lnljn wrote:
RacingtheCanteloupe wrote:Don't forget, according to his coach Tom Schwartz, there are about 15 kids just like Andrew Hunter out there this year, waiting to receive proper coaching and run 3:58 as HSer's along with him. The future of the US 4 x 1500m at World Relays looks bright indeed!
(Tongue in cheek. Happy for Hunter and Schwartz, just wish they would not downplay his unique gifts and his 13:36 dad)
^^ this
why does the culture of running knock talent so much? very few seem to want to admit they have talent, just that they are only working hard with "average talent". he's huge talent, coach should admit that.
My answer... humans with healthy self-confidence create self-narratives in which we are in control and we are the good guy. Here are two stories, tell me which sounds better to oneself: "I rose above my average talent, and by hard work and dedication ran sub 14:00 in the 5k." Story 2: " I was born with supremely good genes for distance running, and I trained hard for a good number of years. Those factors led to a sub 14:00 5k."
I would love to create an experiment with posters from this board who insist hard work is the key variable: give them a choice to try to become an elite swimmer, rower or shot-putter. See how years of hard work on their slight, lanky frames leaves them, for the most part, pretty average. (I would know: I have the archetypal distance runner frame and skill set and found my low ceiling in swimming pretty quickly). As a coach, I have seen that genes trump hard work... unless the kids are of a reasonably close talent level to start. Then hard work can make a big difference.
That brings me back to the topic at hand, Hunter and Schwartz. Schwartz never called Hunter's talent level "average," so I have stretched things out a bit here, but I believe he is still being disrespectful to Hunter's competition by essentially saying if the top 15 kids were coached properly they would be where Hunter is. No.
I like the kid, and Schwartz really does seem like a good coach. But let's not pretend Andrew not a genetic outlier among outliers. A hard-working, polite, determined outlier, but an outlier nonetheless.