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David Taylor @XCnation commented on a news article Oct 11th 2013, 3:15am
Looks good, but CERAKE will win.
1 comment(s)
David Taylor @XCnation
Looks good, but CERAKE will win.
 
David Taylor @XCnation featured a news article Oct 5th 2013, 1:15am
What does it mean to be great? Joe Newton said “it is good to be great, but great to be good”.Many of us struggle to find a balance between the many responsibilities that consume our day to day lives. And yet, from time to time it’s i...
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David Taylor @XCnation posted a comment Sep 29th 2013, 1:49am
Way to go York Boys!
So for the last three weeks teams have performed large signature moments, but they are hard to maintain and when the averages are computed you start to see numbers tighten up. A month in it is clear, while American Fork, Arcadia, and CBA are all great teams, YORK 2013 has a serious opportunity to give Joe Newton something special.
At 84 years old you start to wonder, could this be the greatest TEAM he has ever coached?
I think so.
 
David Taylor @XCnation commented on a news article Sep 28th 2013, 3:17am
I think it is an individual desire and not based on gender. I do believe that females "buy in" to a vision faster and more collectively than males might. Males are naturally a bit individualistic, but when they are brought together into a sort of pseudo tribe they can be so very powerful. Many of the amazing year in and out historical teams are a direct reflection of coaching that works on unifying that individualistic personality. Females just do it quicker.
No hill too high: Girls’ toughness wins the race   ...
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4 comment(s)
David Taylor @XCnation
I think it is an individual desire and not based on gender. I do believe that females "buy in" to a vision faster and more collectively than males might. Males are naturally a bit individualistic, but when they are brought together into a sort of pseudo tribe they can be so very powerful. Many of the amazing year in and out historical teams are a direct reflection of coaching that works on unifying that individualistic personality. Females just do it quicker.
TrackCoach
There was a time I would have agreed with Marc about girls being tougher becasue that had been my experience while coaching a boys and girls at the same school. But, I went somewhere else and it was no longer the case. I ended up with a bunch of prima donnas who thought they were hot stuff becasue they could beat all of the teams in their weak conference. That attitude didn't completely change until a few of the girls graduated and some new girls came in. Toughness is a team dynamic that does not depend on gender; if you have a tough coach and couple of tough kids who are leaders and you will have a tough team. What I will say is girls are quicker to bond and buy into the team dynamic, which means if you have a tough team, girls quickly realize what they need to do to fit in.
Nelly

dkap, on , said:

I'm curious to hear other coaches opinions on girls being tougher, more welcoming and unified, etc. My experience has been, there's very little discernible difference between the genders in that respect. It's just a matter of what individuals you're dealing with at any given time. Of course, that could also have affected my experience(s) to the contrary.

Dan


I've noticed that girls are much more welcoming to newer runners at first. Boys have always seemed to have different cliques and not many socialize out of their group. The girls are much more likely to go to a random group of runners (boys or girls/middle school or high school) and start talking as if they had been friends for years. The boys need to take time to include new members into their groups and generally don't talk to any of the newer girls.

As for being tougher than boys, the past few years I would say our girls have been tougher than the guys. However I would say that it was mostly due to the success our girls have had and the lack of success and "top guns" we've had on our boys teams. This year I would say we finally have our top guns and as a team our boys are much tougher than they have been in the past.

I really think that all of this depends on your team any given year and what kind of culture (good or bad) has been set up.
dkap
I'm curious to hear other coaches opinions on girls being tougher, more welcoming and unified, etc. My experience has been, there's very little discernible difference between the genders in that respect. It's just a matter of what individuals you're dealing with at any given time. Of course, that could also have affected my experience(s) to the contrary.

Dan
 
David Taylor @XCnation commented on a news article Sep 27th 2013, 8:20am
Good book by the way, and also, AMAZING stories you have shared about PRE as well (Civil War Trophy) simply amazing journalism Doug. You are the TOP of the game right now.
Legendary coach and top cross country writer offer advice on building a successful running program *You can buy the book here > ...
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6 comment(s)
watchout
Sounds like a book worth getting!!
DougB
Hey, thanks.

