Hobbs Kessler? Not impressed.

Kerr and Jakob are taller than Hobbs, but proportionally speaking Hobbs has longer legs. In photos it looks like he is very similarly proportioned to Willis. So is it just total leg length that matters to you? One would think it is more about proportions a la the East Africans. And that is completely ignoring what Nick Symmonds was able to accomplish, or the fact that El Guerrouj was shorter with the same-ish proportions as Hobbs.

He was out of breath on the starting line. Visibly breathing hard. I thought it looked ominous.

WHAT?! A 19 year old isn't likely to make worlds? He should go back to climbing. He's done.

And please, show me to where people were calling him the next Jakob. Even his biggest supporters would point at an 8/15 type like Wightman or Coe if they are really generous, not an aerobic beast like Jakob.

Wasn't it Ron who got him to 3:34 in high school? Anyways, I've learned it's best not to make too much of in-season races, especially indoor. However, looking at his splits it looks like he might not have the anerobic endurance, as others have pointed out. He's shown he can close fast off a slow pace, and from what we've seen, Ron likes to have his guys do a lot of high-end aerobic work, so this race might indicate Kessler can use some hard anerobic sessions.

It doesn't matter who you are. If you're a college sophomore and you're that much slower in your main event than you were in high school something is wrong. He's already raced decently 4 times and now he's sick. Take a week or two off. You don't get bonus points for a PW.

This also looks bad with so many other collegiates currently going under 4.

TLDR: Rest & Recharge

no because if he went to NAU he would have 2 NCAA team championship trophies right now, and a ton of friends his own age. Both of those are invaluable. He could have an insane NIL deal in college to make money.

I think Mike Smith is overrated but he's clearly proved he a better distance coach in 2022 than Warhurst. What Hobbs is making now is decent but it pales in comparison to what he could make after NAU turned him into a world championship finalist.

And he'd be having a lot more fun at NAU. And 100% would be running faster.

7:39 is faster than everyone in NAU history except Bosley.

so what? Hobbs was faster in high school than all of the NAU guys. Nur and Grijalva were nobodys in high school and they just made the World Championship final with Grijalva almost grabbing a medal. Woody just broke an American record and is poised to contend for a medal.

Hobbs didn't even make it to Worlds and he wasn't close. All he had to do was run close to his PR and he would have made it. Ferlic was bad last year too. Ferlic ran slower in 2022 than he did in 2016. That's bad coaching.

this

did anybody actually watch the race? he went straight to the back. was obviously sick, physically feeling like crap and mentally in no shape to go out fast like they were.

kudos for starting, I'm surprised he didn't DNF

I've run sick and it sucks, could barely finish, especially if you have a respiratory illness lol

that 7:39 probly took some out of him, he was already on the verge of getting sick, had big expectations going into this one (3:53-3:55), was stressed and his immune system just took a big dive.

really nothing else to read into it. he'll be fine, if anything this may be a blessing in disguise, just rest up, get better and preserve the fitness

Bro.

woody is 30 years old.

Hobbs had the Olympic Standard in the 1500 in high school. Age has nothing to do with it. Hobbs is talented enough to do it but he HAS NOT had any success at the World level.

Hobbs run fast at meaningless meets but runs slow at big meets. that is the definition of poor coaching.

Luis ran 4:02 & 8:46 to finish 2nd at Brooks PR in HS, so not exactly a nobody

Yea I don't think Ron has a rep for overtraining. Not sure what happened, but Morgan and Flanny did fine in the 3000, so maybe its just Hobbs. Having said all that, would it be reasonable for a guy who is looking to break out to NOT go directly to dead last from the gun? MD is so mental, I would like him just once to go to front-ish. Maybe it backfires, but its something different.

He overtrains he undertrains...? It appears to me he was on a trajectory this winter and this race sticks out like a sore thumb. That doesnt sound like a coaching issue. For all we know he was sick, twisted an ankle who knows. We will find out next race or so. And please get the front.

Isnt it the opposite? The coach gets you to fitness (runs well in "meaningless" meets), the athlete has to man up for big meets. Coach cant run for them. Ive never understood the concept of athletes needing a coach to inspire them?

I think Smith is going to require some World/Oly medalists and team members before you definitively say he's the superior coach.

The only reason people overreact and make these "HOBBS IS OVERRATED" posts is 1) he became world class as a teenager and 2) he didn't go to college. I think the latter is the more significant of 2. We never see any threads whenever Nico Young has a bad race, and how he should switch coaches because Mike Smith is a failure of a coach. No, it's because Kessler went a different path, so people are going to blame that for every setback he has.

The reality is, most pro's have more "bad" races than good ones, it doesn't mean that every pro is an overrated failure that needs to switch coaches every bad race or season they have. The good athletes just know how to race well when it counts, and we'll see how Kessler finds a way to do that.

This is the most completely unfounded thought on here.First of all. Kessler was 18..he signed the most lucrative out of HS distance deal in history, there was NO NIL and would not be for another year in the NCAA...and no shoe company is going to ever ever pay what he got as an NIL. Secondly, according to some of you who never even ran in college and certainly not at this level, you would have him go to NAU , under a guy who has never trainined any top flight 1500/miler types. Thirdly Bosley ran 7:36.4 and Kessler ran 7:39.0...Bosley is 22 and 4 months..Kessler not yet 20. Whose future would you rather have.

Back to the "go to college Ron sucks" theme.

Who has trained more Olympians..Ron? or Mike Smith?

Fourthly..if that is a word..Most of you have no educated view or perspective on this whatsoever. I am fortunate to know a few expert coaches and former coaches..very fortunate. Four of them(not including Ron) when asked directly if Kessler should go Pro with Ron as his mentor..and all four said take that deal asap. As I have said ,step in a gopher hole training for Cross..and you never see a dime. By 28 he will be set up for life if he so chooses and invests wisely.

As for the other guys Ron has trained in the current group. Ferlic made an Olympic Team..Flanagan has Pr'ed at everything from mile to 1/2 Marathon and in between..and Beadlescomb PR at 5K.

Amazing , how in one week a 19 year old..goes from sky is the limit off a time(7:39.0) run twice better now by a collegian(7:36.4 and 7:38) and guys two years older when they ran it..to "it's all over Baby Blue".

Ferlic doesnt exactly prove your point. Poor choice. Did mason run worse in 20-21 than 2016? Uhh no. He set PBs by the bag full in 21 (basically all his PBs across all distances). And a few in 22!

VNTC seems to be expanding rapidly to me. We shall see the fruits of their labor this season with Flanagan/Hobbs/Ferlic/Beadlescomb et al? I think there are too many data points pointing to great coaching over the years.

All those COVID victims must have included tens of thousands of runners who overtrained. Stewie McSweyn and Kate Grace should consider themselves extremely fortunate not to have overcooked their immune systems via overtraining..