I didn’t even know who the Duke coach was before opening this thread, but I had actually questioned their operation.
I’ve followed Jackson Heidesch on Strava for a while, and it was remarkable to me how he was able to run sub-4/8:42y in high school on basically a relatively easy 40mpw. I know he had some injury trouble earlier in high school. As soon as he arrived in Durham, both his volume and intensity jumped dramatically, and he described his first week with the team as his biggest training week ever. Bam, stress fracture, and their best men’s distance recruit in memory is out for months.
Neither of the Duke distance coaches were ever competitive runners themselves. Neither have run in HS or college.
angela was a D3 triple jumper and sprinter and adam was a student manager of the track team while he attended college.
im not saying being an athlete is a prerequisite to success, but shoot, it’s nice to have some level of personal perspective and understanding? I just don’t think they have any idea what it takes to stand in a starting line and FEEL prepared or ready.
Agree. So a kid like Heidesch is just going to give up his running dreams for prestige of attending Duke? IF he doesnt transfer, Id be surprised. Lost time. Not training = Not getting better. He got sold a bill of goods? What's his major and wherelse would be a better fit?
Even if coaching isn’t great, there’s a reason why people choose to go to a college like Duke over NAU
You are right. Kids that go to Duke are choosing between Ivies and other selective schools. They want to continue to run well but they know they won’t even be the best team in the Triangle (NC State). It’s fine.
It’s a shame Duke can’t hire a good coach to help these athletes reach their athletic goals and get a good education at the same time. If Duke hires the right person in this position they could be one of the best in the nation. If they keep the current coach they will continue to be bottom of the barrel in the ACC.
I was under the impression that 7th in the ACC (for men and women) is pretty typical for them. The men beat NC State and the women beat FSU, both of which are usually top 20-25ish programs. That conference is no joke!
I'm less familiar with the women's recruits and results besides Maatoug, but the guys seem to develop reasonably well for 1500. Not sure when Reckart took the reins, though a few Ivy grad transfers have gone sub-4 (in Nick Dahl's case, well under) in the last few years. We'll see how the 2 Penn kids run this winter and spring. I'd agree that, for whatever reason, they are pretty underwhelming at 5k and 10k. Besides Heidesch, this latest class has 2 other sub-9 HSers so that'll be a good litmus test. I think a 9:00 recruit should probably develop into at least a 14:00 collegian. Obviously there are a number of factors at play
To that point, one of these factors is academic rigor, and I'd venture that places like Duke, ND, Stanford, and the Ivies have higher injury rates and more stagnation because they're not the most conducive to athletic improvement. If kids are burning the candle at both ends or just plain stressed (whatever the source, cortisol is cortisol), it could be tougher for them to stay motivated or do all the little things for overall health
Ultimately I think Duke probably could be better, but I don't think they are catastrophically screwing up with the hand they are dealt. It would be interesting to hear a current athlete or alum's perspective, particularly a longer distance type, as to what is working and what needs to be improved
Duke is terrible and no one gets developed there. What gives!?!?
I couldn’t agree more and her name is Angela Reckart. She is by far one of the worst coaches in the NCAA.
This is one example of the hypetrain self promoter not working as a top tier coach getting great recruits.
rhonda had a lil hype but mostly a positive role model that made the most of the talent she received. Couldn’t get the national tier athlete on the indoor/outdoor track stage but overall a solid team.
then before that(let’s skip the short tenured coached in the middle) had a quiet Nohype at all coach in Kevin Jermyn who obviously was over that program for many years but had a tremendous amount of success in XC and individuals on the track in the 1500-10k.
A nick Polk, Joe Lynn, etc type of coach would revamp a Duke program In 2/3 years. Or just bring back Jermyn as the head coach.
Amina was recruited as an 800m runner according to the broadcast. I would say she is developing into one heck of a Distance runner. I imagine the Duke record books have been going through some changes recently.
Amina was recruited as an 800m runner according to the broadcast. I would say she is developing into one heck of a Distance runner. I imagine the Duke record books have been going through some changes recently.
Too bad she can't stand the coach and does her own thing. She's a super talent that will best much better after college. She's in it for the free Duke education. I can't blame her on that one.