<p>Why do so many ivy leaguesprinters fail to match their high school pbs? Were their pbs hand timed? Are they just studying too hard? Thoughts?</p>
<p>I don’t know that it’s unique to the Ivy League. It seems to be worse with women than men. Men tend to keep getting leaner and stronger into their late 20’s in spite of less-than-perfect training nutrition whereas nature isn’t always as kind to young women. I think a part of it is the temptations of being away from home, diet not always the best and of course that demon alcohol.</p>
<p>burnout would be my guess</p>
<p>I wish we could solve this problem! I recall several interviews with college girls who lamented their lackluster performances, especially in freshman year of college. I agree it tends to be worse with the women, but it affects the men too. These kids are living completely on their own for the first time, and are totally responsible for their sleeping, eating, and study habits. Mom and Dad aren’t there to say “You can’t go out tonight! You have a midterm tomorrow.” Or, “Don’t forget to drink your milk and take your vitamins.” Or “Wake up, you’re late for practice!” D, for one, realized she needed to stop eating so much of that yummy frozen yogurt in the cafeteria, lol. Others are drinking and partying, which is affecting their weight, sleep, and overall health. That’s part of it.</p>
<p>Secondly, some girls are still growing and coming into their adult bodies–womanly bodies which have a different center of gravity, weight distribution, broader hips, larger bust, etc. Men’s growth tends to positively affect performance, but not so with women. My D grew in July and August before starting college, and kept growing through the fall. She believes this is affecting her speed. Also, to be frank, she is of normal weight and menstruates normally but is competing against these waif girls with high voices who are too thin. It is estimated that about 50% of female college distance runners have eating disorders. While for a time they may have an advantage, eventually they crash and burn.</p>
<p>Third, for kids from average high school programs, the Division 1 training regimen is a big step up in intensity. Not only are they putting in the time on the track, they’re having to also do weights, circuit training, extra runs in the morning, etc. The accumulated affect of all this tires the body out for a while, leading to slower performances.</p>
<p>Fourth, don’t underestimate the pressure of putting on a college uniform and racing in big meets with announcers, cameras, and online publicity. And the folks back home are all waiting to see how the high school superstar pans out in college, aren’t they? These kids succeed publicly, but they fail publicly too. It’s worse for track than for soccer or whatever because there’s an objective time that’s recorded. Not all of these kids can handle the emotional stress of that. </p>
<p>Fifth, academics are no joke at schools like the Ivies and Stanford. Some kids are better prepared than others, and I’d venture a guess that public school sprinters might struggle more than their prep school peers. Studying takes time away from needed sleep and takes its toll on mental health if the kid is really struggling. On D’s team, one top male freshman sprinter failed math first semester. Obviously, if he had the stats to get into that school, he was no dummy, but math (and most other subjects too) at HYPS are really tough. My D is also having a lot of trouble with college math, despite having come in with a high SAT score and the advanced curriculum typical of the elite school population. It probably isn’t a coincidence that her last race was sub-par–she had a math midterm the following day that she was really concerned about. She didn’t do well. </p>
<p>Well, all of the above is what I keep telling myself when I get discouraged about my own DD’s disappointing performance. She hasn’t even come close to her high school PR’s, much less surpass them. If the student is maintaining a high GPA, then one can brush that off and say, “Well, they’re there for the academics anyway, not the sport.” But the male sprinter’s mom is not happy because S failed math and also isn’t running well! So should he quit the team and devote more time to studying?</p>
<p>Hi TheGFG,
I think most freshmen have a big adjustment. Luckily college coaches usually give them time and support to get used to all the changes you talk about. Expectations for track kids are usually low that first year, but sophs should be ready to perform on Saturday no matter what else is going on during the week. I know that’s a harsh statement, but from our experience, freshman year is for getting used to college life, and after that, no excuses. I’ll bet your daughter will have a pretty big turn-around over the next few months. Much less stress going into the second year, in every way…</p>
<p>The GFG – you made a lot of good points. The only thing I would add is anemia. D had her first bout with runner’s anemia this past fall (she’s HS Class of 2011) and it totally waylaid her – legs felt heavy, times were off. If a runner hasn’t experienced it before, it can knock out weeks of training and practice until your iron levels get built back up. And you can’t compete while you’re doing that – at least, not distance.</p>
<p>You’re right, riverrunner. D’s coach said they don’t expect freshmen to contribute. If they can, that’s great, but it’s not expected. On D’s team currently, of the 6 freshman distance girls who began the year in cross country, 2 quit in the fall before ever racing for the school, 3 are out with injuries, and 1 was injured but is back running though not well. Of the 3 who are injured, only one was competing successfully prior to injury.</p>
<p>The freshmen sprinters seemed to have fared a little better, but off the top of my head I know that 2 are running times that are much slower than what they ran in high school.</p>
<p>You even see the same phenomenon when the little waif-like HS freshmen mature into HS seniors. Case in point - we had a girl come in freshman year and ran a 16:55 in XC.
Sophomore year: 17:05
Jr. year 17:50
She connected with a nationally known coach after Jr year to help figure out what was happening. He asked how much she weighed as a frosh compared to present and she’d put on about 25 lbs. She looked strong and healthy, but it’s still 25 lbs. She worked hard and leaned out by Sr. year and ran a 16:40.</p>
<p>All the points GFG made are very valid, and the runners anemia is Classof2015 mentioned is very possible, too - but for distance girls (and gymnasts) weight gain is the killer. Unfortunately, it’s really difficult to compete at a high level if you are at a normal, healthy bodyweight.</p>
<p>The same is true for baseball. </p>
<p>I recently heard heard the following joke: “How does a college coach turn a pitcher into a 91mph guy? Answer: sign him when he was throwing 94!”</p>
<p>While I agree that the reasons listed earlier may be components to the problem, in baseball the problem for the most part are coaches. For whatever reason at many, many schools pitchers throw slower in their first year than in the summer and year before college. Poorly designed workout programs, lack of ability to understand physiology (and the differences in players), and poorly taught mechanics all contribute.</p>
<p>In addition to stemit’s point, I think it is the wear & tear, grind of an entire season in any sport that leads to significant difference in performance between high school senior and college freshmen. Most freshmen will be (for the first time) practicing their sport year round with a coach monitoring & charting their progress (on the field and in the weight room) everyday. </p>
<p>Stemit - btw, best of luck this weekend. I’ll be watching. I’d like to see an Ivy Gehrig representative in the NCAAs.</p>
<p>The GFG had great explanantions. I will add:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Students are squeezed into tiny shared dorm rooms, where their sleep and study habits are interrupted.</p>
<ol>
<li>Dining hall food- the grilled salmon, broccoli and brown rice dinners mom used to lovingly cook are replaced by greasy, high carb offerings. Conscientious eaters have to rely on chicken breasts and salad, day after day.</li>
<li>Rampant viruses and bacteria in the close living quarters–freshmen get sick more often and their recovery is hampered by the demands of classes and demanding coaches.</li>
<li>Harder practices, more injuries, less time for recovery from injuries due to coaches lack of empathy. (No parent to advocate for the student/athlete.)</li>
<li>Campus temptations: parties, drinking, dating, hooking up–these are suddenly available, attractive and allowed.</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>