2nd to last at Heps and only 14th at Northeast Regionals.
Their national championship freshman only ran 25:06.
This is not a good start.
He was brought in at the eleventh hour to a program that had been in dysfunctional for at least a couple years. You expect things to turnaround in two and half months? This is the most short sighted post in a long time.
2nd to last at Heps and only 14th at Northeast Regionals.
Their national championship freshman only ran 25:06.
This is not a good start.
Who has an axe to grind against Ben?
I don’t think it’s axe grinding. It’s concern. Mediocre to poor showing at heps and regionals, their top senior was hurt and didn’t run all XC season….just not a great first impression for Ben in his debut season. Regardless of what he was given to work with recruiting wise. The expectation would have been for him to keep his key returning athletes healthy and to see them continue to develop under his tutelage. He did not deliver. We’ll give him an indoor and an outdoor season to work out the kinks…but as the previous poster stated…not a good start.
I don’t think it’s axe grinding. It’s concern. Mediocre to poor showing at heps and regionals, their top senior was hurt and didn’t run all XC season….just not a great first impression for Ben in his debut season. Regardless of what he was given to work with recruiting wise. The expectation would have been for him to keep his key returning athletes healthy and to see them continue to develop under his tutelage. He did not deliver. We’ll give him an indoor and an outdoor season to work out the kinks…but as the previous poster stated…not a good start.
not an alum^. they ain’t hiring you back Mick. move on!
I don’t think it’s axe grinding. It’s concern. Mediocre to poor showing at heps and regionals, their top senior was hurt and didn’t run all XC season….just not a great first impression for Ben in his debut season. Regardless of what he was given to work with recruiting wise. The expectation would have been for him to keep his key returning athletes healthy and to see them continue to develop under his tutelage. He did not deliver. We’ll give him an indoor and an outdoor season to work out the kinks…but as the previous poster stated…not a good start.
So for a coach that got hired right before the season started and had none of his own recruits, what were your expectations? Make nationals for the first time since 2016 (provided my quick Google search was correct).
Do you think they should fire him immediately?
If they show no improvement in the coming years everyone would share your concerns, but do you really think they should have shown decent improvement this year?
Who do you think they should have hired instead that would have given them an acceptable rate of improvement?
If you have a grudge or complaint against the administration or athletic department for hiring a coach so near to the start of the season that's completely valid. But no reasonable person would think a new coach would turn around a program literally immediately under these circumstances.
If by "top senior" you mean Velikonja, another thread on Dartmouth mentioned that he may be saving XC eligibility for a 5th year.
The ivies (unfortunately) dont follow the 5 year eligibility rules. You get four years to compete in four seasons. Unless you apply for a medical hardship waiver bc you are hurt. So he may get a 5th year but I don’t believe he can just choose to sit out if he’s fine. (One would hope he’d also want to run his senior season under Ben if he was healthy and able, I know I would if I was still there)
if he was the reason they ran poorly this year… was he also the reason they got 4th in heps xc 2022 when he was their volunteer coach?
The answer is clearly because of a challenge in recruiting before he was hired. The old director really screwed over the xc team in the last 2 years. When they were 4th 2 years ago, it was predominantly led by upperclassmen who were there / recruited under Barry Harwick and Justin wood. They are all now gone.
if he was the reason they ran poorly this year… was he also the reason they got 4th in heps xc 2022 when he was their volunteer coach?
The answer is clearly because of a challenge in recruiting before he was hired. The old director really screwed over the xc team in the last 2 years. When they were 4th 2 years ago, it was predominantly led by upperclassmen who were there / recruited under Barry Harwick and Justin wood. They are all now gone.
How quickly we forget
The athletes clamored for him because he actually knew how to help, give him time.
I am not saying Ben True is at fault, but it is inaccurate to say he had bad recruits.
Kemper - HIGH SCHOOL STEEPLECHASE CHAMPION - #3 STEEPLECHASE IN HISTORY - 5:43, 1:49, 4:10
Foley - 1:50, 3:50, 49, and 8:35
Beck - 9:05
Grieve - 49, 1:51, 4:13
Jiang - 3:55, 8:36
Ben True is interim cross country coach, they hired another distance coach to be Director. It is unclear which coach was writing the workouts for the team.
Say, what is it with all the threads and attention towards Dartmouth? They are never in any serious consideration for winning Heps, let alone making it to Nationals. They stink every year. They just get these mediocre rich kids and apply a quality instead of volume training regiment and they run them into the ground with injuries. Dartmouth seems to be completely irrelevant. You people might as well start threads on Illinois, Mizzou, Tennessee, or UCLA. They suck every year. None of these colleges ever change their training and recruiting approach even though proper developmental training information is widely available.
And who cares that Ben True is the coach up there? He already blew it once before, why would anyone expect him to suddenly have this coaching revelation and be a good coach? He was a better than average pro who made one world championship team in a weak year. Most of the rest of his career is above average at best. He could have been better, but insisted on doing his own thing and never listened to anyone who tried to help him. Why would he be any different as a coach? He's probably just as stubborn and insists on doing things his own way, regardless of whether they work or not. Dartmouth Athletics would be a fool to keep him on as coach.
I am not saying Ben True is at fault, but it is inaccurate to say he had bad recruits.
Kemper - HIGH SCHOOL STEEPLECHASE CHAMPION - #3 STEEPLECHASE IN HISTORY - 5:43, 1:49, 4:10
Foley - 1:50, 3:50, 49, and 8:35
Beck - 9:05
Grieve - 49, 1:51, 4:13
Jiang - 3:55, 8:36
Ben True is interim cross country coach, they hired another distance coach to be Director. It is unclear which coach was writing the workouts for the team.
2k steepler is a "national champion" in an event not contested by anybody legitimate.