2:01 HSer Sammy Watson turns down "money that would surprise most people" - signs with Texas A&M

Was anyone else surprised by her school selection? I remember reading the article on the homepage about the severed relationship for Brazier with Henry and the mid-D coach after he went pro before the Trials. Article made it sound like Brazier didn't feel like he could stay for the following 2-3 weeks post-NCAA's to keep training. I wonder if this was brought up in Watson's recruitment. Her projected graduation lines up better with the next Olympics, in that she doesn't walk into a sudden situation to jump ship, but I would think the Brazier stuff speaks to the coaching staff's personality - are they fostering point scorers and trophy winners, or wanting what's best for the athlete?

Brazier trains with the team at TAMU. Keep trying though this should be fun.

She's not getting $1M.

Her kit sponsor won't put out for anything without the performance on the track.

We have seen how they dump runners.

If she gets hurt running for A&M, most scholarships are honored for the full term, so she gets her degree for free.

If she gets hurt running for Brooks, she gets what is in her pocket from the signing bonus, say $100K.

That's nice, but it won't last long.

From the Letsrun story:

"When he broke the news to his coaches, Francique and Henry were hesitant, to say the least. Brazier’s decision had thrown a wrench into their plans. Everything had been booked for him to run at U.S. Juniors, but Brazier knew that as a pro he had to run at the Olympic Trials. He considered running both meets (U.S. Juniors was a week before the Trials), but ultimately decided to devote all his energy into the Olympic Trials. Francique drew up a new set of workouts with a new goal in mind. However, rather than remain in College Station, Brazier flew back to Grand Rapids for the final two weeks before the Trials.

“I don’t think he felt that he was able to stay at Texas [A&M],” Pennington said. “I think that once he turned pro, he didn’t think he had the option to stay and train with his collegiate coaches… I don’t want to get into the details of it, but I don’t think that was a decision that they were real happy with. I just don’t think he felt comfortable. And he wasn’t really sure that that’s where he should be.”

Brazier says that he had the option to train at the Texas A&M facilities if he so desired; both Francique and Henry declined to comment for this story.

Back in Grand Rapids, Brazier worked out alone at his old high school track, a very different environment than the one he had become accustomed to at Texas A&M.

“It felt weird,” Brazier said. “It was very quiet out there. Coming from a program that has 150+ athletes that are all out there training, to by myself and really no one yelling at you like Coach Francique yells at you and just being by yourself, it’s kind of hard to get that good workout done. It was different. It was hard.”

Those close to him agree that those two weeks back home had an impact on Brazier’s race at the Trials. Brazier was coming off one of the biggest decisions of his life, and his first meet as a professional just so happened to be the most important one of his career to date. That’s a lot to take in for a college freshman whose coach and training partners were suddenly 1,000 miles away.

“I wish I could have done more for him at that point in time,” said Winne, Brazier’s high school coach, who had initially planned to travel to the Trials as a fan, but wound up as Brazier’s unofficial adviser after his event coach at Texas A&M, Francique, didn’t make the trip (Brazier said that Francique was absent because of a “family issue,” but had plans to fly in for the final). “It was a 19-year-old kid who needed some help. It was just one of those things where you try to do as much as you can to get him ready. It’s tough when you’re not sure exactly what the training was like for the year and everything else. I think that definitely played into him not doing as well as he was capable of at the Trials…He’s one where he doesn’t always like to ask for help. It’s one of those things that I found out where it’s like from now on, just ask for help. He’s a great kid and there’s a lot of people who are willing to support him however they can.”

I think the interpretation of the 2nd paragraph is the key there. Not comfortable with his decision to turn pro, or his decision to stay and train there? I'd think a coach would make it pretty clear that his athlete was welcome to stay on.

Fair enough, I may have given Hunter more credit than he was worth at the time, however I could argue the same for yourself.

For one, out of the whole 1500 field, how many actually had the Olympic standard,5. And most hadn't even come close to those times that season. Hunter is one of the most consistent runners to date and I am sure had he been in shape it would have shown. I wasn't just blatantly saying Hunter would have a peak performance at the trials. The final was FAST and he still had room to grow. You remember what I said about consistency, that's where it would have shown. This isn't me saying he COULD have, I am saying he WOULD have.

Yes, I am taking away from the others, I will admit. However, it is easier to root for someone climbing up than for someone who has fallen off. Hunter had room to grow, where someone like Wheating has been chasing his former glory.

Hunter ran 1:48.6 in a one off race. Tell me he couldn't go faster.

fdfsdf wrote:

LetsRun.com wrote:

But the Rush-Henrietta standout and her family also know this: That money isn't going anywhere.

Unless she gets injured, sick, doesn't improve, etc. etc. In sports you take the money when it's available. Your assets likely aren't appreciating, if you know what I mean.

A college education is a better investment in the long run.

Whatever initially happened, the bottom line is that Brazier is at A&M and trains with the A&M team. He obviously realized that it was a good situation for him.

I could understand if she passed on the contract to go to top university Stanford. If she fails track during and after school, a degree from A&M won't guarantee much.

Moo Goo wrote:

I could understand if she passed on the contract to go to top university Stanford. If she fails track during and after school, a degree from A&M won't guarantee much.

If she wasn't a runner where would she be accepted on her academic record?

Moo Goo wrote:

I could understand if she passed on the contract to go to top university Stanford. If she fails track during and after school, a degree from A&M won't guarantee much.

