I know this post is 7 years old, but my response in general is name a high school that produced multiple pro-level runners. I'll wager even Newbury Park doesn't get that many who will find success as pros and that school recruits from a large area. A totally ignorant post with regard on how difficult it is for even great high school runners to reach that level.
What happened to German Fernandez for example?
I also looked at past IHSA xc champions and the only ones I can see were Craig Virgin and Tim Broe.
Also whatever happend to John Wold? I recall he never even ran college.
You don’t say anything about ‘world class’ in the post. The professional era started in 1980, so the previously mentioned were ‘professionals.’ They had shoe contracts, were paid to race and did better than many of the current professionals financially.
No in the US it didn't start until after 1984 Olympics. Anything before that was under the table. And if you want to use the word "pro" as a barometer that really weakens your case. Some of these guys are "pro" running 28:30 and getting paid peanuts for it.
What school did you go to and tell us how many ended up world class. Ignoramus.
Maybe world class is too high of a standard.
But in fairness, how many of them actually turned out to be solid D1 athletes, given how many were state champs (or nearly state champs) in high school?
-Don Sage
-Sean McNamara was some solid times for U-Mich (e.g. low 14 5k, 4:03 mile)
-Bakken (although not sure if York gets to take credit for him)
-??? Who else did well in college?
You would have to ask someone more familiar with York post high school guys, but my point is very, very, very, few runners get to a level where they're paid any kind of decent money and many of them were stars in high school.
Look at NCAA National Cross results. You'll see guys who were 9:00 in hs finishing 100th (which is not a bad place) or further back. The level of competition is so much greater. It would be like a ballplayer from the rookie leagues trying to make it to the majors.
Look at York's results since Newton left. Fell off the curve dramatically. Think many of those guys are going to be well paid pros? So what the point, train hard and maybe you can be good enough to advance up the ladder. or don't train hard and you can be star in your local 5k road race, wondering how good you could've been.
Amazing how great of a running HS York is and that none of these guys panned out after college to be pro-level runners.
I know this post is 7 years old, but my response in general is name a high school that produced multiple pro-level runners. I'll wager even Newbury Park doesn't get that many who will find success as pros and that school recruits from a large area. A totally ignorant post with regard on how difficult it is for even great high school runners to reach that level.
What happened to German Fernandez for example?
I also looked at past IHSA xc champions and the only ones I can see were Craig Virgin and Tim Broe.
Also whatever happend to John Wold? I recall he never even ran college.
I know this post is 7 years old, but my response in general is name a high school that produced multiple pro-level runners. I'll wager even Newbury Park doesn't get that many who will find success as pros and that school recruits from a large area. A totally ignorant post with regard on how difficult it is for even great high school runners to reach that level.
What happened to German Fernandez for example?
I also looked at past IHSA xc champions and the only ones I can see were Craig Virgin and Tim Broe.
Also whatever happend to John Wold? I recall he never even ran college.
Come back to this post in 3 years. Ethan Kern will go down as one of the greatest all time not only from York but Illinois high school as a whole. Book it
The 1981 Cascade Runoff was considered to be the first professional race in the USA in the modern era.
They didn't start big time prize money until mid 90's Worlds. Prior to that it was beer money.
" From the 1990s onwards, track and field became increasingly more professional and international, as the IAAF gained over two hundred member nations. The IAAF World Championships in Athletics became a fully professional competition with the introduction of prize money in 1997, and in 1998 the IAAF Golden League—an annual series of major track and field meetings in Europe—provided a higher level of economic incentive in the form of a US$1 million jackpot. In 2010, the series was replaced by the more lucrative Diamond League, a fourteen-meeting series held in Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East—the first-ever worldwide annual series of track and field meetings"
It was still professional in the early ‘80s. BTW, since you were posting about the decade, it is ‘90s, not 90’s.
There were no shoe contracts or prize money in 1980, shoe contracts started with Nike and Michael Jordan after 1984. Stipends were given but they were government subsidies.
Watch the movie Personal Chest, I mean Personal Best which was made in 1982 and had World and National class track athletes in it, including Kenny Moore. Look at the conditions they dealt with and how they lived hand to mouth...that is an excellent representation of the financial status of TF athletes in the early EIGHTIES.
It was still professional in the early ‘80s. BTW, since you were posting about the decade, it is ‘90s, not 90’s.
There were no shoe contracts or prize money in 1980, shoe contracts started with Nike and Michael Jordan after 1984. Stipends were given but they were government subsidies.
Watch the movie Personal Chest, I mean Personal Best which was made in 1982 and had World and National class track athletes in it, including Kenny Moore. Look at the conditions they dealt with and how they lived hand to mouth...that is an excellent representation of the financial status of TF athletes in the early EIGHTIES.
Personal Best was not a documentary.
I knew many track and field athletes that had shoe contracts in the late seventies, including the original members of Athletics West. Craig Virgin signed for $14,000/year in 1978.
Some of the early AW athletes only received gear until performing well enough to get a stipend.
Decker signed at least by 1980 and Salazar by '81.
A Chronological Summary of my Running Career Pre 1995 ( – age 17) Coached by the former elite runner Per Halle who placed 7th in the 1972 Olympics. Per did an excellent job as a coach and ste…
There were no shoe contracts or prize money in 1980, shoe contracts started with Nike and Michael Jordan after 1984. Stipends were given but they were government subsidies.
Watch the movie Personal Chest, I mean Personal Best which was made in 1982 and had World and National class track athletes in it, including Kenny Moore. Look at the conditions they dealt with and how they lived hand to mouth...that is an excellent representation of the financial status of TF athletes in the early EIGHTIES.
Personal Best was not a documentary.
I knew many track and field athletes that had shoe contracts in the late seventies, including the original members of Athletics West. Craig Virgin signed for $14,000/year in 1978.
Some of the early AW athletes only received gear until performing well enough to get a stipend.
Decker signed at least by 1980 and Salazar by '81.
That's BS. They didn't exist back then.
Never said it was a doc. But it was an accurate protrayal of life for track athletes. This is stupid. The original post dealt with supposed ease of being paid to run and basing that on high school development. Any fool knows that the likelihood of one high school sending runners to that level is ridiculous.
No one has still shown any proof that even one high school consistently developed runners that were pro level, world class whatever you want to call it.
Even today it exists. Most athletes who are at least national class are working as food delivery drivers, food servers, side gigs to supplement their training.
I knew many track and field athletes that had shoe contracts in the late seventies, including the original members of Athletics West. Craig Virgin signed for $14,000/year in 1978.
Some of the early AW athletes only received gear until performing well enough to get a stipend.
Decker signed at least by 1980 and Salazar by '81.
That's BS. They didn't exist back then.
Never said it was a doc. But it was an accurate protrayal of life for track athletes. This is stupid. The original post dealt with supposed ease of being paid to run and basing that on high school development. Any fool knows that the likelihood of one high school sending runners to that level is ridiculous.
No one has still shown any proof that even one high school consistently developed runners that were pro level, world class whatever you want to call it.
Even today it exists. Most athletes who are at least national class are working as food delivery drivers, food servers, side gigs to supplement their training.
And even so, look at your examples...Saladbar and Decker and Virgin for a pittance of 14k. That's garbage money. And you're comparing that to high school development when those runners were world class?
Look at York's results since Newton left. Fell off the curve dramatically. Think many of those guys are going to be well paid pros? So what the point, train hard and maybe you can be good enough to advance up the ladder. or don't train hard and you can be star in your local 5k road race, wondering how good you could've been.
In 2017, York finished 7th at NXR with 6 seniors In 2018, York took third at NXR with no seniors. Now that’s reloading
