Thoughts on IMG Academy for track?

Well, Loren Seagrave coaches there, and you can't get any better than that.

Since Nick Bollettieri owned his tennis academy there and produced Agassi, who of note has come out of that place? West coast FL is hot and humid, hardly the type of weather to train in, even for short distances.

All of Florida is hot and humid. Plenty of quality sprinters train in Florida, with the National Training Center in Clermont (Central Florida) being a training center that has drawn Gatlin and others in recent years.

Some distance runners spend short stretches in Florida (Des Linden has spent the past few months in Central Florida getting ready for Boston), but the lack of hills and the low altitude mean that it will never be a distance running Mecca. Of course, Jenny Simpson went to high school in Central Florida, so it might be fine for high school level training.

Anna Kournikova was okay.And, I'm quite sure there is a large stable of high-level track folks there, as well.

Tcxsert wrote:

Since Nick Bollettieri owned his tennis academy there and produced Agassi, who of note has come out of that place? West coast FL is hot and humid, hardly the type of weather to train in, even for short distances.

Anna Kournikova was okay.And, I'm quite sure there is a large stable of high-level track folks there, as well.

Tcxsert wrote:

Since Nick Bollettieri owned his tennis academy there and produced Agassi, who of note has come out of that place? West coast FL is hot and humid, hardly the type of weather to train in, even for short distances.

Word. We have heat and humidity, but that's better than snow for year-round training. UF has a good program, Marty Liquori moved to Gainesville when he could have gone anywhere, lots of the high schools in the state have good programs, too. A lot of runners train in Florida and the National Training Center is here, too.

I've been to Coach Seagrave's seminars and he's great—he's not just a legend, you actually learn from this man and he's one of the most engaging speakers/educators I've heard speak, too.

The track team at IMG is pretty non-existent/mediocre...just look at Milesplit.

That's a good point. And I don't have a real explanation for it, either. Seagrave and his people are all top-notch and their facilities are as well. Part of the problem may be that IMG does not compete fully in the the FHSAA stratification so it can travel to compete in other states (a big deal for football and bball teams). But that should not impact track as it does other sports as much. I'm not sure why, given all they offer, they cannot put forth a better track team—their summer camps and coaching clinics, yeah, but what of the actual team?

No serious runner would ever think of moving there. Eugene/Park City/Flagstaff of course, but Bradenton-Sarasota never.

Tuition room and board... 70k per year.

My take (and this applies to football as well) is that good athletes will be found by college coaches. Track is beautiful because a coach can look at times or distances or heights and gain a lot of information. Cannot do that in team sports.

A lot of IMG kids in football signed with D1 schools, but I am thinking they would have gotten those offers anyway. It will be interesting to see what happens over time.

$70K/yr seems like a stupid investment. If a parent took that cash and put it in a 529 that would pay a good bit of college at a state school. If the kid is good enough to get some grant-in-aid money, then the cash is going to help fill in what is left. (Many colleges are also good at finding additional money for the kid if the offer in track is not a full ride).

bump

Carly McNatt goes there

Well, doesn't look like a viable choice now with Seagrave busted.

kmaclam wrote:

Well, doesn't look like a viable choice now with Seagrave busted.

Busted for what? Giving mustache rides?

If you get the chance to train with Mark Napier, take it.

A Florida Coach wrote:

A parent of an athlete is interested in sending him to IMG Academy for track. Now, I know a lot about IMG already being in Florida, but I would like to hear the opinions of others who might be knowledgable, too. Is it worth the money? Are the academics on par with other good private or public schools?

My own interfacing with IMG as a coach has impressed me greatly, but I would love also to hear what other coaches, former students, and parents of students think.

IMG Academy's School Records:

100m: 10.34

- That's a fast time--I'll give them that

200m: 21.34

Better than most schools in America, but not THAT good-would've been 10th in Florida this past outdoor season--would expect sub-21 from a school that requires $72k in tuition

400m: 48.90

A fast time, but wouldn't even rank top 25 in Florida this past outdoor season--would expect sub-47 from a school that requires $72k in tuition.

800m: 1:54

Tad-bit more impressive than 48.90--but you'd expect sub-1:50 from a school that requires $72k in tuition.

1600m: 4:21

I don't want to call this a "garbage" time because in the grand scheme of things 4:21 is not bad, but for a SCHOOL RECORD--most public schools have a school record that's faster than 4:21. This time is not impressive for a school record whatsoever.

3200: 9:54

This time is in fact terrible for a school record. Probably ranks in the bottom 10% of all 3200m school records in America. 9:54 is an impressive time for a freshman, but that's about it. For a school record, 9:54 is garbage.

LJ: They have had a 24ft guy which is pretty good

I've had teams run against them and have not been impressed by their performances. In fact they were just plain not good in many areas. Rolled up in their big giant tour bus and looked the part until the gun went off.

Carly McNatt will probably beat that 3200m record and come within 15 seconds of that 1600m record by the time she's done.