Should Mary Cain bypass the college route?

Yes but she will most likely go to college. Her best bet is finding a coach with a long term plan(If she does not already have one) similar to how AlSal works with Rupp. College racing will only set her back on the international level and she needs to focus on where she will be years from now not how to score points for a team.

Dude, she's just gonna be a junior this upcoming fall. If by the time she is a senior she can run low 4:00 and wants to pursue running professionally then yes she could easily forego college.

I would doubt she runs for Bronxville HS next year.

Look for her to transfer or simply go the club way for the next 2 years

Yes- no question- strike while the iron is hot- but she has two years of high school to get through first.

She should go to Shippensburg U and follow in the footsteps of Neely Spence.

I thought the whole point was that she was training with the boys team (and their coach) and not the girls (and their coach, which was the source of some recrimination by his supporters), so what would joining a club do for her?

Yes she should go pro and straight into the training ranks with Alberto Salazar. Mary Cain could be his "Million Dollar Baby"

As an ex-college coach, it pains me to say it ...... but yes, if she's running at an international/pro level by the time she graduates from high school then she will gain no benefit from the collegiate system. More than likely the collegiate system would only hold her back or ruin her.

For starters, the collegiate season does not jive very well with the international season. We're starting our XC season while Europe is just peaking for track events.

Secondly, in college it's all about the team, meaning it isn't unusual for a runner to have to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of team scoring. I've seen more than a few outstanding running talents suffer from having to double or triple at conference championships.

And of course, if you're attending college then academics comes first, athletics second (at least in theory). You end up spending so much energy on getting good grades that it may cut into your training.

Finally, you can attend college at any time in your adult life, but your window of opportunity in athletics is very short. Better to optimize your athletic potential while still young.

Working since dawn wrote:

When the time comes should Mary Cain bypass the college route and go right to the pro ranks?

She will go the same way as Georgie Clarke of Australia, who, at the same age, would have smoked her (4:06.77). Natural ability, the understandable enthusiasm of uninformed parents, and the overambition of small-minded coaches who have no interest in the long-term interests of the athlete , spurs on way too much hard work at a young age. This will ensure repetitive injuries, psychological problems, and not reaching what everyone regards as her 'potential'.

What times would you say would warrant consideration of passing up college?

Does any of the great senior performances warrant such consideration

800 wilson. 2:00

5k. Hatton. 1550

Steeple Nerud 10:00

All just graduated in June

The Quenton Cassidamius wrote:

Yes but she will most likely go to college. Her best bet is finding a coach with a long term plan(If she does not already have one) similar to how AlSal works with Rupp. College racing will only set her back on the international level and she needs to focus on where she will be years from now not how to score points for a team.

Yeah it really set back Wheating, Centrowitz, Willis, etc.

Let's add Hannah England and Jenny Simpson in there as well.

Wheating and Centrowitz were at their best at the end of a college season.

College helps give kids structure and goals to focus on. It also teaches them how to race.

If you go to Europe and run 4:02 you are crap - total crap. There are like 4 time trials to get excited about each year.

In college, you have conference, last chance meets, NCAA indoors, outdoors and then USAs.

Rupp is the perfect reason as to why College works. He had goals and meets to run. What would have motivated him as a 28:20 guy if he wasn't in college? Nothing.

Well she can still train with the boys coach, but not have to bother with the long hs season.

From what i understand there was friction in the school and on the team with her demands. So why should she deal with it all and just drop off the school team and run open

She can go to college at any point in her life...but she has a rare opportunity to go to just about any school in the country for FREE right now (or when she graduates high school). The NCAA system, as rojo alluded to, seemed to not only not harm athletes like rupp, barringer, falanagan, wheating, centro, etc, but make them better and develop them more fully as runners.

It's a risk, because she might be on top of the world at the end of high school and then not have the college career we think she will (it's certainly happened before) BUT on the other hand she has the opportunity to have a tremendous experience at a great university and run on a TEAM for 4 years and if she can keep improving she has the potential to leave the NCAA as an athlete 10 times more marketable than she is now/will be at high school graduation, so ultimately more $$$ in her contract.

My vote, and I am certain she will make her decision on a tally she is keeping as she anxiously pores over this thread, is that she goes the NCAA route. I agree that it is super tempting and the other way has worked for some in the past. She will be very fun to follow for the next decade. Who will ultimately have the better career--Cain or Hasay?

Centro, Wheating, et al aren't good comparisons; Mary Cain is already national class, while they were absolutely not in high school.

I would point to someone like Hasay instead. Has the college system really worked out for her? At this point, I'd say not. Here we are in 2012 and her PR is 1 second faster than it was in 2008.

*4 seconds faster. Guess I remembered that wrong.

her PR is at least 3 seconds faster than it was in 2008, but agreed at this particular point in time the NCAA system seems to be beating her up a bit. I think it would be wise to wait for all to be said and done to judge, however.

Azaleas wrote:

I would point to someone like Hasay instead. Has the college system really worked out for her? At this point, I'd say not. Here we are in 2012 and her PR is 1 second faster than it was in 2008.

How , exactly do you know that if she would have done any better had she gone pro and skipped the college experience?

There are plenty of examples of girls that were world class or close to it at a high school age who went the club or pro route and stagnated. It seems more likely that if you are destined to become world class that it does not matter which choice you make (within reason of course)

Remember, as good as she is - and she is very good- the odds are still against her ever placing in a senior worlds or Olympics. So it's best to make decisions based on maximizing your future as both an athlete and as a person.

Its a tough call. However, 2 of the last big name stars to forgo college very early were Webb and Andrews who have yet to develop stratigecally (granted I'll give Andews more time). But, she is a female runner, who meet their peak shape quicker than men, so she could be fine out of high school. I'd say we'll wait a year to see how faster she gets. If she reaches an elite level and wants pro, her coach must make sure she gains lots of racing expeience,

I think she should definitely go to college to get the racing experience (not to mention the degree), but she would need to choose very carefully. A place like Colorado, where the coach focuses on long-term development and doesn't over-race the athletes, would be ideal -- not somewhere like Oregon where there's more pressure to run three seasons in a row and double/triple at championship meets.