i despise coaches who, themselves, were never runners

So?

I have known a few great coaches who were not runners. The best wife/husband pair in SC were never runners and were national HS coaches of the year. I have know plenty of horrible coaches who run and are very good runners.

Do you mean bums like Gags?

Like Peter Coe?

practice what you preech wrote:

fact: nobody should coach track or xc unless they, personally, used to be a competitive runner.

Point understood, but you're wrong. Coaches who weren't world class, or even runners, often evaluate certain aspects of the sport better because they don't enter with a personal bias. They decide what to do based on study and actual practice of ideas, not on their own experience which bring a subconscious bias.

I despise grammar Na*is who themselves were never teachers.

OR that stiff Joe Vigil?

Or Jack Daniels.

Running was his worst event as a modern pentathlete. That's why he started studying running physiology.

Coaches should be runners. And runners compete. You can't assign big mileage unless you understand what mileage means. By runner I mean run now, not necessarily in HS or college. I'd impose an additional condition: not being fat.

Like the world's most successful coach, Brother O'Colm?

One of my H.S. coaches was never a runner and was a better coach than another one of my H.S. coaches who was a former world class runner. Coaching has lot to do with passion, listening, observing, learning and managing details, these things aren't not exclusive to having been a runner. Btw, sometimes ex-runners tend to over coach, although it does help a lot to have been a runner.

Sebastion Coe once said that there was an advantage to his father Peter Coe having never been a runner. Also, I don't think Father Colm was ever a runner when he started coaching at St Patrick H.S. in Kenya. Btw, I have successfully coached several field events that I never participated in.

Kenyan elite wrote:

Like the world's most successful coach, Brother O'Colm?

Exactly, many great coaches were not runners

trackcoach wrote:

One of my H.S. coaches was never a runner and was a better coach than another one of my H.S. coaches who was a former world class runner. Coaching has lot to do with passion, listening, observing, learning and managing details, these things aren't not exclusive to having been a runner. Btw, sometimes ex-runners tend to over coach, although it does help a lot to have been a runner.

Sebastion Coe once said that there was an advantage to his father Peter Coe having never been a runner. Also, I don't think Father Colm was ever a runner when he started coaching at St Patrick H.S. in Kenya. Btw, I have successfully coached several field events that I never participated in.

i dont care. unless a coach was personally a runner in his past, he knows nothing about what a runners body or mind actually feels. it should be a LAW that all running coaches must currently be runners or atleast have a history of competing at the collegiate level in the past.

Numerous Villanova school, national and world record holders would think you're a knob.

runner who professes wrote:

Coaches should be runners. And runners compete. You can't assign big mileage unless you understand what mileage means. By runner I mean run now, not necessarily in HS or college. I'd impose an additional condition: not being fat.

This argument begs the question. Maybe the high mileage training philosophy is wrong.

And all politicians at the state and federal level need to have served in the military.

Best coach I worked with was a field event guy, but he knew his stuff with regard to running as well. His best qualities were in dealing diplomatically with people, and his sense of humor. He was fair, honest, and didn't take himself too seriously. He was balanced, in short a good person.

Coaches who are runners don't have time to coach. Previous runners have too much baggage. Coaching and running are not the same. That's why there's a coaching certificate but not a running certificate.Doctors shouldn't examine women if they aren't one. Dentists shouldn't extract cavities and fill them if they don't have any cavities. Etc.Your arguement is childish and it sounds like you have problems with authority and possibly histrionic personality disorder.

runner who professes wrote:

Coaches should be runners. And runners compete. You can't assign big mileage unless you understand what mileage means. By runner I mean run now, not necessarily in HS or college. I'd impose an additional condition: not being fat.

practice what you preech wrote:

fact: nobody should coach track or xc unless they, personally, used to be a competitive runner.

While that sounds good, evidence points to the fact that it's just not the case that really good runners make better running coaches.

Often I think great runners make very bad coaches. Because of their success and great ability they think that anyone can just run a 55 sec. 400 or sub5 mile if they just try harder. That's just not true.

I understand as a runner that in order to get me to "buy in" it's easier if the coach has some lofty PRs and Ws. However if the coach has produced great runners, I'm much more worried about that, than his personal running success.

They were all runners, they just weren't good runners, so they stopped running and concentrated on coaching.