The reason behind the BTC departures

I truly truly truly HATE that podcast and all mentions of it.

For all the vaunted Nike money, this sport is still bush league. Would it kill them to expand the coaching staff, communicate better with their professional athletes and try to make this work? The hubris is astounding.

I have zero insight, but I always assume it’s about money. I assume BTC either lowered their pay for their renewed contracts and they think they can do better elsewhere, or they just know someone else will pay better.

it could also be a gamble and they think they are more likely do well enough to get better endorsement deals aside from the primary team payout. Wheaties here we come if we just get the right coach.

So is Nike going to sponsor another US elite group to replace BTC?

The kid who does The Running Effect podcast seems to be doing very well for himself with it. He gets a lot of great talent on the show, so the athletes seem to like him too.

The problem is the sport itself. The public doesn’t find distance running entertaining compared to other sports and forms of entertainment.

Ironically, from a participation standpoint, it’s the best sport by far. NYC Marathon just had 55k runners and huge crowds all along the course.

I think the biggest factor is the athletes feel like they have options now. Bowerman was so dominant for a while and they were able to sign just about every American they wanted.

With Nike funding pros less, and other groups stepping they no longer have a stranglehold on all of the good athletes.

Also, I understand having a coach and a training group but if you have been a pro for 6-7 years after being elite in college. It is just running. You know how to train. The individualization can come from within

Lol it’s not the best podcast out there but he gets some big names pretty consistently

Its lowest point tho was when the host appeared to be bragging that he’s “above” the mix zone during the Parker Valby episode

BTC clearly set the mold for how it should be done. Yea Oregon project was ahead of them initially but Salazar had too much grey area stuff going on and also Rupp just was ahead of his time, the mens track distance in the USA has caught up to him but still lagging on the roads which is why rupp is still relevant.

Ritz had so much experience being coached by multiple ppl and I think he used his experience to delvelop his own philosophies that work well for his group. I think his group greatly models BTC In just getting the best college athletes you can get fresh off of their ncaa success and keep the ball rolling.

Nike has so much more in terms of resources that they could easily make this BTC situation work. The move was tough they shouldn’t have moved the group. They could have build a BTC facility with their own track etc in Portland. Grow the group more and add a couple more coaches to the staff, Jerry’s ass could commute 2x a week to Portland for a couple hours and be there for their hard sessions and corespondent with them via zoom, call or text in between. Maybe a group zoom 1x a week for an hour to go over general team things. hell, employ Solinsky and Flanagan some simple little duties to aid in the BTC groups functionality, set up things for Jerry to make it seamless for him to go from BTC to Oregon duties. Nike has the money to support this but maybe Nike wants him to Make Oregon the priority to bring them back to glory.

Specifics, yes. As a whole team and generally speaking, it’s more than that. Goes deeper.

That only works until it’s time to go to altitude camp for 12 weeks at a time.

Yes, the moment Rupp is ready to start coaching pros.

It absolutely blows my mind that they couldn’t figure out how to get coaches to the BTC practices on multiple occasions. U of O has three distance coaches! Jerry, Shalane and Solinsky. You’re telling me that not one of them could be there for the pros? I kind of throughly that was the reason for bringing Solinsky on in the first place.

I agree with this.

When one thinks of leaving a job, many factors come into that thought process.

in no particular order: advancement, learning, fun, mentors, pay, location, boss, product or service.

Location seems to be the dominant theme but there is no way that is the only factor to so many BTC athletes leaving. Pay, that doesn’t change other than when contracts run out.

I think when people make a big work change it has to do with the many other intrinsic issues and logical probability issues.

That’s why I said you bring on BTC assistants. By the time altitude camp comes, they have built a bond with the new coaches and trust them to handle the logistics and administrating workouts and other facets of their camp.

these are PROFESSIONAL runners, they are well aware of what they have to do and what’s to be expected when heading off the altitude, having a couple assistant coaches, a manager, and Jerry on the zoom 1x a week would make the camp go well. He can text them too I mean it’s really not that difficult they just flat out dropped the ball.

Also, they never go for 12 weeks, it’s 6-8 weeks tops. Besides, we never think about why would Jerry take the Oregon job in the first place. Dude may very well have been burnt out with the pro coaching and wanted a change so he didn’t make it work he basically decided, hey I’m going y’all can keep me as your coach and stay with the team or figure something else out and that’s what they’re doing

Nike signed BTC athletes for less money than they would have received outside the group. Grant took a big loss to join because he wanted to be a part of something special.

My perception is half the athletes left, the other OGs will slowly retire and they will start filling the group with athletes who don't know BTC as anything other than a Eugene based group.

Let's see: So, Jerry and BTC ignore their runners, completely disregard any of their input or desires, give them zero input or even notice in major decisions that obviously have a huge impact on their lives, underpay them and expect they'll be grateful for anything they get for the 'privilege' of joining BTC, overtrain and injure them without much regard for the consequences,... and largely abandon them to do other things that'll personally benefit the coaches.

Yeah, no, it's really hard to imagine why anyone wouldn't be rushing to sign up.

If BTC were a stock, I'd be selling it short hand over fist. Same for Jerry.

For everyone saying BTC has failed, it really should be said that Jerry has failed. Jerry is BTC. That's it. He sets the tone, he makes the hires, he brings on the athletes, he manages the resources, etc. Jerry decided to pursue the Oregon job and ultimately accept it. No one forced him to make that choice, he made it and made the decision without consulting his team.

The vast majority of the team hates Eugene. Who can blame them. Eugene is a junky college town, while the BTC athletes play second fiddle in garnering Jerry's attention, having access to facilities, etc. The team was a well-oiled machine in Portland. Moving it all to Eugene blew it all up and it all falls back on Jerry. All of it.