Only an idiot like Flagpole believes that there could only possibly be one correct answer to this question and that it applies universally.
Idiots are best ignored.
Only an idiot like Flagpole believes that there could only possibly be one correct answer to this question and that it applies universally.
Idiots are best ignored.
coachathlete wrote:
It's made it this far because Flagpole states that it is 100% never ok for HS coaches to run with athletes, and people keep providing counter examples, and then the cycle starts over.
True. And it is 100% never ok (unless there's a special needs kid and all are in agreement that the coach should run with him/her as I said before).
Mr. Obvious wrote:
Only an idiot like Flagpole believes that there could only possibly be one correct answer to this question and that it applies universally.
Idiots are best ignored.
And yet you responded, so apparently I am NOT an idiot then. Thanks.
@letsrun can you put up a poll for registered users?
I thinks it's better if coaches do, my coach normally did everything was fine, we never dissed a run or workout and always did what was on the schedule even when he didn't run with us, we always complained but that's every high school runner, if coaches running with a team causes problems it's the athletes fault not the coaches most of the time, note he ran with the men's team not women's
Flagpole wrote:
Mr. Obvious wrote:Only an idiot like Flagpole believes that there could only possibly be one correct answer to this question and that it applies universally.
Idiots are best ignored.
And yet you responded, so apparently I am NOT an idiot then. Thanks.
He didn't respond to you.
"they should not knock over trashcans, walk when they think they are alone, or talk about which girls on the team they wanna bang. Calling that stuff "just part of growing up" is a cop out by adults who would rather look the other way when children make poor decisions. Maybe you just had the wrong kind of friends."
Man if didn't talk about the girls we wanted to bang we wouldn't have much to talk about.
zohan wrote:
Man if didn't talk about the girls we wanted to bang we wouldn't have much to talk about.
No kidding. Talking about wanting to hook up with chicks is normal. If you have to regulate someone walking in practice, then they aren't serious runners and are only hurting themselves.
Flagpole wrote:
Stravybeans wrote:Ugh Flagpole is literally the worst buzzkill
Nope. That would be any coach who runs with his/her team.
Believe it or not, kids are capable of having a positive running experience alongside their coaches. I think your mindset says a lot more about you as a coach than anything.
Current HS runner here.
I have always been on a program with 2-3 coaches. I feel that having one or two coaches out with the athletes is good, as it encourages an honest effort and provides some level of supervision. However, they best can accomplish this while biking or driving. Running with the team is too humanizing and weakens your authority. I also contend that one coach should ALWAYS be at the general meeting/start/finish area for the day's run (we usually started and finished at the track so a coach was always there for our program), to be present in case a runner needs something and comes back to the start.
Coaches on a bike are nice, because they're still doing some work with the team, proving athleticism, but I have to say I did appreciate it when one of our assistant coaches drove his truck down the country road we did long runs/fartleks on, and toss us water bottles or encouragement as we ran.
Coach should never participate in workouts. OK if coach does core/conditioning with team.
Ashton Eating wrote:
Coach should never participate in workouts.
My high school coach was the only person that was a viable training partner for me. The rest of the team was too young/inexperienced. Not ideal, obviously, but there's one counterexample to your point.
I know this is anecdotal evidence but this situation is the only one where anecdotal evidence is useful- when idiots like Flagpole claim that his opinion applies to everybody.
I agree with Flagpole, but for a different reason than yet posted. I had a high school coach in his early 30's who still ran year round, raced occasionally (usually towards end of our season so it didn't overlap ours). So he could actually outrun most of us from 800m up to 5k. Problem was he rarely structured workouts for us, especially in track. We just did what he did. In reality, looking back this was a lackadaisical coaching philosophy. He should've not run with us. He should have separated and observed. He actually ruined a lot of kids' speed by moving them to distance too early. I feel I could have done better with a coach who wasn't a "training buddy."
