ethiopian distance runners have the speed to create a deadly kick at the end of the race….is that nature or nuture?
and a hypothetical question you get a group of freshman and they all want to run the 100 because its the glory event …how do you decide who would be better of for middle distance, long or short sprints?so dbandre what your saying is that instead of saying someone is talented you should say they have good coach ability and talent?
I wouldn’t decide by race or origin of parents and those obviously who show a great cardiovascular capacity I would move back to mid and longer distances if they were not the best sprinters or jumpers. You score the most points at HS meets in open sprints, jumps, and relays. Besides how many impact freshmen am I going to get. The kids I definitely will keep in the sprints will be running at least 11.7-12.2s by the time mid-season hits. If a kid is big strong and biologically more matured and runs 11.5s I may keep as sprinter, but he will be introduced to throws and hurdles. There’s not much I will be able to do with the 4 foot by 4 foot by 4 foot square block of fat who want to compete but throws the shot 15 feet and runs the 100m in 23s, he’d have to work hard to get rid of his initial problem. It’s the small skinny kids who I’ll develop as sprinters and move the best of them towards sprinting and jumping and moving the others to more distance oriented programs.
This is the ultimate coaching nightmare.
It’s not just coaching although coaching plays a significant role, but what they did between the ages of 2-10 that makes what happens at 16-22 possible. How many kids in the US are in a playground when you pass by? What percentage of them are rich? What percentage of those who are in the playgrounds are of west-African descent?