Pat Tyson is an awesome guy to work with and I certainly learned a lot myself during the process of writing this book with him. It's basically an instructional guide for coaching high school cross country using the Tyson template at Mead High, where he won 12 Washington state titles. It tells the Mead story, flushes out Tyson's Oregon influences and includes some running/life lessons that come straight from the man himself, Steve Prefontaine.
David Taylor @XCnation
Yeah, I sat down with a few years back, the guy is driven. You can almost feel that "moment" that changed his life course, and of course it was the "man". You know, I get a lot of crap from your guys about my time with Pre's dad as a 16 year old kid (remember I was a kid), but you know, sometimes some moments take over and you just flow with the river regardless of the guys being jerks over money.
David Taylor @XCnation
Good book by the way, and also, AMAZING stories you have shared about PRE as well (Civil War Trophy) simply amazing journalism Doug. You are the TOP of the game right now.
Scott Bush
Way to go, Doug!
Chris Nickinson
I think I know that Binder fella.
 
David Taylor @XCnation commented on a video Sep 27th 2013, 8:16am
GO DAVIS!
55,825 0 0
2013 Bob Firman post-race interview with Davis High School, Elite Varsity Girls
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1 comment(s)
David Taylor @XCnation
GO DAVIS!
 
David Taylor @XCnation commented on a news article Sep 27th 2013, 8:15am
True, its hard to gage what the individual is doing in "secret training" hours of the offseason. Everyone is surprised every year by the persistent workers of this sport.
36 comment(s)
traedeer
Thetford has a new course, probably 40ish seconds faster than the old one. Although that course was pretty recent as well.
stb262
Being from VT and being a coach who has won 11 State championships and one NE championship I'm not sure what the hell you are taking about! The course is definitely slower and longer and not even close to the old course.
jreidel
Eastman won at Thetford Academy today on a tough course in 18:31 with Shannon Murdock of Exeter NH second in 19:34 if that helps shed any light on where Eastman stands in comparison to other NE runners mentioned by DougB, although I'm not sure it does. I think the last time New England Championships were run at Thetford was in 2010 when Linds Crevoiserat, of Glastonbury CT won in 19:11. Erin Sullivan ran 17:25 at NE's at Thetford, making Eastman more on par with Tara Chaplin (9th at Footlocker and 18:30-range at Thetford), than Sullivan.
DougB
Berkson is in NC for the Great American Festival Saturday... I'm interested to see how that goes for her.
ProFromDover
http://www.greenwich...ast-4861133.php

DeBalsi just ran a fast CR but the story got the distance wrong (not 3.1)?

Debalsi, McNulty, Howlett, Eastman, Shehadeh*, Berkson, Gompers.*

In NE I'd like: Debalsi, McNulty, Howlett, Eastman, Shehadeh*, Berkson, Gompers*, with Hotchkiss's Samantha Glass* an X-factor. Berkson has the
strongest track times but never has been serious about CC until now. Howlett,Eastman, Debalsi, Berkson will likely meet 11/9 in NH for the NE title.
DougB
I would certainly be interested to know how observers in New England would rank the following girls:

Abbey McNulty
Claire Howlett
Hannah Debalsi
Autumn Eastman
Maddy Berkson
Anoush Shehadeh
Annika Gompers
ProFromDover
"I'm basing Eastman's prowess"
-----------------------------
There are a trio of runners from Ct that will be very hard to handle for a New England title. Something for Eastman to shoot for weeks before FL.
Chris Nickinson

jreidel, on , said:

Hi Chris. That's a legitimate point for sure and since very few runners have ever won two national titles -- assuming that's the measurement -- it's a tall order to measure up to. I weigh time much more heavily because each year there are different levels of competition, so a national champion one year could be 45 seconds slower than the previous due to a slower field. That said, I'm basing Eastman's prowess on her times on similar courses run by Sullivan and Chaplin, who placed top 10 one year at Footlocker. No doubt you are right that a national title would elevate her status big time. One thing I am confident about: Eastman worthiness as a member of the DyeStat top 30.


Great points and analysis on the comparisons; I also agree that she's worthy of a top 30 ranking.
jreidel
Hi Chris. That's a legitimate point for sure and since very few runners have ever won two national titles -- assuming that's the measurement -- it's a tall order to measure up to. I weigh time much more heavily because each year there are different levels of competition, so a national champion one year could be 45 seconds slower than the previous due to a slower field. That said, I'm basing Eastman's prowess on her times on similar courses run by Sullivan and Chaplin, who placed top 10 one year at Footlocker. No doubt you are right that a national title would elevate her status big time. One thing I am confident about: Eastman worthiness as a member of the DyeStat top 30.
DougB
Wow. Yes, that's a great result. She'll be in it the round for sure.
Scott Joerger

DougB, on , said:

.. But the FOURTH place finisher in that race, Bethan Knights, was probably one of the last two that I left out. .....


