Wetmore is a Jerk

Buffy wrote:

1. And it's funny how most of his present and past runners stick-up for him.

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This really isn't true. The "past runners" that get any press will not want to stir things up. If you knew the majority of the runners, you would find that he has a lower approval rating than does George Dubya.

I think the debate here is really whether we are talking about whether he is a jerk or if he is a bad coach.

These are two totally seperate debates. As I know a lot of his former athletes, as it seems Buffy does, I would have to second Buffy on the fact that as a person he has a very low approval rating among former athletes... yes he is a total jerk.

But I know numerous runners who absolutely hate the man, but will still say "I dont mean to disrespect him as a coach, he made my running career, everything I did in running I couldnt have done without him." So in response to the fact that most of his former runners stick up for him, this is true about his coaching, but not his personality. Very few of them keep in touch with Mark and you can see this in the fact that the only former athletes that can run at Potts at any time other than the public times are Kara, Adam, Jorge, Ed and Heather. Go to Potts at the open time and you'll see the rest of his graduates. People skills are not his strength, coaching is.

As for the debate about whether or not he is a good coach I would like to ask, where was CU under Quiller and where are they now. I think that says that he is a good coach. If you can take a program and make it more succesful then it was when you took it over, than you are a "good" coach. Whether he is a great coach, is up to be debated, and this varies on the type of athlete he was dealing with. What he did with Alan in college was spectacular, he brought a kids talent out that had been supressed under Quiller and made him the runner that he is today.

As for the injury topic, I like the post that points out that if you havent been injured you havent tested the limits of your ability. I respect what Wetmore has done with his athletes because he has gotten all of them to test their limits, and some found their limits where a little lower than anyone expected. But what is better, to test those limits and get injured, knowing that you gave it everything you had or to stay a mediocre healthy runner for your whole life and never know how good you are. Personally Ild rather give it everything Ive got and take a chance at finding out that Im not cut out for this sport.

I can tell you that my career changed the day that he showed up to practice and said, " This team has to lose 50 pounds. I can't tell you the number of eating disorders that started that day."

Maybe in my ideal coaching world a coach can actually know enough about bodies, theory, practice, etc to prevent injuries while still testing the envelope of an athlete's abilties. Again, I'm talking about ideally. When you have 40-50 athletes though, that's not easy to do.

Now, whether he can can coach that way or not, I don't know. I do know he has had a string of bad luck with injuries and stars. Draw your own conclusions.

Because I know.

Well, that certainly clears the matter.

once again, only is the neurotic self absorbed sport of distance running are the top college coaches dumped on by the "it my coaches fault" crybabies.

I think wrote:

he is a successful jerk. And it's funny how most of his present and past runners stick-up for him. Maybe they know what you obviously don't, and that is that he cares for his athletes.

How do you know the past runners stick up for him? All of the broken down washed up runners at CU have no voice in the media. You only ever hear from the runners that did well and became one of the elites. I agree though, Wetmore is a very successful jerk. He is probably a good coach for 20% of the runners that make it through the system. The other 80% can go take a hike. He knows where to get more athletes to replace all of the broken up runners. Wetmore's statements he made about Rit'z were to cover Wetmore's ass. He knows a lot of people out there want to see Ritz succeed. If Ritz does not, he does not want to be the one to take the blame.

media? what planet are u on. no one posting here is quoting press releases from the ny times. no voice in the media???

as for the 20%, 80% sounds like arkansas, stanford, and oregon numbers match up pretty well to that.

howdy wrote:

media? what planet are u on. no one posting here is quoting press releases from the ny times. no voice in the media???

as for the 20%, 80% sounds like arkansas, stanford, and oregon numbers match up pretty well to that.

I consider the DenverPost.com part of the media. Maybe I am wrong, but the last time I checked there were more media outlets than the NY Times. Where do you get all your info? Word of mouth?

.com. that sounds like word of mouth to me.

I think that Wetmore, in this quote, is exhibiting a level of frankness that reflects upon his feeling of security in his coaching relationship with Ritzenhein. I get the feeling that Ritz got at least a little smile out of it. It sure is more refreshing than the usual "We are meeting the challenges and it is a learning experience and Dathan is maturing and things are looking very promising...blahblahblah....." that most coaches spew in the same situation.

Excellent anaylsis!

Not so fast speedy wrote:

Seems he was able to overcome his HS injury, however, not his postcollegiate one. Strange how that works isn't it?

So Wetmore is responsible for his post collegiate injury and not his being 'able to overcome his HS injury'?

Do you idiots read what you post?

Just a thought.....

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

President Theodore Roosevelt

"Citizenship in a Republic,"

Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Monty....

are you coach? if so, where at? and yea, i agree. i thnk wetmore is a great coach. and wit you monty, how is a runner supposed to improve if they dont work hard? so i think wetmore's methods are awesome. and he's the only to coach athletes to the 4 titles, men and women team titels, and also the individual titels. so obvisously his training works, and he knows what he's doing. he has his guys ready by Nats'.

He has some of his guys ready by Nats'. It is called coaching by attrition. Get 40 runners. Run them through hell. The five guys that survive the whole thing are tough as nails. Wetmore gets all of the credit; the other 35 guys limp off into oblivion. The only problem Wetmore has right now is that people will take notice if Ritz limps off into oblivion. So he is doing a little damage control by saying Ritz is too aggressive. Ritz had no stress fractures in High school but he is getting them left and right under Wetmore's program. Great coach. Not!

[quote]Jammer wrote:

We tend to forget that this kid (Ritz) is only 19 years old. Does he really need to read an article in the newpaper and on the web that says in so many words "that stupid kid doesn't listen when I tell him to be patient" I know I would be a little po'd if my coach was doing that.

quote]

Man, some of you guys just crack me up. Decide, do you WANT running to be treated like a "big-time" sport where we get some real media coverage? College football and basketball coaches give quotes and stories much worse than this every day. I actually couldn't find anything negative about Ritz in the article. Most of the time when someone says an athlete is over-aggressive it is a compliment. Basically, saying "this kids got a lot of desire I just need to reign him in a little bit or he'll do too much." Gosh that's harsh!

Listen, Ritz is a big boy. He doesn't need you jerkoffs standing up to big bad Coach Wetmore for him. I think he'll do just fine on his own.

I don't think it's fair to call him a jerk. i saw him at MT SAC last year and had a long talk with him about training for different events and everything like that. he was cool to me--polite, considerate, etc. i mean, while kara goucher was runnin the 10k, he was answering my questions and tryin to help me in the ways he could.

do i think he's the best coach? no. why? what has he done? Torres was 12th in WC's. Goucher has not done anything on the international level. none of his athletes are setting records or winning medals. not at the '99 WC's, '01, or '03. so there really isn't much difference than him and any other coach out there. the only thing American coach's say is "high mileage". that's so stupid. El Guerroj (sp) never runs more than 10 miles on his long days. the people that win the medals start by building a base through speed. they are also mentally strong, but that's besides the point (Ron Clarke was not mentally strong--11 WR's, but no Oly gold--El G, WR, but no Oly Gold). Wetmore is just a product of his environment, that's all. he's no better than Gagliano (another person who doesn't know what he's doing) or Lanana or Warhurst, McDonnell, etc. Just let him enjoy being in the American spotlight becuase right now, he is coaching the best American talent we have had in a long time. hopefully, he can coach Ritz and Nelson to high levels of success.

i've got it. why don't you guys all go on the internet and gripe anonymously about a program you know nothing about.