Help!!! Horrible Coach!!!

Train on your own, and when you win a big meet, credit only yourself in the interview. That will make him bitch...

what do you consider not bad? If you attend a D1 school and are running slower than a girl (like many guys on my team) then you are pretty much lucky to be on the team!

I think that you really should give Whetmore one more chance to turn you into a world beater...

Why would you wear a uniform if you weren't racing? That seems really weird.

Uhhhh... wrote:

I think that you really should give Whetmore one more chance to turn you into a world beater...

I'm not familiar with this Whetmore character.

I'd quit, train on your own, and race on your own.

If you are at a D1 school I have no sympathy for you.

If you are at a D2 or D3 school your coach is a tool.

Regardless, if you are just jacking around and hanging out on the team like its high school you should re-think your desire to run competitively. Your coach's job is to win championships and to have his athletes run fast. He is not meant to make you feel better about yourself. Perhaps you should go to a Tony Robbins seminar or better yet go to a Tony Wonder magic show and watch him bake himself into a loaf of bread. That would be truly great as your desire for social loafing would come full circle.

Ludacris -

Isn't it a coaches job to bring up his "good" runners to be "better" runners? How can ANY coach expect to ever have a great team if he only focuses his attention on his already "great" athletes? It takes 5 to score for cross country, though all 7 can come in quite handy, so how does it make sense to give attention and coach only one or two athletes?

A great example of a "good" runner turned "GREAT" through a coach helping and BELIEVING in his athlete : Sara Wells. Anyone heard of her out of high school? She wasn't even breaking 12 in the two mile. Fortunatly she didn't go to the same school "frustrated" went to, otherwise she may have never become one of america's top marathoners.

Having a coach BELIEVE in his athletes is as important - if not MORE important then training them physically. What's the point of being in great shape if you don't believe you are? The job of the coach isn't to just train them physically - but MENTALLY as well.

This guy sounds like a tool, doesn't matter what division your school is. I'd find quit the team, and find a coach who believes in you, train your @ss off, come back and race his athletes (beat them all), and show him what an idiot he is for not believing in you.

i agree, jack daniel's once said the job of a coach is to say, "man you're looking great today"

This guy sounds like my coach too, what an ass, he just lost a great runner simply because he is so pretentious and "bad ass" and doesn't know to coach his athletes. If you suck his wang he loves you if you are your own person and run/talk with your heart he doesn't care. I say get the hell out, most people never do because they don't have the guts to make that initial move, but once you do you'll find you made the right choice. If you do the work you'll be fine, just find a coach who "wants to coach you too"

Running is a tough sport, but we must remember that it is associated with being free. It should never be treated like football or some other sport that is more physical than mental. If your heart isn't feeling this coach then you know you are making the right choice by leaving. Good luck and I hope to hear about you in the future.

You want someone to hold your hand and tell you that you're special after your races, and your coach wants confident, talented athletes who have positive attitudes. He's just getting you ready for the real world where attitude and performance matter and no one's there to help you out of your jams.

-"sorry, get used to it"

you say the coach wants a confident, talented athlete with positive attitude - well isn't it the job of a COACH to TRAIN his athletes to be that way? I'm sorry but if any coach doesn't want to have to WORK to make his good athletes better, then he shouldn't go into the coaching business! Basically what you're implying is that a coach wants pre-made talent - well if that's the case this guy needs to coach PROFESSIONALS! I don't know many runners who are always confident, and positive naturally - usually that takes a POSITIVE coach to have POSITIVE athletes. Looks like "frustrated" isn't the only one on that team who's been getting the shaft. I'd view this topic differently if it was one person, but when the majority of the team are involved with feeling like that, I'm sorry but I'm throwing the blame on the coach.

He sounds like a terrible coach. Whether this is D1, D2, or D3 it is just awful. This is not the NFL. The job of a college coach is to train all of the runners, not just a select few. If you guys are not good, and your top runners (the only ones he trains) are not national caliber, then i would seriously consider talking to the athletic director about him. Like I stated before, this is not the NFL, this is college. It is his job, something the school pays a lot of money for, for him to help all his runners improve. If he cannot help any of them imporve or refuses to do so, he should lose his job, end of story.

It sounds like a similar situation at our school. Do you happen to go to a school in the city of Chiacgo?

underdog, i agree with your posts.

another person i'd bring up is Dan Lincoln. Walk on runner, now an American Record holder, and arguably one of the top choices among current US distance runners heading into the 2008 olympics with a shot at a medal.

to the frustrated runner who started the thread, man i feel for ya. i had a similar situation: 1 college, 2 not so good coaches. to be honest, i haven't lived enough years (just out of school myself) to develop a wealth wisdom or advice for the situation. all i can say is this:

stay focused by setting some goals and working toward them. acknowledge the fact that your coach isn't going to have any personal relationship with his athletes (and that's his problem, something he is missing out on), so put it behind you. work hard at getting into some races and run well, work with your teammates as a unit to qualify for your conference meet and develop a unity that will be stronger than the leader.

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