Top 3 Reasons USA Track and Field is a Complete Joke
By Athletes' Acceleration | August 22nd, 2008
My email and phone have been blowing up with
people who want to talk about what an embarassment
USA Track and Field is from top to bottom.
So I thought I’d highlight some of those points and
see what you think.
They are in no particular order. But after reading,
take my survey at the end and I’ll share the
results.
1. An Olympic Sized Choke Job
Men’s 100m: Jamaican World Record
Women’s 100m: Swept by Jamaica
Men’s 110HH: Silver and Bronze, but no Gold
Women’s 100H: We won…but Lolo Jones?
Men’s 200m: Bye Bye American World Record
Women’s 200m: Another Jamaican Gold
Men’s 400m: US Sweep (Hooray…)
Women’s 400m: Would have won Gold if it was a 350
Men’s 400IH: US Sweep (Thank goodness for our 400
squad)
Women’s 400H: Jamaican Gold and Olympic Record
Men’s 4×100: Choke - Dropped baton
Women’s 4×100: Choke - Dropped baton
Seriously - the US 4×100 teams need to take a page
from USA Basketball’s book. That is an embarassment.
If I can get 15 year olds to practice for 10 minutes
before a meet and get the stick around on a
consistent basis, why can’t professional athletes
do it?
Men’s LJ: No finalists
Men’s HJ: No finalists
Women’s TJ: No finalists
And that’s just the sprints and jumps results as
of this writing.
2. Bad promotion of coaches education by Track’s
governing body.
Did you know USA Track and Field has 3 levels of
coaching certification for all the event groups?
Probably not. Because they don’t promote it.
Because they are terrible at marketing and
advertising. And that’s why many youth and HS
coaches don’t know what they’re doing. I coach at
that level. And I see what people are doing. It’s
a joke.
And I get the daily emails from people asking:
A) How to bypass their (or their kid’s) terrible
youth, high school or club coach to get some good
training that actually works.
or
B) How to convince their clueless High School coach
to stop doing pointless training recycled from 40
years ago.
Don’t get me wrong, it makes our job easier because
coaching at the developmental levels is like
amateur hour.
When I got my Level II certification I was one of
about 5 coaches who didn’t specifically coach at
the collegiate level.
So just think about the base level of knowledge of
the average track coach who is responsible for
developing the foundation for future Olympians…
For every one of us that has half a clue, there are 10
who don’t go in the weight room, send sprinters on
the roads to run mileage and/or think speed work
is repeat 200s.
You know exactly what I’m talking about.
With age group coaches all speaking a different
language, there is no unified system of training
our young athletes. So they are poorly trained and
ill prepared for long term, elite level achievment.
Or even maximizing their potential at the High School
level for that matter.
It’s not complicated.
Our professional coaches and top end college coaches
are far and away the best in the world. It’s
ridiculous how good they are.
So I can’t place the blame on the coaching these
athletes are getting now.
You really can’t go wrong learning from guys like
Tony Veney, Boo Schexnayder and Cliff Rovelto, among
many others.
But with such a poor foundation, no wonder our
athletes can’t compete with tiny island nations.
But these Jamaicans who are kicking American behinds
develop a foundation of good work capacity from
childhood.
Sure they run track from an early age. They also
play soccer and cricket. What they don’t do is
sit on their behinds playing video
games and eating fast food. They walk and run to
where they want to go. They ride bikes. They swim.
They develop general athletic ability through a
variety of activities.
Our athletes don’t. And the chickens have come home
to roost.
3. Bad marketing of track and field athletes and
the sport itself.
People don’t run track because no one knows anything
about it. People don’t watch track because no one
gets the point.
What are the teams? (There are none.)
What’s the score? (There is none.)
What’s the point? (There isn’t one.)
I love track and I can see that there is no point,
no buildup when watching a meet on TV. And that’s
why track is a joke in this country.
Again, blame the people who run USA Track and
Field.
I see commercials for a local gymnastics facility
during prime time, but nothing promoting any of
our Olympic sprinters.
When’s the last time USATF ran a commercial
promoting Tyson Gay. Or Jeremy Wariner?
Exactly. (Then again maybe that’s a good thing after
their atrocious performances)
If you can find a meet on TV, it’s on at 2am on
some pointless channel that just had bass fishing
on before the meet.
And the announcers talk to you like you’re a moron.
Give a monkey an advertising budget and they
couldn’t do worse than USA Track and Field has over
the past decade.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.
Take one minute to vote in my survey. And share
your thoughts below.
NOTE: A lot of people have been saying this in the
survey and I have to kill this idea. Not all of
the Jamaicans ran track at US Colleges!
The 2 fastest men of all time did not attend US
colleges! Neither Asafa Powell or Usain Bolt went
to college in the US!!!
To your success,
Latif Thomas
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This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 7:07 am and is filed under Speed Training . You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
wow…this seems kind of harsh. I know that Team USA did not meet the expectations set by their gistory. But, I think they are somewhat a victim of their own success.
If you look at the overall medal count, the next closest country has exactly half of our medals.
