They ran in classic Soles style moving up the second half of the race. Kind of weird how Great Oak finished 6th and he obviously got the majority of that team going on their path. Congrats to Great Oak for improving the second half of this season. My gosh did they improve!
How does a boys cross country team result avenge him? Did someone say his team would not get third? If he was accused of sexual trafficking, would a cross country result avenge him?
Avenging Soles? What does that mean? Didn’t he leave Great Oak? I don’t think he wasn’t fired. From what I remember it was an old coach who caused him problems who is not involved in their current program. If anything Soles abandoned Great Oak.
I’m reading Soles’ book right now and it has training schedules from 2019 in it. When I read this quote several months ago I thought it was totally bunk. But the book literally has this training day laid out. Monday in October: 13 miles AM, run with hill sprints after PM.
It doesn’t say that everyone is doing that, and I’m not casting judgment on the program even if it did, but the book does seem to support this as a thing (they seem to do 2 long runs mid-season; Monday and Saturday with the Monday AM long run being followed by a PM double and the Saturday long run being the only run of the week.
Any high school program that is this good trains really really hard! They are usually in upper middle to upper class suburbs where kids can train a lot, mommy and daddy can take them to PT and the Dr when they break down.
The GO program and other like it take a large number of kids, throw eggs against the wall and the ones that survive are awesome.
4
5
"Comfort must not be expected by folks that go a pleasuring."
Any high school program that is this good trains really really hard! They are usually in upper middle to upper class suburbs where kids can train a lot, mommy and daddy can take them to PT and the Dr when they break down.
The GO program and other like it take a large number of kids, throw eggs against the wall and the ones that survive are awesome.
To add to this, most high school programs that have year over year success are working with kids where their highest and best athletic endeavor is not racing over long distances.
The program will make them competitive at the high school level but does not guarantee that they will be a success at the collegiate level. Analogous to donkeys wanting to become thoroughbreds.
Given that, if a team of donkeys buy into the sacrifice and truth be told, risk, they can build memories and friendships that last a lifetime. The program can give them opportunities to be better than good, either at the team level or an individual level, that they normally wouldn't have the ability to experience.
They also can be better prepared to be successful in their chosen profession/relationships - they're less likely to be afraid of hard work, sacrifice, introspection, dealing with disappointment, and building a desire to improve.
The downside is that if the program doesn't produce the desired results then it can create a bitter and disillusioned adult. To mitigate the risks of trying and failing you either need good parenting, coaches, or village. For some individuals, you will need all three.
Herriman XC Club of Utah first-year coach Doug Soles recaps a third-place finish with 155 points and first podium appearance in program history following the boys championship race at Nike Cross Nationals at Glendoveer Golf C...
A law firm representing former athletes at Saratoga Springs is requesting a state investigation into what they are calling an abusive culture in athletics that pushed athletes to play through serious injuries and demeaned the...
Crazy. I would guess that a lot of the programs considered power houses (especially on the girls side) have these stories to tell. It might take a while to come to light but I think they are there in most of the programs. Great Oak in its day, Saratoga, Buchanan