2. "Yeah, it's a reliably tough sell to all of them" In response to In response to 1
>its a sport that takes a very special mindset. i knew >anything longer than a 400 wasnt for me the first time i ran >an 800 (sidenote: ultimately track altogether wasn't for me. >the objective didn't trigger my interests) and no amount of >convincing attempts wouldve ever gotten me to think otherwise
This is pretty common, which means I gain most of my runners through attrition - they take a few years to realize their not made for other sports or even other track events and either find their way to the distances or out of the sport altogether. I cannot tell a lie: it's extremely difficult work even to be average and it's also pretty boring.
>but if you feel the whole "white kid" thing is his hangup and >not the mindset i'd do some research on great black/african >distance runners. maybe assign that to him as a personal >project or something if you think it'd trigger his interest.
Right. I'm obliged to take him at his word because he says that's his hangup. But honestly it seems way more likely that it's a variety of reasons which include the fact that, almost exclusively at our school and other local ones, black kids run sprint events. I think, regrettably, assigning any of these goofs actual research will go over poorly - but I was thinking of making them stick around after a pre-season practice to watch some of the World Championships in August. His view here is objectively false, and maybe seeing Isaiah Harris or Justyn Knight make a run in the 800 or the 5000 will knock down his most explicit point.
>and try to maybe find him some black mentors in the local >CC/distance running event/competition community. itd >definitely help to see more similar faces and a path already >ran that he can follow.
This... thanks for this. As soon as I read it I thought of two people who might be kind of helpful here. And neither one in an overly didactic way - an alum who ran 800m at an Ivy League school and a guy who's competing professionally whose track club has come by to do clinics for our distance group.
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"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"