York Shocker: Newton out as XC coach at York!!!!!!

By the way he was turned in by a rival coach using Newton quotes from a newspaper article.

who turned him in? I am dying to know!

The article said:

McGraw was initially made aware of the possibility of bylaw infractions Monday upon receiving a newspaper article through the mail that included comments made by Newton. McGraw did not disclose who sent the clipping.

Anyone know what that clipping said? Link?

There were two recent articles on Newton/York in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times. The Sun Times article was more detailed about summer workouts.

longgreensuspension wrote:

who turned him in? I am dying to know!

I think it was Daman from Dyestat.

Wags In Illinois wrote:

There were two recent articles on Newton/York in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times. The Sun Times article was more detailed about summer workouts.

Is this the money quote?

The kids train for five weeks, from mid-June to the end of July. They train from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday at East End Park in Elmhurst, 10 to 12 miles each day. Then they return in the afternoon and run five more miles on York's track.

That's 25 days. The maximum allowed. So, if they can show he had contract on any other day that summer, he was in violation.

I hope Newton isn't a math teacher.

why would someone turn him in? that's absolutely absurd. he's just trying to get the best out of his boys (and always does).

the big swede wrote:

why would someone turn him in? that's absolutely absurd. he's just trying to get the best out of his boys (and always does).

Jealously

Old Runner Guy wrote:

Wags In Illinois wrote:

There were two recent articles on Newton/York in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times. The Sun Times article was more detailed about summer workouts.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/preps/105505,CST-SPT-prep22.article

Is this the money quote?

The kids train for five weeks, from mid-June to the end of July. They train from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday at East End Park in Elmhurst, 10 to 12 miles each day. Then they return in the afternoon and run five more miles on York's track.

That's 25 days. The maximum allowed. So, if they can show he had contract on any other day that summer, he was in violation.

He usually arranges to be away from the camp for some of the time so as to abide by the rules.

Old Runner Guy wrote:

The kids train for five weeks, from mid-June to the end of July. They train from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday at East End Park in Elmhurst, 10 to 12 miles each day. Then they return in the afternoon and run five more miles on York's track.

That's 25 days. The maximum allowed. So, if they can show he had contract on any other day that summer, he was in violation.

I read that article when I was in Chi. for the marathon last week, and instantly my editorial antenae went up. Whoa, these kids are run 15-17 miles a day, 5 days a week? If that were true, they should've been out on the streets kicking Sell and Abdi's butts.

Later in the same piece he says, "For the first five days, they run one lap, a quarter-mile,'' Newton said. ''It isn't hard. They ask: 'Can I run a little more?' Then I've got 'em hooked. They start out easy and build from there. That keeps them in the program. If I run them too hard, they'll all quit. I make sure it is fun.''

They run 20 miles a week as freshmen, 40 as sophomores, 60 as juniors and 80 to 100 as seniors. Newton reminds them that if they have the same talent as the other guy, if they run 80 miles a week and the other guy is running only 40, they'll be more prepared for the state meet.

So obviously, there's a disconnect between that and the mega-miles quoted in the early graf.

Waco Kid wrote:

He usually arranges to be away from the camp for some of the time so as to abide by the rules.

From the first link

---

The Dukes were found to have been in violation of IHSA Bylaw 3.153 regarding special provisions for summer participation. More commonly known as the “summer contact rule,” the bylaw restricts off-season contact between coaches and athletes to 25 days.

---

Sounds like the rule means any contact from any coach counts as one of the 25. So, if a coach, no matter who, attended every practice, they used up their allottment of 25 summer contracts.

Is this intepretation correct?

the big swede wrote:

why would someone turn him in? that's absolutely absurd. he's just trying to get the best out of his boys (and always does).

Old Runner Guy wrote:

Jealously

I don't think that had much to do with it. The fact is they broke the rules. I do not agree with limiting contact to 25 days and would rather see kids out practicing for CC than just lounging around all summer, but rules are rules. Should we eliminate academic requirements for high school athletes? How would you feel if your athletes were all academically eligible and were beaten in the championship game by a team with a bunch of failing students? This is a similar sitauation. A coach was upset because he abided by the 25-day rule and knew that an opposing team did not. He turned him in and the suspension was justified. The only blame should lie on York's coaches for screwing up. The decision was appropriate because the kids still get to compete and the coaches can return to coaching next year (MUCH more careful to follow the rules that other coaches follow). Are there other coaches in Illinois who do not follow the 25-day rule? I'm sure there are but they do not have the noteriety of York and that's why they are not the target. York was simply a victim of its own success.

Other coaches had to play by the rules, and they were continually getting beat by York, so I can't blame them for being frustrated.

But we don't know how bad the infraction is/was? What if it was just 28 days as the assistant coaches and Newton did not properly comminciate to each other who had contact with whom over the summer? In other words, a paper work snafu that caused them to run over the 25 day maximum. Does that warrant a suspension or just a warning?

Conversely, what if they essentially ran a summer training program that ran the entire summer (say 50 days)? That gives their kids/runners such an obvious advantage going into the state meet that maybe the team should be suspended.

Will they give Palatine the trophy, they are on a string of several 2nd places in a row?

The whole team should be punished, York should not be allowed to win a state title this year. I am sure Newton has broken many more rules over the last how many decades.

colorgreen wrote:

The whole team should be punished, York should not be allowed to win a state title this year. I am sure Newton has broken many more rules over the last how many decades.

sounds like a typical jealous York hating competitor.

i would suggest the other coaches learn some more about coaching, training and motivation. then, maybe they could beat york through racing, not sending in newspaper clippings.

pretty pathetic and not surprising. fyi, i do not / did not go to york.

this is more from the people who don't want americans to ever be good distance runners. take the typically best program in the country, where the coach loves the sport and has produced 150 scholarship runners, split hairs about summer contact, and then suspend him. it should be about improving the runners, not about whether this or that hs coach spends slightly more or less time. most coaches probably have zero contact with their athletes during the summer--mine certainly were absent until school started--and the athletes are all out there voluntarily. this is why the club system would probably be better. no b.s. limits.