In a message dated 10/24/00 1:05:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<<
While politics do play a role in selection for staff for worlds, olys, world
jrs, etc. the staff reallly is not *at all* to blame. everyone knew before
(due to the date of the world jrs) that the US team wasn't going to do very
well.
Rocky Danners coaches mustn't have been told we weren't going to do well.
i wouldn't blame the hs or college coaches either. there aren't many
meets from late july to september that an aspiring junior can enter of any
real quality except junior olympics. and at the young men/young women
(17-19 age group) age group the competition really isn't very representative
of what the US has to offer.
I thought this was the World JR meet, 19 and under.
i knew we'd get blasted at world jrs once i found out we were sending a
skeleton crew. most athletes have problems finding coaches, facilities, and
motivation to train through October. It's really a lot tougher situation
than most can appreciaite. this is not an excuse - it's simply a reality. by
acknowledging this reality it takes **Nothing** away from what happened in
Chile. The athletes from other countries who were there performed and did
what was needed -- it's that simple.
Not quite. The coaching staff knew we were going into a very tough
situation. It was their responsibility to do everything possible to get the
team prepared. It was "their" team. To accept the position meant accepting
the conditions under which the meet would be contested and working within
that system. Sure it would have taken a monumental effort on their parts but
if that's what it took, so be it.
One can't simply say, "Well, it's not an ideal situation for us so let's just
go to the meet, get blasted and come home." Imagine an NFL coach, beset by
numerous injuries to key personnel, throwing in the towel and saying, "This
is a tough situation so we'll just quit trying and wait until next year."
As a coach you accept the conditions and do everything in your power to be
successful.
>>
