1:47.67 HSer Josh Hoey turns pro - Thoughts?

Discuss.

Wish him the best, but obviously huge leap from high school to pro. Must of got a nice contract.

Welcome, fresh meat. [Proceeds to hand Josh Hoey a severed doll head].

Scottykrutz wrote:

http://www.milesplit.com/articles/246549-josh-hoey-turning-pro-training-with-group-out-of-san-diego

Looks like he's signed with Adidas now that the Powell's have left Oregon and will continue training with his current coach

This does not seem like a good idea. His time is great for a high schooler. It is nothing in the pro and collegiate ranks.

Well, after the fallout of Oregon I’m not shocked that he’d consider going pro, although I wonder how long it will be before we see tangible improvement.

Pure Hate Pupil wrote:

https://media.giphy.com/media/84CRvhy2DJlwA/giphy.gif

Welcome, fresh meat. [Proceeds to hand Josh Hoey a severed doll head].

You win the award for the most disturbed poster on letsrun. ?

Most other runners who turns pro out of high school have times that are at least nationally competitive. Hoey does not. Even in the NCAA, there are dozens of runners as good or better.

1:47.67 was beaten indoors by only ten people in Division 1 this year and by 14 outdoors, so there are not literally dozens better. Of the outdoor, only two were freshmen, so he obviously has a high ceiling, although the fact that he was already coached by a pro in Terence Mahon does suggest he's closer than others. 800 phenoms have a mixed record of improvement, but with 2:24 as well, he should make a very good miler. I'd say it would have been much better for him to go to college. He will have to improve by 3 seconds just to have a shot at U.S. teams, let alone being internationally competitive. Good luck to him. He is obviously the best 800 prospect right out of hs since Brazier.

Does anyone know this family? The kids seem to change schools as the drop of a hat. The older one went to 3 different HS, one year at PSU and one year at Oregon. Where is he?

xzcvzcxv wrote:

I'd say it would have been much better for him to go to college..

I had no idea who he was until I saw the news this afternoon, but it struck me that there was no mention of what he is going to do, other than become a professional runner. Is he simply foregoing college, at least for the foreseeable future? I've never been a big fan of the NCAA, and I think that many young people have made bad decisions in choosing colleges based on a particular school's athletic program and the carrot of an "athletic scholarship," but I'd be uneasy about letting a planned 800-meter career completely derail a formal education at this point.

Is he really going pro or is he just skipping college in the hopes of getting a pro contract? If he shows the same improvement as Slagowski and some other early developers, he may be running 1:52 in the future and be without a contract or NCAA eligibility.

Predictor wrote:

Is he really going pro or is he just skipping college in the hopes of getting a pro contract? If he shows the same improvement as Slagowski and some other early developers, he may be running 1:52 in the future and be without a contract or NCAA eligibility.

He's a pro. Signed a deal with adidas.

My thoughts?

This is disgusting and what's wrong with modern society. Honestly, that's what I'm thinking now. Admittedly that's an uninformed view.

When I first saw it, I was like, "Is this a joke?"

A 1:47 guy goes pro. Why? Why wouldn't you want to go to college - it's the best 4 years of your life? Why would adidas want to sponsor a 1:47 guy?

I've never believed that the NCAA is bad for athletes whether it's football, basketball or track. College gives you reasonable goals. Now this guy can get his head beat in until he runs 1:44 and is relevant.

The only thing that makes me think this isn't the dumbest thing ever is he's got Terrence Mahon as a coach and Wetmore as an agent. I respect both of those guys. But the idea that the shoe companies need to pay people to go pro early pisses me off. I love college track. Let them be good there, develop a brand and then go pro.

And I also think 800 guys can be some of the hardest to develop. Now he's decent at xc right (just looked it up 7th fastest at PA state xc meet) so he's probably not a pure speed guy which is good. Actually, I just did some more research and he ran a 4:11 mile as a sophomore. Won Millrose mile this year. Ok, I'm feeling better than I initially was. If a pure 800 1:47 guy went pro, I'd be going crazy. I still don't like it. I just dont' think the point of modern society should be to maximize earnings and don't think we should be having guys go pro for a WNBA salary.

Addition added on on 8.30.

I've been thinking about this some more over night while I was sleeping. The main thing I should have also said is it's his life and he can make whatever decision he should make. When I read about how he's also good at the mile and coached by Mahon, I felt a lot better about it but I put the "disgusting" line in beause that's what I thought when I first heard it.

The one other thing I'd also like to say is I don't think college makes sense for everyone from an academic standpoint. I've never understood why in the US everyone is expected to go to college - we still need electricians, plumbers, etc. If he's not academic, then going pro early makes much more sense. I still think the competitive opportunities in college are great and think that college is training wheels for learning to be an adult and live on your own but understand it more if that's the case.

Let’s hope that he got a full ride to a college of his choosing. That makes it a tough decision as a runner or parent.

+1

Doubtful that he will even make enough as a pro to cover his college education later if he decides he wants to get a degree. Only reason to do it is if he really doesn’t care about college (now or in future) and once he burns out in running wants to take up a trade or a job that doesn’t require a degree. Or if he wasn’t getting money from Oregon (doubtful). Crazy! I wouldn’t let my kid do it. Who knows what will happen in the next few years and like rojo stated above...college is the best 4 years. The expectations that come with going pro is a lot to take on for an 18 year old.

I like that on one hand we have people saying the problem is that he is trying to maximize earnings (brief aside...someone with a trust fund and probably large future inheritance is the one leveling the criticism about THAT being what's wrong with modern society...unreal), and on the other hand we have people saying he won't make enough money to cover the scholarship he is passing up...

I doubt anyone here knows his or his family's financial situation, so I don't see the point in even speculating about it from that perspective.

Avocado's Number wrote:

xzcvzcxv wrote:

I'd say it would have been much better for him to go to college..

I had no idea who he was until I saw the news this afternoon, but it struck me that there was no mention of what he is going to do, other than become a professional runner. Is he simply foregoing college, at least for the foreseeable future? I've never been a big fan of the NCAA, and I think that many young people have made bad decisions in choosing colleges based on a particular school's athletic program and the carrot of an "athletic scholarship," but I'd be uneasy about letting a planned 800-meter career completely derail a formal education at this point.

Naw dawg he's gonna train pro but definitely get a college degree, similar to what Drew Hunter is doing. Obviously I don't know the guy but there's no way that he'd pass up a college education to be a pro runner a couple years earlier unless he's stupid