Done with high school XC

[iwuzwilson]

For now.

It's been a good run but now that I'm moving it's also time to move on. I did not go for the coaching position at the other school because they wanted me to be an assistant and moving from asst. to asst., while my kid and the kids I've worked with were still at school A just didn't seem like a good fit. Meanwhile I was starting to look for jobs, so just kept the status quo for what ended up being just one more XC season.

I have some mixed feelings about the experience. In a lot of ways being an independent club coach was more effective. I was able to design workouts without interference. The kids developed fast. The team went from only one kid going under 17 min for 5K in the previous 3-4 years (ca. 2006-09) to 5-8 of them per season. That's all base work and progressive development, and not a bit of rocket science involved.

But once I signed on as (volunteer mostly) assistant I had to compromise the type of training that I preferred to prescribe to the coach's system (or lack thereof). We did collaborate during summer, and that worked out pretty well for the most part, but once season kicked in he wouldn't share workout ideas or listen much. It was his program and assistants are there to set things up and take workout times.

Not much concept of aerobic training. Talk for 15 minutes. Run for 10. Do drills and pick ups. Talk for another 10 or 15. Do some intervals (long recovery breaks sometimes), then jog 15 minutes and they're done. Takes 90 min - 2 hr for a 6 mile workout. I prefer to talk less and have them run more, like 50-70 minutes of mostly running.

Also most of it was on my dime. I got paid a stipend and travel per diem for one season but that's it. Otherwise, I paid to be part of the program. That wasn't so great.

I'll look into something in Colorado, but would want more input and at least a little compensation.

[Run Amok]

You have a real talent for coaching. It's kind and generous of you to share your gift, in whatever capacity. But, burnout is no fun! I hope you find something fulfilling on the other side. But, it's totally ok to take a break and focus your energy elsewhere for a bit. It'll come back to you, I promise.

[iwuzwilson]

Thanks RA,  my kids and their friends had some great experiences and a couple state championships to go along with that, so it was wonderful to be there with them. But some of the things I'll find most memorable are the kids who are also-rans.

This we we had a freshman boy who has Aspbergers. Back in July he couldn't even run a quarter mile and all he did is spout of off-the-wall scientific proclamations or absurd questions. Brilliant mind but completely scattered and not focused. But he stuck with it. At first the kids kind of avoided him and some started teasing him, but coaches put a quash to that. He's still kind of annoying with outbursts and such, but everyone pretty much gets along with him. He ended up running 21 min for 5K, and led warm ups for much of the year. His dad came up the other week and said that running XC has been a big turn around in the boy's life. The coach asked who should be Most Inspirational Runner, and I nominated this kid and think the other coaches agreed.

[Richard21142]

That's all base work and progressive development, and not a bit of rocket science involved.

Back in the day when my daughter was in ninth grade, we looked at the results of the league meet.  It seemed that she could be in the top five when she ran her first cross country season.  So, I put her on a one year program of mostly base work.  She ran spring track, so the meets were her speed runs (the mile against the boys and the 800 against the girls).  At one of the spring meets the high school coach walked over to us and told her she shouldn't run in the summer.  He said this is what he recommends to his runners.

During cross country, she didn't do anything fast until October, and then she substituted something on the track for her weekly 10 mile run.  She was 4th in her league meet behind a national champion and two state champions.  She also earned all state honors.  Right after cross country and on Thanksgiving, she ran 29:55 for 5 miles.  While developing the aerobic capacity isn't "rocket science", it is interesting how many coaches are not aware of it.

[iwuzwilson]

  While developing the aerobic capacity isn't "rocket science", it is interesting how many coaches are not aware of it.

Four or five years ago I tried to have a sit down or two to discuss coaching philosophy but he always dismissed it. The basis of the approach for the team was late 1980s-90s way of doing things. Low mileage, relatively high quality in high school--to avoid "burnout"--and the talented ones would rise to the top anyway. And once they got to college and into higher mileage they'd improve more. I had the more of progressive devlopment way of thinking.

We worked together okay until summer of 2012 when I advocated that the defending state champ, whom I'd worked with for the previous year and a half do summer training at 50-65 miles a week, averaging 57. This was a safe build-up from about 50 miles a week the year before. The coach hit the ceiling and scoffed at my recommendatinos, calling it "high mileage." The kid did 30-35 and bombed out his senior year (slowed by 25 seconds in XC, and ran the miile 6 seconds slower than sophomore year and barely made it to state). He then went onto a volume-oriented D1 program and jumped to 90 miles a week before he even got to campus. He scored for them last fall in XC but by mid-way through track he burned out and quit. I think both coaches did him a disservice and did not consider progressive aerobic development.

[iwuzwilson]

And finally, Uncle Fred you're the master at digging up memes and such. Do you know of a link with a clear image of the old poster that said: "The race is not always to the swift but to those who keep on running"

Lone runner on a road in Oregon. I have found a few very fuzzy images but not one remotely clear. I'd like to use that as a start of a send off note for the kids.

[caito]

You have a real talent for coaching. It's kind and generous of you to share your gift, in whatever capacity. But, burnout is no fun! I hope you find something fulfilling on the other side. But, it's totally ok to take a break and focus your energy elsewhere for a bit. It'll come back to you, I promise.

I agree.