I think that because we did not win the 100 meters, people have this perception that Team USA has fallen apart. The fact remains that, whether Tyson Gay had made the final or not, Usain Bolt was going to break that world record.
The Jamaican women swept the 100 but, traditionally the Jamaican women have always been strong in the sprints. So, it’s no real surprise. I would argue that it should be more of a surprise whenever USA breaks up a Jamaican sweep. Arguably our best 100 meter sprinter (at least this year), Allyson Felix, only ran the 200 (where she took the silver medal).
Also, I think it would be beneficial if you took a count of the number of “first-time” Olympians. I think that it would surprise you at the number of rookies that we had representing us. That’s not an excuse for the performances but the fact remains that a lot of these kids were exposed to this type of atmosphere for the first time in their lives.
I’m about to get on a roll so I’ll switch subjects….
You mentioned that no one knows about the Level I, II and III certification offered by USATF. On the contrary, I’ve found that a lot of people know about it. The problem is that high school coaches (and even college coaches) don’t feel the need for it. That fact in itself is pretty sad when I see the number of coaches who run the kids ragged with insane workouts.
As for marketing - let’s face it, track is not an important sport in the eys of the American community. In order to promote our athletes, it takes money. If our sponsors and business partners don’t want to put their dollars into marketing a track & field athlete then we will be contrained to what USATF can derive from their own budget. Not fair but there it is….
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
We train other athletes here in the US and they go back and run for the ancestry country. All of the Jamaican runners ran for colleges in the US. As in boxing and other pro sports, football and basketball has stolen all over the gifted athletes. I boxed pro for years and I coach. No on comes into the gym to box anymore, they are all on the football teams. When the players can’t make it to the pros one in a million shot. They are wash out in other individual sports such as boxing and track and field. I agree most athletes should compete in at least two sports in HS to see what level they are at and dedicate themselves to one. School, family, comes before sports
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:25 pm
good analysis Latif!
oliver
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
The world’s athletes are so much better today than ever before. While Usain is in his own class right now, notice how “Asafa-esqe” many of the top sprinters are today in their technique. I contend that Asafa’s excellence in the past 2 years has encouraged many of the worlds top runners today to emulate his teqnique — which has made them Asafa clones that can not challenge their Mentor (Asafa) himself. Even Tyson took his licks from Asafa in 2005-06 before he emerged as 2007’s World Champ. Trini’s Richard Thompson, too, an obvious Asafa desciple, should make some noise in 2009.
Suffice it to say, there is so much competition at the top levels of the sprints in both the men’s and women’s ranks that, on any given day, the top three finishers at an elite meet can and will change based upon any number of variables (e.g., nagging injuries, being burned out or psyched out, getting caught in the block because of a previous false start, racing before/during/after one’s peak, etc.) present at race time.
Then, there’s always the trancendent athlete who seems to come out of “left field” — like Bolt or Robles…or even the Lashawn Merrits who creep up and dominate the once indominable.
There is so much talent out there, world-wide, that it is no surpise that the guard changes so often.
In today’s world, there are too many variables (translation: international athletes of the highest quality) that undermine the USA dominance of the old days.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Latif:
Thank you for your hard hitting article. I agree with the many setiments stated in your article, and I agree to a certain extent with Gari’s commentary. I don’t believe that the USA’s track and field team is complete joke. There have been some good performances by some of our track and field athletes, most notably in the 4oo meter hurdles (men), and the 400 meter dash (men).
However, that being said, these highlights are few and far between. There’s no excuse for dropping the baton in a relay race, period. Wariner looked like he was not properly conditioned. A. Felix did not have the “burst” that she had last year. Lolo Jones lost her focus. Our American 100 m (women) sprinters did not break 11.00. Our 400 m women’s sprinter (like Wariner) ran out of gas.
Contrary to this, look at the Jamaicans. They are in very good condition, and they are running relaxed . One of the NBC analysts asked Wariner whether or not leaving his old coach had anything to do with his (Wariner’s) disapointing 400 M performance? Wariner became angry and abruptly ended the conversation. Unfortunatley, sometimes the truth hurts. It is evident to me that our sprinters (generally speaking) have not been coached for peak performance. At the very least, these athletes should be trained both physically and mentally. Even if they don’t win the Gold Medal, they should be surpassing their personal best in their respective event. There are several track coaches that need to be replaced. There’s no excuse why our athletes are not performin gat their best. Even world class athletes can learn something from the fundamentals taught in the CST.
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Hi, I am a Jamaican long distance athlete and I have recently been on a rigourous training program for about the last 10 months (I train six days a week with atleast two training sessions per day…) so I am expected to be performing well very soon.
I am speaking from experience when I say that our success is mainly due to dedicated training, it has nothing really to do with our food. The important thing is for an athlete to have proper sports nutrition, proper rest and be committed to training pushing the limit, not over training, having someone (coach) to monitor progress etc…
The training should be tailored to fit the athlete as each athlete is different, Bolt’s coach Mr. Mills realized this and tailored to program to suite a very tall athlete. Bolt if he chose could have done the 400, or the 800, or another distance and excelled just the same. It is all about dedication and knowing how to train and what to do.
