Hear me out before you disagree.
Most kids in high school improve a TON their freshman year. It’s common to drop 2-4 minutes from the first race to the last one. The same is true for sophomores. Coaches see these breakthroughs on a regular basis and strongly believe in their athletes’ ability to improve and shatter their PRs like they have done in the past.
Unfortunately, the drive to get faster every single season can be destructive. It results in overuse injuries, eating disorders, and high rates of attrition, especially with females. On these boards we see tons of hopeful young kids saying they want to run a 16:00 5k despite a 5:30 mile time and kids who haven’t even made it to state saying they want to win NXN. We need to take more responsibility here to teach them to set their expectations low, put their head down, and train like a beast instead of making big talk and failing to live up to it. Kids who expect less of themselves generally are happier in this sport. Emma Coburn is the prime example. She was hoping to get a bronze but trained like a gold medalist. She was ready when her opportunity came. She didn’t need to write out the goal of winning gold to accomplish it. Instead she focused on the process of doping up.
I remember my coach saying that every athlete on the team should be able to cut 45 seconds off their 5k PR each season. This seems reasonable for most people, but it’s not always a realistic goal. Coaches need to be willing to encourage athletes to set the bar lower for themselves and accept the idea of working hard without reaping dazzling results. Running isn’t a glamorous sport, and we’re doing a disservice to our youth by demanding continuous improvement and making them expect to obtain a huge PR every race.
Quenton Cassidy said it best. “No one promised you universal justice.”
Sometimes races suck and life is bad. That doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you or with the sport. Don’t expect perfection every time.