I want to be a D1 track/xc coach and maybe and elite coach one day. However, I am not a fast runner myself; does this count me out forever? Will I really have to make a name for myself first? Anybody with insight into this I would greatly appreciate it.
Go to the websites of D1 programs you respect and read the bios on the coaches. I think the answers you seek are right there. Everything else is opinion.
Its probably not even worth it. It sounds fun, but it isn't. You are wasting your time .
Most d1 coaches were relatively fast, not necessarily All Americans, but fast. And it is also who you know. We all know coaches love their best athletes more than there slow pokes 95% of the time so these athletes will also get the best connections/references and this is the main reason it hurts to be slow.
to get respect you either need to coach fast people or be fast yourself
all about results...
now there may be D1 programs that are like not competitive at all like D3 schools and maybe you can earn your reputation by turning them around from suckiness to stardom?
thenegotiator wrote:
We all know coaches love their best athletes more than [their] slow pokes 95% of the time so these athletes will also get the best connections/references and this is the main reason it hurts to be slow.
...Well, that--plus, if the athletic dept. or its director wants to get a coach "on the cheap," it's much easier to justify having hired a (near-)novice coach, at an entry-level salary or after a very brief search, if s/he was a national-level athlete. Generally, no further justification is required.
thenegotiator wrote:
Most d1 coaches were relatively fast, not necessarily All Americans, but fast. And it is also who you know. We all know coaches love their best athletes more than there slow pokes 95% of the time so these athletes will also get the best connections/references and this is the main reason it hurts to be slow.
Well dude... Gibby wasn't exactly a 10 time all-american. 30 min 10k guy, and that was after four years of 27 min 8ks.
Follow his plan: Start at podunk D1 school (Sam Houston St), have some success, move up, have more success, etc, etc. Eventually you end up in the top five at nat's with W&M and land the UMich job.
(Kinda like the shampoo bottle: rinse & repeat.)
If you have success, you'll move up the ladder. Kinda like, well, any job. If you suck, you'll have to find different work.
That is what I figured. Would it help that my degree will be in exercise physiology?
Look at Greg McMillan. He was an OK runner, but far from elite. He has the necessary degrees and education AND he was willing to pay his dues in the coaching circles.
You have to be open to moving around, taking GA jobs, and making very little money, working at podunk university etc.. Y
I was a very average DIII runner and I am a DI head coach. Did it take me longer to work my way up to this level? Yes. But I am here.
Unfortunately, it seems that many of the posters below are correct. I was not all that fast coming out of college, but did some (assistant) coaching. During that time I helped a number of runner improve (some greatly), and figured out how to overcome my own injuries (or at least be able to train without making them worse) and run PRs for everything 2 miles and up. Once I started grad school, I helped a number of runners improve their training and racing, and helped a young guy work his way up to making the UF xc team in his Sophomore year, after not even getting a sniff coming out of high school. I understand training, nutrition, the tangentials (strength/plyo training, etc), how to balance time of being a student and athlete. I honestly believe I could have been a very good coach. Sure, I'm biased, but I have some good evidence that points that way.
However, because of my own mediocre times, I was never seriously considered by anything other than very small programs. It sucks, and there is probably a lot of very good coaching talent that gets snuffed out because of this bias in the system.
er....change "below" to "above"
I am a D3 coach of a program that did not exist 5 years ago. I could take 2 runners to nationals and no one would even blink. When you are dealing with runners who are less talented the thought is that you don't have what it takes at the next level. I found you go to work for nothing, do big things and network like crazy.
Other than that, just continue coaching those who appreciate your style.
When you chase the dream you maybe missing the chance to coach someone.
Never put on a college singlet. Coached HS cross and track. Volunteered in a DI program and worked my ass off for a connected head coach. Landed a DI job and had NC's (cross), conference champs and regional qualifiers (track) in my first year. I guess I'm just lucky, because according to most of you I shouldn't know what I'm doing and don't deserve the job I have.
bump
From where I sit wrote:
I guess I'm just lucky, because according to most of you I shouldn't know what I'm doing and don't deserve the job I have.
Which of the above posts indicate that you shouldn't know what you're doing and that you don't deserve the job? Most of the posts are supportive of people like you.
When I was on a hiring committee we used to take the top 5 candidates line them up on the track and have them race the mile. Whoever came in 2nd got the job. He knew about training to run fast but he could still relate to the slower runners.
Omniscient One wrote:
I want to be a D1 track/xc coach and maybe and elite coach one day. However, I am not a fast runner myself; does this count me out forever? Will I really have to make a name for myself first? Anybody with insight into this I would greatly appreciate it.
You think that collapse on the last lap was legit? Sucker!
That confirms that our methods and choice were correct. We got the guy clever enough to figure out and beat the test.
Your Coach wrote:
You think that collapse on the last lap was legit? Sucker!
I have been a Division I coach for over 20 years, in spite of the fact that I was a slug. After getting injured in college, I simply made myself invaluable. I helped the program every way I could. This led to a high school job, later a job at a small college, then on to Division I.
If I can do it, so can you.