I'm a current HS runner. And LOL, I didn't even realize this was an issue because our coaches can not even DREAM of running with us. They are both like 5' 10" and 200 lbs. They bike alongside us on some long runs but this is really rare, and they look like sweaty old marshmellows that someone plopped on a bike.
We do have a female math teacher known to run marathons that often jumps in with the girls when they go on long runs. She runs with both JV and varsity. However, she is not an official coach - so don't know if this is actually legit per our HS rules?
Stravybeans wrote:
Flagpole wrote:Nope. That would be any coach who runs with his/her team.
Believe it or not, kids are capable of having a positive running experience alongside their coaches. I think your mindset says a lot more about you as a coach than anything.
Only because human beings are adaptive. It is selfish for a coach to run with his team, and the negatives of so doing FAR outweigh even the rationalized positives. The ONLY reason for a coach to run with his team (other than something untoward) is to get their own run in. It's not right.
I summarized the important parts below...and you are CORRECT! Too humanizing and weakens authority...you are a smart young person. When that happens, familiarity is too much, and bad things can and do happen when that is the case. The motivation for any action should always be considered, and running with the team doesn't help the team in any way...it only helps the coach. Team first and team ONLY.
Ashton Eating wrote:
Running with the team is too humanizing and weakens your authority. I also contend that one coach should ALWAYS be at the general meeting/start/finish area for the day's run (we usually started and finished at the track so a coach was always there for our program), to be present in case a runner needs something and comes back to the start.
Coach should never participate in workouts.
BeenThereDoneThat wrote:
I agree with Flagpole, but for a different reason than yet posted. I had a high school coach in his early 30's who still ran year round, raced occasionally (usually towards end of our season so it didn't overlap ours). So he could actually outrun most of us from 800m up to 5k. Problem was he rarely structured workouts for us, especially in track. We just did what he did. In reality, looking back this was a lackadaisical coaching philosophy. He should've not run with us. He should have separated and observed. He actually ruined a lot of kids' speed by moving them to distance too early. I feel I could have done better with a coach who wasn't a "training buddy."
In your case, you not only had a coach doing the wrong thing by running with you, but he was also a bad coach. You CAN actually do the wrong thing by running with the team and still be an excellent coach...being an excellent coach though doesn't excuse the wrong decision of running with the team.
Flagpole wrote:
I summarized the important parts below...and you are CORRECT! Too humanizing and weakens authority...you are a smart young person. When that happens, familiarity is too much, and bad things can and do happen when that is the case. The motivation for any action should always be considered, and running with the team doesn't help the team in any way...it only helps the coach. Team first and team ONLY.
Ashton Eating wrote:Running with the team is too humanizing and weakens your authority. I also contend that one coach should ALWAYS be at the general meeting/start/finish area for the day's run (we usually started and finished at the track so a coach was always there for our program), to be present in case a runner needs something and comes back to the start.
Coach should never participate in workouts.
So coaches should be dehumanized?
No Absolutes wrote:
Ashton Eating wrote:Coach should never participate in workouts.
My high school coach was the only person that was a viable training partner for me. The rest of the team was too young/inexperienced. Not ideal, obviously, but there's one counterexample to your point.
.
Your example still doesn't provide a situation in which it is acceptable for a coach to run with an athlete, and in fact, since it was a very one-on-one situation, that is even worse. Your coach should not have trained with you. I appreciate the effort in trying to find another exception to the one I listed, but that wasn't it.
strange choice of words wrote:
Flagpole wrote:I summarized the important parts below...and you are CORRECT! Too humanizing and weakens authority...you are a smart young person. When that happens, familiarity is too much, and bad things can and do happen when that is the case. The motivation for any action should always be considered, and running with the team doesn't help the team in any way...it only helps the coach. Team first and team ONLY.
So coaches should be dehumanized?
Yeah, that poster could have used a better word, but if I corrected grammar and word choice only, I would never be doing anything else here.
I run with my boys and they love having a woman on the run. They ask me questions about girls all the time. We shower together too. So they can see what a real woman looks like.