Other than lacking altitude, SLO is a distance runner's paradise! Great weather all year, loads of easily accessible trails, a very new facility, etc. The central coast of California is one of the finest places on Earth. I'd move there in a heartbeat before I would even consider Flagstaff or Boulder.
Other than lacking altitude, SLO is a distance runner's paradise! Great weather all year, loads of easily accessible trails, a very new facility, etc. The central coast of California is one of the finest places on Earth. I'd move there in a heartbeat before I would even consider Flagstaff or Boulder.
Among the state schools in California, there has never been a nationally ranked XC team and I don’t recall SLO being particularly good in any sport.
SLO? It’s a really nice area but it would be next to impossible to recruit blue chip distance runners to go there.
Untrue. Ben Bruce, Carmelo Rios, Ivan Huff, Jim Sorensen...
That’s over about 40 years and how many of them became XC All-Americans? Jim Schankel did but I don’t know about any others. Listing a couple of guys doesn’t prove anything.
Bruce was also a two-time All-American athlete. He finished sixth in the 3,000-meter steeple chase at the 2005 NCAA Championships. He was also named Big West Male Track Athlete of 2005. In addition, Bruce competed in the U.S. Olympic trials in 2004.
Rios qualified for the 1983 World Champs in Helsinki and the LA Olympics.
He wasn't American (Puerto Rico) so didn't compete in the USOT. He did win the NCAA Division II titles in the steeple in 1981 and the 5,000m in 1983 (also runner-up in the steeple), earning three All-American certificates. He won four steeplechase national titles for Puerto Rico.
Pan Am Games silver medalist in Caracas.
Mark Conover (RIP) recruited plenty of blue chip talent during the 2010s through last year. He coached five Cal Poly cross country teams to top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships, including a No. 10 national finish by the men's team in 2004. Moreover, 17 of his men's cross country teams and seven women's squads from 1998 through 2019 claimed Big West Conference crowns.
Alright - all this is ridiculous. If Brosnan takes UCLA, good for him. Elizondo was making between 55-65k as the Head XC coach there. Certainly, low end for a Head XC Coach in the PAC 12. There is speculative uncertainty regarding the Head Coach of the program at UCLA - so, this may be a lame duck position. My thoughts, it's doubtful that Sean would be interested in that type of jump right now - I see him coaching the brothers through 2023 and then take a hard and serious look. Could he make the jump to college coaching - 100% yes. There is zero doubt that he could do it. It would have to be the right situation - and people just don't get to pick where they want to go and coach at the D1 level - see the annual coaching opening thread for a entire 100 page posting bitching about who got what job. Ultimately, we don't know what Sean WANTS in the future. Speculating a move to college because of the money is wrong - well, at least to the PAC 12 - other than ASU, Washington and Oregon - the PAC 12 pays terrible for Head XC's or assistant coaches - it's laughable compared to the other power 5 conferences. And, for SLO - Van Hoy will smash it there - it will become a go to place for a lot of people. They routinely pull sub 9:10 dudes anyway - Van Hoy can coach. He's aggressive, energetic and competitive. SLO has the weather, great town, great school - even with a small budget - being in California has it's competitive advantages - a lot of good distance meets within a 3 hour van ride. Here's the one thing that I'm bummed about with Van Hoy - he's done a fantastic job with milers. Indoor has been fun to follow his teams at Ole Miss. The DMR, 800, Mile has been his great focus. Cal Poly does not sponsor Indoor Track. Will that be a road block in getting future recruits? They will have to give up on ever thinking about competing indoor.
Bruce was also a two-time All-American athlete. He finished sixth in the 3,000-meter steeple chase at the 2005 NCAA Championships. He was also named Big West Male Track Athlete of 2005. In addition, Bruce competed in the U.S. Olympic trials in 2004.
Chico State had Scott Baugh so do you believe Brosnan could turn their program into a powerhouse?
SLO is also probably limited to recruiting in a small area. It’s hard to find HS information for the runners you listed but Schankel ran at nearby Lompoc and Mitch Kingery was from the Bay Area, I had the impression that Huff and Rios were from Northern California as they were later members of the Aggie Running Club
SLO has a ton of potential and I am hopeful that Van Hoy can realize that potential. With all due respect to the late Mark Conover, I don't think that he was a very aggressive recruiter. The other things that hamstring most California public schools is the difficult admissions process, most worthwhile majors are impacted (read: full, wait listed), and a general mediocrity when it comes to sports. Can many talented athletes not get admitted to their preferred institution? Are the better California kids heading out of state? I often wonder why schools like SLO, SDSU, and UC Santa Barbara are not better running schools because the training conditions and facilities access are darned near perfect in my mind. My best running happened when I was living in Long Beach. Other than not having easy trail access, tracks and traffic free bike paths were plentiful plus favorable weather was always motivating.
Pretty much true but it helps get a foot in the door. He could get a D3 job earning $40k and he likely could get a low level D1 distance job earning g about theb same. But he is looking to go straight to a real job which won't happen.
Only if he wants to move to the middle of nowhere. Depends on how bad he really wants to coach college.
I don’t like Shawn one bit, but I’d hire him to run my college team. He has an incredibly strong will to dominate and a good mind for training. I bet he would recruit well too with the resources a top program could provide.
VanGoat will do just fine at such an amazing place. SLO is great for many reasons (academics, weather, trails, beach, etc.)
I’m predicting Cal Poly goes to Nationals this year. The Vanhoy-Chewens duo will do great things. Cal Poly will be a top 25 team consistently in the next few years.
Easy to say. Go ahead and start paying him $150k year year then.
I mean I would if I could. Problem is that universities probably wouldn’t care to be associated with him, but if it was just about the running, I think he’s a great addition. He gets buy in from his athletes. He convinces the best to choose him. What more could you want? If he got a college job this year and the twins followed him, he’s three Kenyans away from an NCAA title in 3-4 years. This is how his mind works anyway, which is why I would gladly hire him.
SLO has a ton of potential and I am hopeful that Van Hoy can realize that potential. With all due respect to the late Mark Conover, I don't think that he was a very aggressive recruiter. The other things that hamstring most California public schools is the difficult admissions process, most worthwhile majors are impacted (read: full, wait listed), and a general mediocrity when it comes to sports. Can many talented athletes not get admitted to their preferred institution? Are the better California kids heading out of state? I often wonder why schools like SLO, SDSU, and UC Santa Barbara are not better running schools because the training conditions and facilities access are darned near perfect in my mind. My best running happened when I was living in Long Beach. Other than not having easy trail access, tracks and traffic free bike paths were plentiful plus favorable weather was always motivating.
As far as running from campus goes, SDSU is as bad as it gets. There are no parks or trials within miles from the school and you haven’t lived until you take a run down beautiful El Cajun Boulevard. We often ran workouts at Balboa Park and Mission Bay and would get caught in traffic on the way back.