Answers
by ErikND96 (2017-07-20 08:38:40)

In reply to: Question about becoming a college track and field athlete.  posted by G.K.Chesterton

Post Reply Return to Olympic

1. Villanova, Georgetown, Notre Dame (historically, though Turner is trying to burn it to the ground quickly), Providence.... others have programs, but those are the ones with the strongest traditions that immediately come to mind

2. They all offer the full compliment of scholarships per NCAA; see #3

3. As for scholarships - unlike FB, it's a the discretion of the coach as to how he/she allocates the $... can be a full ride, or like you say x%, or even just some flat $ amount.

As for what your friend's kid should

a. contact the coaches at the schools they're interested in - they'll probably send a form letter w/ material on the program and school.... it never hurts to get on their radar early
b. it's early, but by end of SO year they need to start to figure out if they're punching above/below their weight in terms of athletic and academic ability (yes, a star track athlete will get some extra consideration - but that might mean 100-200pts on the SAT, not 500 they'd give for a FB player)
c. If they're a distance/middle distance runner - then XC regionals are important (as they allow for comparison vs kids from other states; otherwise courses differ so much, its next to impossible to compare times as a means of comparing athletes).
d. Here is a painful truth many learn the hard way - Senior Year Track times/performances don't matter - by then, the offers have already gone out the door. JUNIOR year track, and Senior year XC are the keys (and perhaps SR Indoors if they run great in the national meet).

Good luck,


I have a friend whose daughter is running track
by TWO  (2017-07-21 12:05:23)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

right now at ND, I haven't heard anything negative about Turner. But then she's just a freshman. What are the issues with him?

I have no details. Men's XC has sucked recently but ...
by Rocksteady74  (2017-07-21 19:18:11)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

... Turner only took that position over from Paine three years ago.
I am interested as well. *
by G.K.Chesterton  (2017-07-21 12:46:23)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Thanks for the input.
by G.K.Chesterton  (2017-07-20 12:26:34)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I did also see the following piece posted this week and passed it on to my friend as well for a tiny bit more insight into the decision.
To clarify....
by ErikND96  (2017-07-20 20:24:43)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

.... when I said XC regionals are important, that's just for coaches to gauge XC performance. Track times don't lie... you run a 4:02 mile and win by 30s, it's still 4:02 - so the competition isn't as key so long as you run fast