NCAA T&F Problems

[James_Smith]

@Jstu3565

I completely disagree. Look, I realize that with each coach being individually in charge of their programs that there is going to be a wider range of results. There is inherently going to be fair number of terrible programs with this system, but there is also going to be some great programs. And the great thing about this type of system is that the best athletes are able to look at which programs are consistently improving the athletes that come there and make their decision on where to go based off of that. (Not that this is the only factor track guys account for when choosing a college and it is probably even less true at a DII level type of college where educational opportunities and things like that are probably weighted higher in the decision making process.) So the programs that are consistently successful at what they do will get alot of the best athletes anyways.

Whereas in the type of system you seem to be advocating you have to hope whoever is in charge of this decision making process has the same ideas of what it takes to run a successful program as you. While there will probably be less awful programs (although, again, it depends on who is in charge) there is a much higher probability that great programs will be constrained in how much they can improve a track athlete’s time.

Just my 2 cents. I know we are probably going to disagree on this, but I am still interested in hearing what you have to say. Let me know what you think.

There’s no problem in us disagreeing.

I have such a concrete idea of the way things should be that I have no problem envisioning a state sponsored system that operates according to what I have in mind. Hence Charlie referencing my fantasy land.

I’m not sure that I believe in past lives; however, if there is such a thing I’m fairly certain that I was involved at the higher levels in some type of dictatorship because I, inherently, have very strong feelings on the way things ‘should’ be according to what I think and know.

Regarding the disastrous potential of socialist regimes, in reference to the balance weighing on:

• who is in charge
• the degree to which they are informed
• what their objectives are
• and so on

While the US does not currently operate under any significant socialist regime, per se, I feel very much constrained by the current sport training infrastructure as my minority viewpoint creates a situation for me in which I feel like I’m going against the grain almost all the the time.

People might forget that I am a coach working in the NCAA at the D1 level so there’s no theory imparted on this particular aspect of my statements.

While I am not in the T&F business, I can only speak most concretely towards NCAA D1 “S&C” as well as my very good knowledge of the nature of this business in the NFL level due to my associates in the league, and in these regards, I assure you, according to my views and perceptions on things, the infrastructure of this particular aspect of sport training is as in need of reform as the imagined down side of a disastrous theoretical socialist sport training regime…