But meanwhile, Citius Mag, FloTrack, and RunnersWorld have all posted full length articles. Why not LetsRun? I'll be the first to point out that I came HERE to discuss it, but I find it hard to take LetsRun seriously as news source when they're so far behind the competitors.
LRC long form articles are great, but come on guys.
Nike is introducing Swoosh TC: a network of elite distance runners, coaches and innovators working together to push the boundaries of performance and progress at the leading edge of sport.
Welp lets discus. Essentially sounds like a fluid situation where Nike sponsored athletes will have hubs to train (Eugene, Utah, and Flag). I'd imagine they'll have a primary coach but be able to jump in at various locations and have a Nike coach oversee their workout, hold watch, etc.
Also Diljeet and Smith will still be able to coach their current stable of non-Nike athletes. Bowerman as we know it will fall under the "Swoosh Track Club" and Bowerman will stay as their sub elite and youth program name.
But this coaching staff is missing THE greatest distance coach of America
I think Brosnan will likely start his pro group once Lex, Leo and Colin Sahlman are graduating. Most likely Nike-affiliated.
Lex and Leo? Yes, that would make sense. Probably joined by Hector Martinez and whoever is the current NP #7. They will all be in the relative range of relevancy in the pro world. Colin will be with an actual pro group like with Mike Smith. Not some band of misfits like "the Rise v2".
To paraphrase though, Diljeet Taylor in Provo (still coaching BYU), Mike Smith in Flagstaff, and Jerry Schumacher in Eugene (still coaching Oregon).
All Nike distance runners can access the facilities and coaches of Swoosh TC, meaning Mantz, Fisher, Hocker, and Johnson can use them at any time even though they have their own coaches.
Bowerman pros are becoming a part of Swoosh
non-Nike athletes can continue training with Taylor and Smith—but only until their current contracts end. They will not have access to the physical therapists and strength coaches that Nike has assembled in each location. (L for Nico Young)
A Nike spokesperson said Houlihan is not a part of Swoosh TC
Also no mention of Sean Brosnan so us Brosnan fans are in shambles rn
I think this is awesome for Nike. Two places at altitude where a ton of the best distance runners already are (Mantz/Young/Rooks get all the benefit of a pro track team without having to change their setup at all), plus Oregon, which idk what the incentive is for top athletes to train there now, but the athletes who are there now have much better access to altitude. Plus BTC athletes can go to altitude camp in Flag (or Provo), and have access to Nike facilities and trainers, and one of the best coaches and training groups in the country with Mike Smith's group (or Taylor/Eyestone's groups), and Jerry can stay in Eugene with the college kids.
I think Fisher said he bought a house in Park City, which is only about an hour from BYU, so it works out decently for him. For Hocker and Teare, I'm sure it'll make altitude training easier. I'm sure there will be a big bidding war for Strand and Wolfe, and this move gives Nike a ton of leverage with them (or anyone else who wants to stick with a college coach). If they want to stick with Milt, but take advantage of altitude in Flag, and all the Nike facilities there, for 6 months/year, that's an option now. Nike now has the best training infrastructure out of company in the world, which feels way different than like a year ago when BTC and Pete's group were kinda in shambles, and most of the best Nike athletes were either training with Mike Smith's group in Flag, or just off on their own.
I'm glad Nike has finally figured this out. Ultimately, they've just taken 2 of the best coaches in the country and paid them to essentially do what they've been doing (I'm sure Mike Smith got a big pay raise to do less work lol). They don't even have to pay Eyestone either, but his athletes are going to benefit massively. Plus they finally established 2(!!!!) altitude groups! A massive step up compared to the 0 they had before.
I'll also note they set these up at the most successful colleges for distance running. BYU and NAU have been the 1st or 2nd best in XC for like a decade at this point. BYU, NAU, and Oregon get a ton of the best HS recruits, and now there's a direct pipeline to get top HS talent to a good college program to a Nike team, and with NIL money, they can build the athlete's brand for potentially 4 years in the NCAA. This is just a massive win for Nike and all Nike athletes.
This post was edited 6 minutes after it was posted.
It certainly feels like Jerry is just the third wheel in this situation. I'm sure contractually it would have been nearly impossible for Nike to move on from him. But I'd have to imagine unless there's a major turnaround at either Oregon or with his pro group, it's getting to be the end of the end for him.
To paraphrase though, Diljeet Taylor in Provo (still coaching BYU), Mike Smith in Flagstaff, and Jerry Schumacher in Eugene (still coaching Oregon).
All Nike distance runners can access the facilities and coaches of Swoosh TC, meaning Mantz, Fisher, Hocker, and Johnson can use them at any time even though they have their own coaches.
Bowerman pros are becoming a part of Swoosh
non-Nike athletes can continue training with Taylor and Smith—but only until their current contracts end. They will not have access to the physical therapists and strength coaches that Nike has assembled in each location. (L for Nico Young)
A Nike spokesperson said Houlihan is not a part of Swoosh TC
Also no mention of Sean Brosnan so us Brosnan fans are in shambles rn
I think this is awesome for Nike. Two places at altitude where a ton of the best distance runners already are (Mantz/Young/Rooks get all the benefit of a pro track team without having to change their setup at all), plus Oregon, which idk what the incentive is for top athletes to train there now, but the athletes who are there now have much better access to altitude. Plus BTC athletes can go to altitude camp in Flag (or Provo), and have access to Nike facilities and trainers, and one of the best coaches and training groups in the country with Mike Smith's group (or Taylor/Eyestone's groups), and Jerry can stay in Eugene with the college kids.
