Coach Cook shares his thoughts on what happened with Flannagan and Donohue

I obvioiusly don't know what happened, but I find Cook's story very believable.

I also admire Cook's realism - few coaches are honest enough to give their athletes a realistic assessment of their potential, and even fewer athletes are honest enough to accept reality. Erin will squander her life chasing goals she doesn't have the ability to achieve.

I obviously don't know what happened, but I find Shalane's story very believable.

I don't understand that. Even if she never reaches 4:00 how will it ruin her career to have that as a goal? Unless you are saying she should leave professional running all together.

cripple runner wrote:

I also admire Cook's realism - few coaches are honest enough to give their athletes a realistic assessment of their potential, and even fewer athletes are honest enough to accept reality. Erin will squander her life chasing goals she doesn't have the ability to achieve.

The real slime bucket here is Edwards.

And coaches should give their honest opinion of their athletes potential. this isn't little league here where you tell everyone "you can do it!". Geez they way you people talked he shouldn't hyped her up for a WR attempt and taken as much money as he could.

Soon wrote:

I don't understand that. Even if she never reaches 4:00 how will it ruin her career to have that as a goal? Unless you are saying she should leave professional running all together.

Constant disappointment will take it's toll leaving to an early exit. DUH!!!

Only if you expect to run 4:00 every time you step on the track. If you leave that out there as a big goal but accept smaller improvements then I don't see the problem.

And to those that say you can't tell everyone "You can do it!" While I agree to some extent, can't you see this is one of the reasons American runners are happy not even trying to engage the Africans in a race?

Comrade Obamski wrote:

Didn't Herb Brooks say something like, "YOu don't have the talent to win on talent alone."

It worked for the '80 hockey team. Maybe he uses unorthodox motivational techniques?

F**king LOVED the movie rendition.

"You think you can win on talent alone? Gentleman, you DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TALENT to win on talent alone!"

Kurt Russell.... yes!

Anyway.... videotaping the guy's workouts and then running off with them is definitely something to be looked down upon... if it's true. And if it is indeed true, I just lost a bunch of respect for S. Flanagan, as great a runner as she is.

Shalane: Honey, I feel like I should run a couple more intervals and do a bit longer cool-down.

Coach/hubby: No babe, the video clearly shows you not doing any more intervals and only doing three for a cool-down.

Shalane: (Pouting at coach/hubby) But dear, I REALLY think I need to do at least a couple more miles on the cool-down.

Hubby/coach: (Fearing cold cereal and sleeping alone....again) OK sugar mums, let's go ahead and do two more intervals and a couple more miles on the cool-down.

Shalane: (Just beams at hubby/coach)

Next week at RiteAid

Hubby/coach: Hey babe, the walking-casts are over in this aisle. Do we need any Ibu also?

If coach somehow match up to what the attention level and goals that the athelete wants for her career then that's not a good fit for either.

Both are adults and have their own priorities and preferences.

Steve Edwards looks over with his eyes on the prize

http://trackandfieldphoto.com/DisplayJpg.php?090208_0059_5153_RLM&next=1

There is always 2 sides to each story

Please. He's the one that took Erin from a Nike internship training on her own to a Nike sponsored athlete and to the World Championships and Olympics when no one else was helping her.

He has a falling out with her because he apparently tells her sub 4 doesn't seem realistic? Looks like a valid opinion and a coach talking straight. He never stopped coaching her because he thought she couldn't break 4min, he suppported her to be her best.

What is clearly being said in this interview is that Erin, for whatever jealous reason, has decided she can't train with Shannon and made this an issue. He can't have that obviously, it's not fair to the other two he's training.

What would you do if you were Cook? He didn't make a big announcement when it happened. But when both Erin and Shalane spin their stories anyway they want, you have to allow Cook to respond them.

Maybe this will motivate Erin to prove him wrong. She needs it. Might be the best coaching he can give her now.

I don't understand that. Even if she never reaches 4:00 how will it ruin her career to have that as a goal? Unless you are saying she should leave professional running all together.

Athletes of all walks share a serious psychological problem - the inability to understand and accept the limitations of their unique genetic potential. They organize their lives around training to achieve impossible goals and then ascribe their failure to reach those goals to extrinsic factors such as coaching errors. It sounds as though Erin had a good coach in Cook and then bolted when he rightfully informed her that her goals are unrealistic. I'm not saying that Erin should quit professional runnig; instead, I'm saying that she should make decisions based on reality rather than fantasy. That she does otherwise is clear evidence that she is running down a bad intellectual path which will most likely end in complete frustration.

Erin already has had a career that all of us would be envious of. She can continue to have that career and try to achieve her goals.

Edwards comes across as a complete tool.

Some Canadian wrote:

Anyway.... videotaping the guy's workouts and then running off with them is definitely something to be looked down upon... if it's true. And if it is indeed true, I just lost a bunch of respect for S. Flanagan, as great a runner as she is.

Don't be stupid. What difference does it make whether the workouts are taped or later written down? None. Shalane has every right to keep a record of her workouts.

Wow. It's amazing that Cook takes himself so seriously, but not surprising. He acts as if he invented some magical training program. Nothing's changed. He's the same buffoon we used to run circles around when he was a high school coach 36 years ago.

Cook book? Get a f***ing grip pal.

malmo wrote:

Wow. It's amazing that Cook takes himself so seriously, but not surprising. He acts as if he invented some magical training program.

Go to the mirror, boy!

Indeed. Mr. Malmo has ranted about Cook before, nothing has changed. Except Cook has helped made Olympians and Malmo is, well, unfortunately still prolific here...

Let it go... moveon.org