Segregation in Track and Field: Black Kids=sprinters Rich White Kids=distance runners

An even more concerning observation is the poor quality of your writing. But, I suspect that particular deficiency is commonplace in the field of sociology.

Carry on.

As a high school track coach that has won many state championships, conference titles etc.... with a lot of different kids from all walks of life, different colors, religions, cultures etc... I think you are generalizing too much and placing blame on coaches. I look at the current talent in front of me and the competition and create the best team lineup I can depending on who is entered in the meet and/or the student's needs to get the job done. They might not all be able to win as individuals but contribute to a team win. You would be amazed at what kids are willing to do for each other when they are stripped down to their thin clad uniform.

Secondly, being part of a program or a team is a volunteer endeavor based on interest and exploration. I'm glad they are available and am willing to work with them. Why make someone do something they don't want to do? Ideally, a compromise between what the individual wants and how they can help the team is a best case scenario. This is what makes track unique to other team sports/ball game sports with meathead coaches that are control freaks.

Finally, I think you are giving skin color too much attention/credit for what you see as a problem. Maybe someday society will eventually let go of it. Maybe when we are all somewhere around a brownish-yellow color?

Every country has good white sprinters besides America? Really?

I'll answer your questions and another one. Why does Kenya have horrible black sprinters? It's very simple. It's called genetics.

This should help you out:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2013/07/sports-gene-by-david-epstein-a-must-read-for-all-coaches/

Some people are better made for certain sports and positions in sports. Why don't you start a thread entitled, "Why are there no 6'1 centers in the NBA?"

It amazes me that people think all humans are the same genetically.

I never said all people were the same. The genetics argument is usually what people use to justify racism. Why doesn't Kenya have any good sprinters? Because Kenyan CULTURE focuses on distance running. And Kenya, is a really poor country, how many people there can afford the amount of food and equipment you need to build the powerful physique you need for sprinting ??? Rojo, can you please explan Marielle Hall to me, is she just a rare black girl who happens to be good at distance running, or did her parents probably send her to affluent schools that focused on distance running, thus she got put in those events and excelled?

rojo wrote:

Every country has good white sprinters besides America? Really?

I'll answer your questions and another one. Why does Kenya have horrible black sprinters? It's very simple. It's called genetics.

This should help you out:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2013/07/sports-gene-by-david-epstein-a-must-read-for-all-coaches/

Some people are better made for certain sports and positions in sports. Why don't you start a thread entitled, "Why are there no 6'1 centers in the NBA?"

It amazes me that people think all humans are the same genetically.

Old Fart Coach wrote:

Maybe when we are all somewhere around a brownish-yellow color?

So you are saying John Boehner is the look of the future?

Ha!!!! I think he's closer to orange. Like the old rub on tan out of a bottle look from the 70's Except when he's crying about something. Then it's more red.

Kids segregate themselves. Any white guy who goes out for the sprints is laughed at, any black kid who tries to run XC is seen as a sell out.

I'm african american and I'm in my senior year of high school. I hit sub 17's this year so i'm proud. I have friends and family that runs 15s, and I even have a cousin that ran a 14 min 5k and a sub 2:20 marathon! Although these are stereotypes, there are still african americans distance runners out there, you just don't see them often but lets be real here... there are more white people in the distance community. But theres no problem with that because all distance runners are family!

I'm Mexican and ran distance running. There were also Mexican, black, and white sprinters at my school; the black kids did the best (usually the mixed race ones were the fastest for some reason.) The mexicans and whites did better at distance running.

I don't think it has to do with segregation at all.

Why do you liberals always associate wealth with white people? It's coming off as a bit racist.

I grew up first 10 years of my life in a trailer park, moved multiple times, dad worked in a factory, one of 5 children, etc. I am also white.

Fast forward to college and I got a full ride for academics/running. I'm also Olympic hopeful. Wealth has nothing to do with it. It's people like you saying "oh, you're poor, you can't do it because the system is against you, Republicans are evil, yada, yada, yada..." You take away their hope, incentives, etc.

Stop trying to make up issues that aren't there.