I think Fisher said he bought a house in Park City, which is only about an hour from BYU, so it works out decently for him. For Hocker and Teare, I'm sure it'll make altitude training easier. I'm sure there will be a big bidding war for Strand and Wolfe, and this move gives Nike a ton of leverage with them (or anyone else who wants to stick with a college coach). If they want to stick with Milt, but take advantage of altitude in Flag, and all the Nike facilities there, for 6 months/year, that's an option now. Nike now has the best training infrastructure out of company in the world, which feels way different than like a year ago when BTC and Pete's group were kinda in shambles, and most of the best Nike athletes were either training with Mike Smith's group in Flag, or just off on their own.
I'm glad Nike has finally figured this out. Ultimately, they've just taken 2 of the best coaches in the country and paid them to essentially do what they've been doing (I'm sure Mike Smith got a big pay raise to do less work lol). They don't even have to pay Eyestone either, but his athletes are going to benefit massively. Plus they finally established 2(!!!!) altitude groups! A massive step up compared to the 0 they had before.
I'll also note they set these up at the most successful colleges for distance running. BYU and NAU have been the 1st or 2nd best in XC for like a decade at this point. BYU, NAU, and Oregon get a ton of the best HS recruits, and now there's a direct pipeline to get top HS talent to a good college program to a Nike team, and with NIL money, they can build the athlete's brand for potentially 4 years in the NCAA. This is just a massive win for Nike and all Nike athletes.
Aren’t Strand and Wolfe joining Mike Smith? Nike NIL athletes was on a podcast.
Plus BTC athletes can go to altitude camp in Flag (or Provo), and have access to Nike facilities and trainers
What nike facilities are in Flag or Provo? How exactly will the trainer situation work in each place. This seems more like a rebrand than a restructure.
This is such a non story. Typical Nike. All publicity, no substance. Zero facilities in Flag. Provo is a dump. 90% of the athletes using these areas are with different brands. Yawn.
This is such a non story. Typical Nike. All publicity, no substance. Zero facilities in Flag. Provo is a dump. 90% of the athletes using these areas are with different brands. Yawn.
Agree. This is a silly situation and not planned well at all. Makes no sense
Honestly feels like a low energy move. There's no "new" group, just coaches doing what they've been doing before, now with extra money. That's fine and I think it will work out great for the athletes already with Diljeet and Smith (is anyone still with Jerry?). It feels more accommodating than ambitious, more OTC than NOP. But that's understandable given how much egg ended up on their face from the NOP debacle.
I think Nike realized that nobody wants to go train in Eugene, and the go-to altitude locations are Provo and Flagstaff. But they didn't want to commit to one supergroup -- or Smith and Taylor have enough leverage to say "nah I'm not moving to Utah/Arizona" -- and they can't really hose Jerry, so they said "eh let the athletes choose where they want to go."
Big winners: athletes who want to choose where to live and who to work with, Diljeet Taylor (has there ever been a female coach leading a top-level pro group before?), Mike Smith, and the non-Nike athletes they coach (yes "until end of contract" but probably contracts go through LA28 anyways).
Big losers: Nike marketing team, anyone hoping for NOP 2.0, people pulling for a dark-horse group with a new coach (ahem).
Predictions: Nike picks up more good female NCAA grads (Taylor will be a huge draw), still loses some absolute top athletes to NB. NB has flashy new facilities in Boston, a growing Flagstaff presence, and a willingness to dig very deep into their pockets.
Nike just finishes the cleaning after the Burrito Track Club scandal, after some athletes gone, the coaches exfiltrated, it was time to create a new structure with a new name and leave BTC in the trash bin of history.
But meanwhile, Citius Mag, FloTrack, and RunnersWorld have all posted full length articles. Why not LetsRun? I'll be the first to point out that I came HERE to discuss it, but I find it hard to take LetsRun seriously as news source when they're so far behind the competitors.
LRC long form articles are great, but come on guys.
It’s not an actual group from what we can see. Two of these coaches are also coaching college , two of them will continue to coach other sponsored athletes and there are no actual Nike facilities. Why would you call it a pro group when Jerry and Diljeet’s first priority is coaching their college athletes and Smith’s best athletes run for other companies. I’ve been out of the loop lately but what the world is Capriotti thinking approving this. Is he like Joe Biden and lost his mind ?
Whats the point of this pretending these groups are one team? Are they gonna have different kits from other Nike athletes?
Was wondering the same.
Suspected something was up when erstwhile BTC Pro team athletes Galvydete and McGorty raced the past two weekends in the generic Nike kit rather than the traditional "red lightning" BTC kit.
So, to expand upon this question:
a) Will all Swoosh TC athletes soon be wearing a new kit but the same kit, distinguishing themselves from other Nike athletes?
b) Will each of the three training groups have their own kit to differentiate one from another?
c) If Nike does design new Swoosh TC kits, will the non-Nike athletes (Nico, Nikki, Luis) be required to wear them in competitions?
d) Will the Provo group headed by Diljeet continue to be female only? (Note: not sure if Taylor has ever coached men.)
So, it does seem like a rebrand, essentially making official what has been known for months now, the only Big Reveals being the new Swoosh TC name and the renaming of the former BTC Pro team.
As stated earlier, no apparent restructuring, no announcement of new facilities being constructed or purchased for Swoosh TC athletes. Presuming all OR, NAU & BYU training facilities will be available for use by Nike athletes -- which appears to already be the case. There was a rumor floated months ago that Nike might be building a training facility in Flagstaff; nothing has been mentioned since.
