Body Composition absolutely plays a role in performance, and not an insignificant role either.
At every level you will find similarities in body composition in top performers. The higher the level, the more homogenous the body compositions become. And Oregon is THE HIGHEST LEVEL of division 1 college athletics.
I am guessing most recruits choose Oregon in part because of their investment in sports science and data collection. They love that stuff, until it shows an area for personal improvement......that information causes anxiety.
Mileage plays a role in performance, can we not monitor, coach, advise that? How about pace? How about race strategy? How about running technique? None of them ALONE predict performance, should we not address them? Can we time practice reps? Or does knowing there will be a stop watch at practice cause anxiety?
How about grades? Shall we not get grade reports? And if grades are below standard, shall we not comment, coach, mentor, teach? I'm guessing the 2.0 student gets anxiety every time a mid term report occurs. That meeting with the academic advisor or coach must be harmful to their mental health because they are not prepared to hear facts as they pertain to themselves.
Division 1 athletes want 4+ year scholarships, with cost of attendance, 5 uniform variations, a state of the art locker room, and travel to the best meets. But they don't want to be accountable for the factors they have the greatest control over? (oh, and they want their scholarships to be guaranteed, you can't reduce or remove a scholarship for poor athletic performance.....but also don't try to improve their performance habits because that increases stress.)
They want the dexa scan if it can help detect bone density issues and avoid life long bone healthy issues, but not for the body composition? Just knowing body comp will be measured causes anxiety? Maybe THAT should be investigated.
They want the nutritionist, but only if the nutritionist doesn't say something that is true, but simultaneously offends the student-athlete.
A coach can coach, but only if they say nice things.
God help the next generation of coaches.