Its almost as if you are a high school girl you want to be really really good instead of phenom. Look at Jordan Hassay and what has happened to her, I can see it happening to Grace Ping. We should be looking at the top notch runners to be the future instead of that glimmer of stardom. Thoughts?
Correct. Look at Molly Huddle's progression . She used to get run into the ground by Amber Trotter. Oh how the tables have turned.
Kim Conley is another example of an olympian who wasn't top notch. She was really far down compared to how she is now. Her story is even more out there when you consider that she didn't really step it up until after college. She has dropped, what, 90 seconds off of her collegiate 5000m time? That is a pretty unheard of improvement.
Who is in that collective "we" who should be looking for future stars?
And, why should that be a knock on Jordan or Grace?
If Grace achieves nothing more from now on and just leaves running, she will leave with a bunch of great memories. Jordan is different but only because of where she is now. It is not Jordan who failed, it is her coach. She has always been a good kid and diligent in her work. Why knock her?
Why is that Olympic gold the ultimate driver for running?
I happen to know a few parents who just want their kids to build great childhood memories and they happen to be badass competitors at the youth level. But maybe that is the philosophy of our club.
It's certainly complex. I've seen too many age group phenoms walk away from the sport with sour memories and fractured egos. Many were run into the ground in the hopes of a scholarship, some peaked in 10th grade and couldn't understand why others were passing them, some developed eating disorders, and some too injured to continue. This happens in all sports. It's up to the parents and coaches to be honest supportive give them balance and prepare them for failure. Nothing wrong with pushing kids to be great in a sport that teaches such valuable lifelong lessons as long the kids are happy and physically and emotionally healthy.
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