I go to school with a white guy who ran an 11.56 100m as an 8th grader. My schools 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400, are all white relay teams. They consistently medal. I see white kids smoke black kids on a regular basis. There is a cross country team that was in the top 15 in my state where they had no white kids. Your statement cannot apply to all schools. And while I agree that in many places, black kids are sprinters and white kids run distance (don't know about the rich aspect of that) that is not segregation. No one looks at a 4:30 miler but tells him that because he is black he is running the 200. Those kids choose to run what they want to run, or the coach puts them where is best.

What is ironic is that your fundamental premise is in itself partly racist by lumping ALL PEOPLE OF AFRICAN HERITAGE into the same boat.

Most ethnic groups of Africans share the same ectomorphic (long arms, long legs, short torso) body morphology that is conducive to speed. West Africans, like the Igbo of Nigeria, via an unintended consequence of a genetic trait that originally aided in malaria resistance (sickle cell trait) have picked up a more efficient anaerobic metabolism. East Africans, especially groups like the Kalenjin and Oromo via recent migrations to altitude and very slender body morphology, are more suited to distance running. It is important to note that the AVERAGE West African and AVERAGE East African will only be a bit better suited for sprinting or distance running than the average non-African counterpart. However, the outliers stick out much more profoundly because such small difference in genetic talent determine how things shake out at the top. It should also be noted that this long-legged, short-torso body shape is a huge disadvantage in swimming, which helps explain why swimmers of African heritage are relatively scarce.

Africa is an amazing specter of human genetic diversity. There is more human genetic diversity on the continent of Africa than in the rest of the world COMBINED. Some ethnic groups, like the Pygmy of central Africa (short height, short limbs) have traits that have them perfectly suited for their environments that will inhibit success in professional athletics. You just can't make blanket statements about Africans and say they will all be good at sports. The genetic profile is way too diverse. However, certain groups have genetic profiles that really help in certain sports. The Kalenjin of Kenya are truly an amazing example.

Kids self-select with remarkable efficiency. There may be cultural pressures but really, kids like being good. And the truth is that genetics matter, and the average genetic profiles of different backgrounds means some groups will be better at some sports than others.

You really should read the Sports Gene by David Epstein. The explanatory power of the book is simply amazing, and shattered any remnants of belief I had that athletic talent for different sports was inherently equal across ethnic boundaries.

Rich white kids play tennis and swim. Only runt rich white kids ever go anywhere near a track.

Good sprinting has nothing to do with genetics, not on any racial basis at least. It is just about development. In America, sprinters are developed primarily to play football. Most are developed in the south, where you can train all year. Because of a shameful episode of America's history, there are a lot of black people in the south. There are also a lot of football coaches who believe that a black kids have more potential as sprinters and put them in speed positions even before they are faster than other kids.

If all the black sprinters from the south were fast because of genetics, African sprinters should be kicking their half-white behinds all over the place. They don't. There is no racial advantage in sprinting.

I guess schools in mainly white neighborhoods don't focus on developing sprinters.

What other country has good white sprinters and who

are these good white sprinters ?

Not sure why you think she looks out of place? She is the same height as most in the picture? Her hair is pulled back like the others. She is wearing Adidas apparently? She has bunhuggers on?

Everything is normal to me, what is your problem?

RacingtheCantaloupe wrote:

West Africans, like the Igbo of Nigeria, via an unintended consequence of a genetic trait that originally aided in malaria resistance (sickle cell trait) have picked up a more efficient anaerobic metabolism.

Even if this unreferenced claim is true, SST is much less common among African-Americans than West Africans, yet Americans school Africans so thoroughly that most of Nigeria's elites are US-born.

And where is this supposed anaerobic advantage among the hundreds of millions of non-Africans with SST? I suppose they all have short legs?

So why are there so few white players in the NBA and NFL? America overall is about 12.4% black or African-American, so why haven't the coaches held the number of black players down to a level closer to the demographics of the population?

How is it that Marielle Hall was allowed to ... Ugh I don't know why I bother arguing with you focktards ... if you really think like this you are doomed.

Schwartzehonky wrote:

What other country has good white sprinters and who

are these good white sprinters ?

Men's World Indoor 60m champion.

Women's 100mH, 400m and 600m WR holders.