs on their roster born within 30 miles of the school. Sean Brosnan took NP from not winning a conference title in over a decade to national champions in 4 years. I saw people say for years that he just got lucky and was nothing special as a coach, but the senior guys aren't quite as dominant/consistent as they were with him last year. Judging by the past few months, it looks like he's turning around UCLA with some big transfers and solid performances.
The coach is integral in building a strong culture for a team too. Arguably, a good culture is the most important part of a team performing well. Listen to any NAU kid's interview and they'll say they didn't even mention nationals until a few weeks before. There's a strong focus on the day-to-day, and they aren't worrying about what they're doing weeks or months in advance. They don't talk about chasing records. They don't even focus on winning, they just try to perform as well as they can on the day. I'm sure if Smith and Schumacher switched places, NAU would still be a top 5 team, but I think if you replaced Smith with a decent coach, it all falls apart.
Can't argue Salazar is a great coach. Nemerous ahletes that have left him have fallen off a cliff. Even Levins fit that billing until his recent resurgence.
It’s like Ben Johnson. He was never the same after leaving Charlie Francis. Sure, he had a very short resurgence, but the he got busted again.
They had a track, world class facilities, and the BTC had the revenue to send their entire team and staff to altitude for six months out of the year.
Im not arguing that coaching doesn’t matter. It does, but when the facilities, location, funding for scholarships and everything else isn’t there, it’s not exactly apples to apples. Just ask Eric Heines at Louisville (he also won a national title at NAU).
Back to Rupp. Yea he ran like dog today as the talent and supremacy is fading - and it’s not encouraging for him or Mike Smith.