Looking at this thread, I am reminded of another that I saw just yesterday, I think. Well, let me rephrase: I am reminded of about a hundred of them that I've seen the gist of which is, "My coach....."
The OP goes on to whine about whatever their objections are. I rarely click on these and even more rarely reply. The other day, I actually did post to the effect that none of you out there are being forced into coaching relationships. Or more accurately, I have never been and it's hard to imagine any of you are. Nobody has demanded I get coached by the great JS and submit to his every whim. So why all the complaining about 'your coach'? He's only 'your coach' if you decide he is.
OK, so I posted to that effect but perhaps I should rethink my sentiment. Seeing this thread and recalling all I've seen about other programs like Loudon Valley make me pause and wonder whether there are kids out there (and I have to include collegiate runners in here if I'm being honest) who actually DO feel they are being forced. I was fortunate to grow up in an era (the so-called running boom) in which distance running was very popular even among teenagers. I never had pressure from high school coaches nor, more importantly, parents, to participate in official school-sanctioned sports.
That has clouded my vision. Kids training on their own and racing on the roads (I didn't have a spiked shoe in high school) doesn't seem to happen now, and there are reasons for that. I suspect foremost among these is social pressures. A combination of school, parental, and peer pressure can effectively force a kid into something. Is 'force' the right word? Well, maybe not, but I know there are plenty of 11 year olds who play soccer and don't really feel they have the option of not doing so. I felt I 'had to' ski (not real good at it), raft on a river (hated it) and have a dog that it was my job to walk.
I have never been subjected to any alleged tyranny by Aris or Hunter or even whoever my high school track coach was, but it's not hard to imagine a scenario in which the heat you'd get from parents and friends if you quit would be worse than whatever the scene on the team is. This could easily be true in college, too. I have peers who felt a ton of pressure to succeed in school (however that is defined) with shaming by parents being the - very real - punishment if you don't pull it off. If a sport is part of your whole college experience and your parents are aware of this and even in on it financially or whatever, it may seem like flipping the coach the middle finger and walking out of practice is just not a real option. This is even more likely to be the scenario in high school.
A coach that actively recruits within the school district and uses students he's already roped in to lean on target kids could end up with a decent team. I mean, there were those on my school's XC team that knew me and were normally in my training group. A concerted effort could conceivably have given me a choice between ostracism and joining the program. Involving parents would have really turned up the heat. My dad screaming that the track coach called again may have backfired and led me to quit running. As it turns out, I was lucky. My dad drove my whole gang to marathons. But this was 40 years ago.
Anyway, I just think there may be very heavy-handed recruiting within a school going on in places like FM. I can imagine an even more Scientology-esque scene once you're at practice every day. I have to think those who don't show any interest after graduation could be just relieved to be out of the pressure cooker. I used the handle I posted with on the aforementioned coach complaint thread. I now believe ther are those that DO feel they're being forced to be coached.