QOD Grant Fishers coach is arrogant and full of himself

Seinfeld "The Race" ...I choose not to run:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L8U5tKTTWo

fixed your analogy for you. you're welcome. now go back to grinding your axeyou know why you don't hear farah saying he could run 12:50 (NOT WR, THAT WAS A $#IT-SHOW ANALOGY), because who the f*** cares? yes, few kids have done it, but scannell seems to care about bigger and better things (try looking long term sometime, might help you out in general in life), perhaps like ncaa titles & such. so he runs 6s (about 2.5%, in time) behind the us HS mile recordholder, big deal. guess what, I fully believe farah could run 2.5% behind bekele's record, but i think his pb is 12:53, right? I think he could run 12:50 if he wanted to, BUT WHO CARES? dolt. back to the grinder for you

Put up or ? wrote:

Yea we get it the kid is good, clearly one of the best but still, doesn't matter how good you are talk is cheap.... I don't hear Mo Farah saying "I could totally run 12:50 for 5K but I'm not going to set up a race.... I'm too cool to "try"

Put up or shut up!

How about: "He can break 4 minutes, but I don't want to focus on it in high school and screw up his collegiate and post-collegiate career."

I read the article, which was direct, informative, and right on. I have re respect for the kid and his coach than I did before. Fisher is fortunate to have a guy with a plan, with vision, and with a pair of balls.

Breaking 4 as a high schooler doesn't really bring the same prestige as it used to. When LV did it a few years ago, it pretty much went unnoticed outside of the small niche of serious track fans.

In Webb's day, being "that high school sub 4 mile guy" provided valuable marketability. Not so much anymore.

No need to go out of your way to accomplish something that won't get much attention anyway. Worry about the long term. That's where the money is.

Good on him. Glad his coach is focusing on the long term. This seems to be something private coaches are better at.

I agree.

There are a lot more than five total high schoolers that could have run sub-4 but didn't. What makes it so special is that only five were able to put it all together on the right day.

His coach wants to claim the credit of sub-4 without actually putting it all together on the right day.

Making an attempt at sub-4 wouldn't ruin his long term goals.

Grant will run a sub 4 next year...

As the second half of 2-mile.

less valuable now wrote:

Breaking 4 as a high schooler doesn't really bring the same prestige as it used to. When LV did it a few years ago, it pretty much went unnoticed outside of the small niche of serious track fans.

In Webb's day, being "that high school sub 4 mile guy" provided valuable marketability. Not so much anymore.

No need to go out of your way to accomplish something that won't get much attention anyway. Worry about the long term. That's where the money is.

Taking a couple of legit shots at sub 4 is not going to hurt anyone. Even him, as low 4 guy already, his confidence is not really subject to shaking.

Compared to winning Dream mile or nbon or whatever other high profile race, sub 4 certainly WILL be remembered. Nobody knows without looking it up who won those races in post years. Everybody knows the sub 4 crew.

I think the point was that they don't care about a 4 minute mile. They care about WINNING some big national races. If that takes a 4 minute mile, it will happen. If it doesn't, then it may not happen.

"5 high schoolers have broken 4:00, am I the only one who finds this arrogant and rude? So your saying you are so good you have no doubts about breaking 4:00! Then do it! Become one of the greats! "

so you believe a sub 4 in high school makes one "one of the greats"? i disagree. A fantastic accomplishment but all those who achieved sub 4 had up and down careers.

nothing wrong to look long term for the athlete you guide.

A sub 4 mile to the lrc crowd is like a sub 3h marathon to the hobby jogger. And both are completely irrelevant.

Good reference. I choose not to run.

If you aren't going to run it, you can choose not to talk about it. Talking about it is showing off.

It's like telling your family: "Oh yeah, I could easily run under 3-hours in the marathon, but don't run them because marathons are bad for you and wear you down"

That is all.

totally agree wrote:

If you aren't going to run it, you can choose not to talk about it. Talking about it is showing off.

Idiot. When every loser around asks you for it you have to answer.

You have to answer

Yet can't you answer humbly without putting down the mile race as a side show?

"The mile is a great race, steeped in tradition but unfortunately it is not in our plans right now. We're not sure what time would be possible, but we would try our best. We have the upmost respect for any athlete that has done it in the past. Any time under four minutes is very impressive and hard to do so we can't guarantee going under that."

That's all.

who's the idiot? wrote:

You have to answer

Yet can't you answer humbly without putting down the mile race as a side show?

"The mile is a great race, steeped in tradition but unfortunately it is not in our plans right now. We're not sure what time would be possible, but we would try our best. We have the upmost respect for any athlete that has done it in the past. Any time under four minutes is very impressive and hard to do so we can't guarantee going under that."

That's all.

You must be a liberal.

Personally, I value honesty and good judgment over hypocrisy.

who's the idiot? wrote:

You have to answer

Yet can't you answer humbly without putting down the mile race as a side show?

"The mile is a great race, steeped in tradition but unfortunately it is not in our plans right now. We're not sure what time would be possible, but we would try our best. We have the upmost respect for any athlete that has done it in the past. Any time under four minutes is very impressive and hard to do so we can't guarantee going under that."

That's all.

Yes, another bland answer befitting a bland athlete. I'm glad Grant and his coach don't say such.

less valuable now wrote:

Breaking 4 as a high schooler doesn't really bring the same prestige as it used to. When LV did it a few years ago, it pretty much went unnoticed outside of the small niche of serious track fans.

In Webb's day, being "that high school sub 4 mile guy" provided valuable marketability. Not so much anymore.

No need to go out of your way to accomplish something that won't get much attention anyway. Worry about the long term. That's where the money is.

I believe the reason Webb got all the publicity and marketing is for several reasons:

1) He broke Jim Ryun's HS record, which had stood for several decades at that point. Jim Ryun at the very least was quite well known, since he was basically an American running hero back when T&F was still hugely popular.

2) 3:53 is MUCH more amazing than 3:59, and every agent and major company knows it. When Webb broke 4:00 for the first time (indoors), it wasn't nearly as big of a deal.

3) He was the first high schooler to break 4:00 in something close to 40 years or so. When Verzbicas followed, it had only been a decade or so after.

That being said, I would say that Verzbicas' sub-4 really did help him in the end. Almost any knowledgeable coach, athlete, agent, etc. would know that coming back from the spinal injury he had (temporary lower body paralysis) would be nearly impossible. Nerve connections and muscle units just don't magically restore themselves in the same manner after they've been cut.

The only reason he even has a sponsor (NB), and the only reason his current training groups take him is because he was the first sub-4 high schooler in quite some time, and because he performed incredibly well in high school. So he's not just some great HS runner trying to come back from a career-ending injury. He's arguably the BEST (or nearly the best) HS runner in several decades trying to come back from a career-ending injury.

naive OP wrote:

Good on him. Glad his coach is focusing on the long term. This seems to be something private coaches are better at.

You guys are idiots. How will running sub 4 ruin his collegiate career? 4:01 = long term, 3:59 = done. Right.