Dumb track quotes

[trackstar]

I think I've argued on this board before that track athletes make the worse interviews, really due to the simple nature of our sport. It's usually Q: What was your strategy? A: Run fast.

A prime example: On the front page of the Texas Relays website is a quote from J.J. Johnson about his relay victory last year, and I swear I'm not making this up: "Our strategy today was to come out and win."

Damn, why didn't I think of that back in my competitive days? I'd have won some golds instead of all those damn silvers and bronzes!

[kuha]

Re: Dumb track quotes

Ha! You're absolutely right! Turns out that my strategy when I was in HS was to gasp, struggle, and rarely win. And I was brilliantly successful!

[tafnut]

Re: Dumb track quotes

This is what my HS coach said, in full seriousness, before the start of my Conference 180H race, referring to my main rival:

"Here's what I want you to do:
- get out of the blocks before he does and beat him to the first hurdle.
- keep ahead of him between the hurdles and especially over the hurdles.
- beat him off the last hurdle and to the finish line."

Made perfect sense to me.

[silva]

Re: Dumb track quotes

the responses from the distance runners are usually better.

Ex. "my strategy was to sit in the middle of the pack until "x" meters to go, then go from there."

[SQUACKEE]

Re: Dumb track quotes

Now days my brillant pre-race master plan is to go out slow and taper.

[Jon]

Re: Dumb track quotes

At the 2003 World Champs, the much-loved Joice Maduaka was being interviewed after the quarter finals. It was close at the line, and everyone had suspected she had finished 5th (and thus missing out on making the semis). She started making excuses about her performance, etc.. then the scoreboard flashed up the results, showing that she had actually finished 4th and had made it into the semis. All of a sudden she changed and started saying "Yes, I knew I could do it all along, etc.."

Ah... good ol' Joice...

[dj]

Re: Dumb track quotes

I've always gotten a kick out of cross country coaches who yell at the top of their lungs: RELAX!

[tafnut]

Re: Dumb track quotes

The most frustrating thing for me as a coach is watching a coach verbally abuse his distance runners. The most typical one is yelling at a young girl on the 6th lap of the 3200 as she is getting ready to be lapped, referring to the lead girl going by, "Don't let her pass you! It's all in your head. Just sprint now and gut it out or just quit. Don't you have any guts? Are you too weak? What a wuss. You just don't want it bad enough!"

And all this coming from a guy with a beer belly, munching on a Snickers. I've seen worse than this, but this is not atypical, especially at the District Meet.

[SQUACKEE]

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coach screaming with 200 yrs to go," use your arms!"

[Jack Slocombe]

Re: Dumb track quotes

Tamara Tiscovich (sp), long time ago Russian lady shotputter. "I eat and I eat and then I throw farther"

She was one "big mutha".

[kuha]

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"coach screaming with 200 yrs to go," use your arms!"

Please clarify: is it running or coaching that does such a remarkable job of extending lifespan?

[trackstar]

Re: Dumb track quotes

Advice from one of my early track coaches: "Run fast and keep turning left."

[sequent]

Re: Dumb track quotes

Apparently there was a major D1 collegiate track coach several years ago who told one of his assistant coaches that the asst. coach's problem was "he was thinking to much like a coach". This was a sprint coach talking to a distance coach. Go figure.

[klemsen]

Re: Dumb track quotes

<coach screaming with 200 yrs to go," use your arms!">

I think the sq backslash ee really means, "screaming with 200 wires to go" ?

[smooth]

Re: Dumb track quotes

"keep pumping your arms and moving your legs", yelling