You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?

You walk to talk about consistency when the reality is Hunter has almost zero experience at that level. Consistency in high school races where you are the best runner in the country is much different then performing consistently on the national stage.

Could have would make a hell of a lot more sense than would have.

I'm excited to see what Hunter can do, he is a serious talent. But it's just absurd to discuss him as someone who had any shot at making the olympic team.

There were around 30 guys that ran faster then 3:40.

I don't know whether Hunter can run faster than 1:48.6, I also don't care because you know who else can run faster than 1:48? Every single guy we have that's a threat to make the olympic team in the 1500m.

Hunter is a great talent, with a bright future. Let him be that.

Hank Moody wrote:

You walk to talk about consistency when the reality is Hunter has almost zero experience at that level. Consistency in high school races where you are the best runner in the country is much different then performing consistently on the national stage.

Could have would make a hell of a lot more sense than would have.

I'm excited to see what Hunter can do, he is a serious talent. But it's just absurd to discuss him as someone who had any shot at making the olympic team.

There were around 30 guys that ran faster then 3:40.

I don't know whether Hunter can run faster than 1:48.6, I also don't care because you know who else can run faster than 1:48? Every single guy we have that's a threat to make the olympic team in the 1500m.

Hunter is a great talent, with a bright future. Let him be that.

I don't think you understand. When I say "outside shot" I mean it. I mean if everything were to play to his favor, he may have made the team. That's just my opinion though, and I get that I'm not changing yours.

Hunter is consistent, even at a professional level. Although he has only won one major minor race, he has improved in every other race he hasn't won. Even at his worst, at the 2016 Prefontaine classic, when he had Lyme Disease, he still came away having run his 3rd best mile, where as Leo Manzano didn't even break 4. Performing at your best, even at your worst, THAT'S what consistency is. Again... you may disagree.

Yes, 1:48 does pale in comparison to 1:45. Can every team contender run faster, no.

Hunter is a great talent, there I do agree with you.

As I stated earlier, do I think he should have chosen college over professional running... no way.

When was the last time a guy made a WC or Olympic team less than a year after they broke 4 for the first time. Your argument is humorous. You can say that about anyone. "if everything were to play to his favor". If everything played into my favor I could have made the team too you know. I don't care what you think about Hunter's decision, historically it doesn't work with the distance runners. It didn't even work for Alan Webb and he ran 3:53. And please don't give me the excuse that Hunter broke his indoor record, because 3:58 indoors is a long ways from 3:53 outdoors.

Now if she gets injured the money is off the table. She can always return to school after her running career is finished and take some classes in the off-season. If she ends up running sub-2:00 the offer may increase so that is the only possible upside to going to college.

Hunter had no shot at even making the Olympic Trials final.

With that said, there isn't really much upside in going to college for a track and field athlete.

For the most part, as long as you are sponsored by the same sponsor as the school, you can train with the team no problem. Additionally, for college athletes, they normally pay for you education in addition to your contract so it's like a full scholarship + salary.

Lastly, the best time to go pro is after a big performance. I'm sure Brazier has a nice contract as he went pro right after an NCAA title and a 1:43.

Some of you may remember, Lashawn Merritt ran 44.mid indoors his freshman year of college and went pro before NCAAs lol. Cash in when you can.

I think the idea that Drew Hunter had a chance to make the Olympic team last year is preposterous.

As pointed out here, he didn't even make the Trials. The last guy into the Trials has almost no shot of making the team. Maybe if it was a high schooler vastly improving you could give him a shot.

But I still say no shot.

Last year his best mile time was 3:57 which is about a 3:40 1500m. The Olympic standard is 3:36.2. Even this year his best is 3:56.80 still way short of the standard. He hasn't shown he has some crazy kick on the pro level. A guy from Princeton named Willy Paulson beat him in his last race. Not someone most of us are familiar with.

The gap between a top high schooler male in the US and a pro is a huge one. That's why I'm surprised adidas paid him so much money but not surprised Hunter took it. Take the guaranteed money and you still can go to college with it.

Hunter needs to try and just make sure he makes the USATF meet this year. 3:39 and 13:32 standard. But right now I wouldn't expect him to be a factor in either event unless he improves dramatically.

Nonetheless, he's very good for a college aged freshman.

yes getting paid any amount of money for running would probably surprise most people.

The training partners and coaching he would have had at Oregon, together with the guaranteed money Nike would have offered him after the career there and possibly multiple national championships, would have likely helped him develop much more. Among those middle distance runners to go pro in high school, it is not going all that well at the moment, is it? Now in the women's 800m, even a great talent like Sammy Watson is going to have to struggle to ever medal on the world stage as long as the race is dominated by athletes with more than ten times the testosterone (and the accompanying muscularity and size) of their competitors. Hunter was not close to the elite world level in the 1500m/mile and may not be for years, if ever (I hope he does great, of course, and who can argue that an American who runs 3:57 in high school, despite getting Lyme Disease prior to his targeted peak, is not going to be a 3:50 miler and run 13 some day?) and while the money was there for him, there are things more important than money for someone from a middle class family with good future prospects anyway.

Trotter___ wrote:

tell me about ' most people' wrote:

how much money do 'most people' thing she was offered?

I was thinking along the same lines as what I bring home. On a good year, that's a whole turkey, but when I don't take first in my AG it's either a cream or fruit pie.

Americans really talk shite sometimes.

What does that nonsense even mean?