BELL LAP #42

GIVING FRESHMEN A BREAK (July 25, 2001)

Here in mid-summer, balanced between the end of the high school track season and the beginning of cross country, it's worth taking a minute to ponder the future of the class of 2001. Which of the remarkable group of icon-busting high school stars who thrilled us this spring--a group topped by Alan Webb and Dathan Ritzenheim--are likely to emerge into international prominence in the years ahead?

Or, to dredge up a quote from USATF Executive Director Craig Masback, the problem here in the U.S. is that "we have no overall plan for identifying young athletes with potential, nurturing them while they are in school, and supporting them as they climb toward the top of the world ranks after leaving school."

So I'm just wondering: How's that plan coming along? And has it been communicated to the college coaches who will soon inherit the most spectacular distance-running class to matriculate since the Golden 1960s?

And finally, since we're measuring today's bright young stars with the legends--Gerry Lindgren, Jim Ryun, Marty Liquori--let's remember one advantage those old guys had. No matter how talented they may have been, they could NOT, under NCAA regulations, run varsity competition as freshmen.

Strange but true. Anyone less than a half-century old may not remember this arcane rule, but there it was. As a freshman, you ran against other freshmen or community college runners. There were plenty of meets and competitive opportunities, but no varsity demands until sophomore year.

The logic behind this was the apparently outdated idea that it might take a year for a high school athlete to adjust to the higher training and competitive load of college competition. Then, too, there was the quaint notion that college athletes were supposed to be getting an education, so a year to gear up to university academic expectations seemed like a good idea.

I remember this system fondly, because I was NOT a high school star, at least not enough of one to earn a scholarship. If I had had to step up to varsity competition as a freshman, I simply wouldn't have tried. As it was, freshman competition gave me the confidence to take the next step, to varsity-level racing, as a sophomore.

My freshman teammate, Duncan Macdonald, WAS a high school star, but as a miler his cross-country skills petered out around 3 miles. It took a while before he was ready to compete at longer college distances. When he finally ran a solid 10,000, he made sure a photographer was there to prove it.

So the limitations on incoming freshman worked pretty well for both Duncan and me. And I suspect that Lindgren, Ryun, Liquori and others of that era, while having plenty of expectations, might not have minded lower-key freshman competition. Would the current crop of stars benefit from a similar reprieve?

We'll never know. Freshmen-only competition disappeared about 1970, mostly because college football coaches were eager to bolster their ranks with high school recruits. Other sports followed suit, whatever the long-range developmental costs.

Maybe that's fine. Ritzenheim ran brilliantly this spring, and it's hard to argue that he's not ready for the big time. Webb will be rooming with Canadian mile star Nathan Brannen at Michigan, and I can't imagine anyone in that dorm room wanting a transitional year. Which brings us back to coaches. Any long-term plans out there?