All our top athletes are locally trained with the exception of a few. This has been deliberate as we realized that we have good coaching talent here in Jamaican.
Just check it all our gold medals with the exception of one came from locally trained athletes.
I will be one of many who will now venture on the long distance scene very soon. We just decided to take this thing serious.
The Brazilians use to dominate football now the whole world knows how to train and play football and if any country decides to be dedicated enough and put in the hours etc… they can be good and even better than a Brazil. That is what our Jamaican’s have done, we just chose to take this thing serious. We will not stop at sprinting, we will now focus on the field events and long distance running, I personally will be embarking on the steeple chase so I hope to make my country proud come next year at the World Champs.
Regards,
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:55 pm
“can not challenge” in above comment should read “can NOW challenge”
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
I was almost a fan of yours until now. I guess you have always had perfect meets. I don’t think that you fully understand that what happened in the Olympics is what makes this sport as beautifull as it is. Anything can happen!
Latif, after reading your comments I see that your are no diffrent than the coach in the stands that knows very little about Track & Field but wants everyone to think he knows a lot. Now I can honestly say that I am so glad that I have never recommended your material to anyone.
P.S. Anyone who is a member of USATF knows about the 3 levels of coaching certifications availible to them. If you need me to, I will be happy to find out when the next one is in your area. Or you can go to the USATF web site to view the schedule.
August 23rd, 2008 at 6:58 am
Unfortunately for the USA, the “anything can happen” seemingly all happened in these Olympics. With all due respect, the Olympics is not a High School track meet. It is High Stakes on the big stage. We need to have our team prepared for everything! The emergence of non-USA talent on the world stage is to be expected. Baton passes…., again? I’m just embarrassed!
I know we can do better, and our goal as a “Top Sport” should be to do better on the World Stage as well as be competitive with our own Big Three Sports here in the USA. So, yes, we need to promote the Sport better through commercials and the like.
In closing, I know you aren’t looking for “fans” Latif. But, you are as sharp as they come and your knowledge is unassailable! Keep up the good work.
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:17 am
OK, Having been an Olympic trials qualifier in the 200m and selected to be an alternate on the 4×1 relay heres a veteran sprinter/speed coach’s take.
1. tyson Gay made it impossible to receive the baton. His armpit was not closed and he was moving his arm all over the place making it impossible to make the hand off. Closing your armpit and keeping your arm flat is fundamental relay work.
2. I’m from the chi area and the sun times ran an article in the spring that the track and field in the chi area is a dying sport. What use to be ranked nationally is now dead. They pretty much cited the same reasons Latif did. They included little pay and long hours.
3. We are a self destructive sport; In this area I have been personally attacted for my training methods by coaches whom have not run a step of track. At the beggining of track season the local track coaches hand out a flyer that states “if any athlete goes to out side coaching they will be removed from the team.
Now this is from coaches that have never come out of blocks in their life!
Comment to r, your off base in your response to Latif. You sound like one of those USTF coaches that never competed on a Div. 1 level. Thats the type of backstabbing I’m talking about that is killing our sport.
August 24th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Being a former NCAA Division II sprint coach for 10 years, USATF level 1 certificated and a NCAA Div. II All-American in the sprints I know first hand the politics involved in pro sponsorship, marketing, and development of track and field. In California for example, almost every community college has dropped track programs or are in jeopardy of dropping track due to budget shortfalls and the like. At the collegiate level I can count on one hand how many Div. II track programs exist in California! The state of track and field is sad here in California. How can we get quality coaches at the grass roots level when we have no proper training grounds to develope new coaches, coaching theory, and coaching application (which translates into larger pools of qualified high school coaches-see the tradition here!!!) My junior college coach was a former Div. I athelete and coach as well as an olympian for the 80 and 84 olympic teams. He mentored me and taught me the ins and outs of collegiate coaching politics and the traps and pitfalls of post collegiate track (the world of the unattached athlete!) We need to look at the funding part of the track and field situation and earmark money to sustain track programs rather than cut them. Maybe then we can spark interest. It is sad to see the state of track and field when Nowadays mentioning the Bruce Jenner Classic in San Jose CA will only get the average track athlete saying what is that??? If anyone here remembers, the Bruce Jenner meet was equal to or better than MT. Sac Relays. But hey….thanks to budget cuts we are lucky to see a high school meet on the campus of San Jose City College even after spending money on that Mondo surface…Very sad!!!!
August 25th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
The IOC has to take a look at the training, the athletes are doing. People don’t understand once there was no such thing as a profeeional track and field athlete. Know everyone is a pro and they all train under differant coaches.
The Olympic commity should go back to the days where you selected a top head coache and assitant coaches and then spend 6 weeks at the Olympic facility to prepare for the games.
This team was not focused and PREPARED to be Bejin China and yes not all your Carribean Athletes train in the U.S, but there are atleast 90% of those athletes do especiial Osafa Powell brother whoe trains in Texas. I USA team screwed up and the IOC needs to do something about it.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
right on latif the chickens have come home to roost!! kids in this country are more satisfied with riding the bench in basketball and football than running track they feel that its too much running.lol. Great piece on the coaching or lack therof.
Fellow track coach.