Bethan Knights had an impressive win over Marissa Williams at Bell-Jeff on Saturday, covering a hilly 3 mile course in 16:42. http://parser.dyesta...45#.Ukm6v9JJPnE

That's her second win in as many weeks - may be her time to get onto that list.
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David Taylor @XCnation commented on a news article Sep 27th 2013, 8:13am
Well SAID!
9 comment(s)
SteveU
Height adjusted? Dude, you either had your height-adjusted tongue firmly in cheek when you wrote that or you were on drugs. Half the distance? So, what, guys are TWICE as tall as girls? When 5'3" Halle Gebreselassie used to beat 6'0" Paul Tergat in Olympic 10Ks, do you think the race needed to be height adjusted? I actually had to read this post about 3 times to see how crazy it was.

Yes, you were joking, you had to be joking.

bobgrimes, on , said:

Girls running shorter distances does not equate to gender inequity. Because girls complete the course in longer time, the same distance is, in a sense, a longer race for girls. What is the equivalent race for girls can be debated. Equal average time would be a course that is about 10% shorter than the boys' course. Equal pace would be much shorter. A height-adjusted equal pace would be about half the distance. So it's not straightforward.
Scott Bush
In IL, the state pushed the girls up to the 3 mile distance (what the boys run), moving them from 2 to 2.5 then 3, so they spaced it out over two years, which worked very well.
Chris Nickinson

bobgrimes, on , said:

Girls running shorter distances does not equate to gender inequity. Because girls complete the course in longer time, the same distance is, in a sense, a longer race for girls. What is the equivalent race for girls can be debated. Equal average time would be a course that is about 10% shorter than the boys' course. Equal pace would be much shorter. A height-adjusted equal pace would be about half the distance. So it's not straightforward.


With that logic, shouldn't JV races be shorter length, too?
watchout
The only issue I see with a move up to 5k is what Goucher mentioned about middle schoolers. Yes, there are some 7th and 8th graders that run 5k in the country, but most run more like 1.5 miles or 3k (if anything at all) - and I think for the VAST majority of middle schoolers, it is a good thing they are running shorter distances. For combining high school and middle school races, I think New York's solution is the best: if you're going to include middle school kids in high school races, offer a "modified" level race where the kids don't run the full distance, but if a middle schooler is going to be on the high school team, they have to run the high school distance. As for high schoolers... there is no good reason why the girls should have one distance and the guys another. If your state is going to run 3 miles or 5k for boys, then have the girls run 3 miles or 5k as well.
Nelly

indrun, on , said:

This was a big non-isue in Indiana. Everyone forgot about it being a controversy after the 1st meet. I don't know if its its responsible for Indiana's recent success but XC is alive and well in IN. I'd like to see the state be the first to move to 6K to be consistent with the college distance. This will allow us to continue to kick Illinois' higher population ass.


That's exactly how I feel about MN girls moving to 5k. Everyone will forget about it after the first race or two.

In the MNCrossCountryHub article it has this quote: "About 80 percent of coaches in both classes said in the survey that they believed girls are physically able to race 5,000 meters"
I'd really like to hear the reasoning behind the 20% that don't believe girls can race 5k.

You would think that almost every coach/school that hosts a meet would be in favor of girls running 5k as well, if only to make prepping for the race easier by only having to set up 1 course (except races with a 2 mile/Middle School race).
DougB
So the point of cross country is that everyone find the bell curve and run for 17-21 minutes?

Come on. Cross country is about getting from Point A to Point B, covering the distance. There is only one reason that girls in some states run shorter races and its roots are easily traceable.
David Taylor @XCnation
Well SAID!
indrun
This was a big non-isue in Indiana. Everyone forgot about it being a controversy after the 1st meet. I don't know if its its responsible for Indiana's recent success but XC is alive and well in IN. I'd like to see the state be the first to move to 6K to be consistent with the college distance. This will allow us to continue to kick Illinois' higher population ass.
bobgrimes
Girls running shorter distances does not equate to gender inequity. Because girls complete the course in longer time, the same distance is, in a sense, a longer race for girls. What is the equivalent race for girls can be debated. Equal average time would be a course that is about 10% shorter than the boys' course. Equal pace would be much shorter. A height-adjusted equal pace would be about half the distance. So it's not straightforward.
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